The 56-member ministerial meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) convening in emergency session in Qatar yesterday condemned terrorism but did not denounce the US air strikes against Afghanistan.
In its final communique, the OIC expressed concern over mounting civilian casualties in Afghanistan and drew a distinction between terrorism and legitimate resistance to occupation, referring to the Palestinian uprising.
The conference welcomed the statement of President Bush, anticipating a Palestinian state and called for practical steps to be taken to achieve this goal.
The ministers proposed an international conference to investigate the causes of terrorism and rejected any expansion to other Muslim countries of Washington's military offensive against Afghanistan.
During a news conference at the close of the meeting, an OIC spokesman said steps against Muslim countries and persons accused of terrorism should be limited to diplomatic and legal measures.
The issue which dominated the meeting was the possibility that the US could use the Security Council's resolution of September 12th recognising Washington's right to "take all necessary steps" in "self-defence" to expand the military campaign without further reference to the UN.
The OIC would like to see the anti-terror campaign placed under UN auspices.
The agenda was set by 22 Arab ministers who gathered on the eve of the emergency meeting.
While most Arab governments are prepared to tolerate but not condone the ongoing military offensive in Afghanistan, all "reject any strike against an Arab country", the Arab League Secretary General, Mr Amr Mousa, stated. Since the Arabs are the major political force in the OIC, their concerns dominated.
Arab fears over Washington's intentions were heightened on Sunday when the US ambassador to the UN, Mr John Negroponte, circulated to Security Council members a letter stating: "We may find our self-defence requires further actions with respect to other organisations [tnan al-Qaeda, accused of the September 11th attack on the US] and other states" than Afghanistan.
On the same day, Mr Negroponte turned up on the doorstep of the Iraqi mission to the UN to deliver a second letter to Baghdad's senior envoy, Mr Muhammad Douri.
This warned that the US would launch military strikes against Iraq if Baghdad attempted to assist anti-US forces in Afghanistan or to move against neighbours or domestic opponents.
"There will be a military strike against you and you will be defeated," Mr Negroponte is reported to have told Mr Douri.
On Monday the Iraqis informed the US mission that Baghdad had no intention of initiating military action against anyone. Iraq has repeatedly denied any links with al-Qaeda.
On Tuesday, the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, threatened to attack Iraq if there was evidence that Baghdad was involved in the two cases of anthrax, one fatal, found in Florida.
Since the 1991 Gulf War the US has repeatedly accused Iraq of manufacturing biological agents in violation of a prohibition on its possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Before that war, Iraq is known to have purchased from a firm in Maryland the anthrax spore, but it is not known if it managed to "weaponise" the bacteria.
UN teams are believed to have destroyed Iraq's arsenal of chemical and biological weapons between 1991 and 1998.
During the OIC meeting Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mr Naji Sabri, warned fellow delegates: "If the United States and its British ally want to step up attacks on Iraq under the pretext of [battling] terrorism, that would reflect its desire to settle old scores with Iraq."
Such a settling of old scores could lead to a widespread popular backlash against Arab governments supporting the anti-terror effort.
