The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Dakar

Muslim presidents, kings and other senior leaders held closed talks at a summit yesterday to hammer out a new charter for the world's biggest Islamic group, officials said.

Organisation of the Islamic Conference leaders say a new charter is necessary to modernise and reform the group of 57 nations concentrated in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

But there has been intense debate about issues ranging from whether to restrict eligibility for new membership to Muslim majority states and even how to define "self-determination" for the Palestinian people, diplomats said.

A foreign minister who took part in talks this week told AFP on condition of anonymity, it was "finely balanced" whether the heads of state would be able to reach an accord before the summit ends this afternoon.

If the talks fail, the decision could be put back to a later foreign ministers meeting or even the next OIC summit which is scheduled to be held in Cairo in three years.

The absence of several prominent leaders-including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Libya's Moamer Kadhafi and Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf-has made a delay more likely, diplomats said.

The OIC executive hopes a new charter will speed up decision making and allow initiatives to encourage solidarity between the organisation's wealthy oil powers and African members who are among the world's poorest nations.

The OIC has set up an Islamic development fund aiming to raise 10 billion dollars. So far it has received pledges for only 2.6 billion, mainly from Saudi Arabia. One reform would allow decisions to be taken by a two-thirds majority, diplomats said. The OCI currently works by unanimity, making decisions difficult in such a group where members range from Saudi Arabia in the Gulf to

The talks must also set out guidelines for membership and observer status. Some countries want only countries with a Muslim "majority". But others which do not meet that criteria now are opposed to such restrictions.

The proposed new charter would also seek to soften the sometimes austere image of the OIC, which has launched a campaign against 'Islamophobia' in the West.

"The new charter embraces the United Nations language to reflect moderation and tolerance of Islam and focus on development and solidarity in action between members," OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told a news conference on Tuesday.