Manama; The issue of the anti-Islam film will be taken UP by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers in New York City next week, the secretary general has said.

“The efforts exerted in the last few days by the OIC have resulted in giving the disgusting blasphemous film the top priority on the agenda of the annual meeting of the OIC foreign ministers in New York next week,” Ekme Al Deen Ihsanoglu said at a press conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabic daily Al Riyadh reported on Wednesday.

The ministers’ meeting will discuss all options to reach an action plan to address the escalating incitement actions against Muslims, particularly Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Ihsanoglu reportedly said.

The OIC, an alliance of 57 countries, will use its political weight to put an end to heinous acts that not only harm Muslims’ religious feelings, but also threaten peace, security and stability in the region and in the world, he said. The OIC has condemned the film in the strongest terms, he added.

Ihsanoglu said that it was obvious that the violence was generated by the strong feelings and religious wounds felt in the Muslim world.

The events that hit Benghazi, Cairo, Khartoum and other cities have revealed the ominous consequences of the abuse of freedom of expression, a fact that the OIC has often warned about, he was quoted as saying by the Saudi daily.

However, Ihsanoglu called for self-restraint and condemned the killing of Chris Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, and three US diplomats in the Benghazi consulate.

Resorting to violence results in the loss of lives and it should not be tolerated, the OIC chief said.

He added that he had, since the broadcast of the video, launched widespread diplomatic moves and made high-level contacts to secure an international unified response.

Letters were sent to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Arab League Secretary General Nabeel Al Arabi and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to explore ways to ensure there would be no repeat of acts of incitement that trigger violence.