Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani

DOHA, February 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Contacts are under way among the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to convene an emergency summit on the Iraqi crisis, an official at the office of the pan-Islamic body's Qatari presidency said Thursday, February 13.

"Qatar has called for the summit to be convened as soon as possible, and the OIC secretariat is in touch with member states to set a suitable date," the official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A Qatari foreign ministry official told AFP that Doha was "prepared to host the summit proposed by (Qatari ruler) Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani after consultations with member states."

A foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday that Qatar had "called for the convening of an emergency Islamic summit" to examine "the current developments and challenges" facing the region.

"The state of Qatar has called for the convening of an emergency Islamic summit" to examine "the current developments and challenges" facing the region, the spokesman was quoted by the official QNA news agency,  as saying.

The summit would, at Doha's request, discuss the current regional situation "in light of a possible U.S. military campaign against Iraq," said an OIC statement issued at the organization's headquarters in the Saudi city of Jeddah Thursday.

The Qatari spokesman said Wednesday Sheikh Hamad had undertaken "telephone consultations with the leaders of several Islamic countries on developments (in the region) and current challenges."

Several of these leaders urged Sheikh Hamad to convene an extraordinary Islamic summit, he said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose country takes over the OIC presidency in October, said Wednesday Malaysia was prepared to host a special OIC meeting on Iraq during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kuala Lumpur later this month.

Iranian television said Iranian President Mohammad Khatami had called for the pan-Islamic body to hold such a meeting to seek ways of resolving the Iraqi crisis during a telephone call to Qatar's emir.

The proposal to convene an Islamic summit comes at a time when the United States is engaged in a massive military buildup in the Gulf as a prelude to an anticipated attack on Iraq.

Qatar, a close U.S. ally, is likely to serve as the command center of a military campaign.