Jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim today said the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was treated with widespread cynicism by many ordinary Muslims.

Speaking out on the eve of an OIC summit in a Wall Street Journal comment piece, Anwar said the organisation grouping 57 Muslim nations was weak and ineffectual.

Anwar also strongly criticised Muslim leaders for failing to condemn Muslim-on-Muslim violence such as Saddam Hussein's gas attacks on the Kurds or the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and for not mounting serious efforts to resolve the conflicts in Muslim regions such as Kashmir, Chechnya and Aceh.

"Thus one can appreciate the widespread cynicism among ordinary Muslims about the OIC," Anwar wrote.

"They see it as a body too frail to champion Muslim causes and a loose ensemble operating on ideas out of tune with the tenor of the times."

Moral duty

Anwar, who is currently appealing against a sodomy conviction and a nine-year jail term, said Muslim countries needed to stop blaming the United States, Israel and the West for their predicament.

"It is a moral imperative for Muslims to make the leap to responsible government, departing from oppressive and corrupt policies," he said.

Once seen as heir to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar claims he was sacked and charged with sodomy and corruption to prevent a political challenge to Mahathir. The United States and human rights group Amnesty International list him as a political prisoner.

The OIC summit opens Thursday in the administrative capital Putrajaya. It is widely seen as Mahathir's swansong on the international stage before his retirement after 22 years in power. - AFP