The conference was convened in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East, with the aim of presenting a unified voice from the Islamic world against war with Iraq.
The conference was an emergency summit of the OIC, in which representatives of 56 countries gathered to discuss ways to stop the US-led war in Iraq.
[1] The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, called for the gathering, hoping to raise a united voice from the Muslim world against the war with Iraq.
[2] The meeting took place at a five-star hotel in Doha, just a short distance from Al Udeid, a sprawling US military base.
Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, began his speech by quoting a verse from the Quran.