The OIC was set up to protect the interests of the world’s Muslims. This is the the second-largest organization after the United Nations but it continues to be a toothless body.
August 2020
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was constituted in 1969 after an arson attack inside Al-Aqsa Mosque which damaged a part of its roof and the 800 years old pulpit of Salahuddin Ayubi – known as the conqueror of Jerusalem. The founding pillar of the OIC was to protect the interests of Muslims across the globe collectively. Initially, there were 24 member countries while now it consists of 57, which are almost all Muslim majority countries. OIC is the second-largest organization after the United Nations, covering nearly over 1.8 billion population in several African, Asian and South American countries. The Arab League, which is a 22-member platform of only Arab countries, is also a part of the OIC. There are five observers at the OIC. It also has a permanent delegation to the European Union and the United Nations. Arabic, English, and French are its official languages. The OIC is dominated by rich Arab countries.
Main Agenda
The purpose of establishment of the OIC was to provide Muslims a platform from where they could raise their voice for the worldwide Muslim community. A peaceful solution of the Palestine issue has been on the foremost agenda of the OIC. Muslims, under the banner of OIC, have been condemning Israeli aggression in Palestine. Significantly, raising their voice against Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir has been another item on the agenda of this organization. The Bosnian and Iraq Wars, the Syrian conflict and Islamophobia in the West have also gained the attention of OIC in recent years. However, the pity is that the OIC, despite having such a strong membership, has so far failed in being a representative voice of the world’s Muslims.
Protecting Muslim World Interests
The OIC has some of the richest countries of the world. Its members are also part of the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This global reach and resourcefulness has not borne any fruit so far and it looks like the OIC is simply a paper tiger. It has not solved any issue of Muslim world. The Palestinian issue has become worse. In December 2019, the Trump administration issued a plan to solve the Palestinian issue with was the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’. This was unanimously rejected by the OIC. Ironically, some members of the OIC supported the deal and publicly announced to fund it. The confusion still prevails. Trump’s Peace Plan was actually a tool to legalize Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The fate of the Kashmir issue is no different. The OIC has been constantly condemning Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir. It has also rejected India’s imposition of curfew and revocation of the special status of Kashmir. But this is how far as it goes. The OIC has not been able to do anything so far and the people of Kashmir are under constant lockdown. The OIC is a body of Muslim countries but India does not pay much attention to what it says and that is the reason that the Muslim population of India – comprising more that 200 million – continues to suffer under the Indian government’s atrocities. It is even accused by the ruling BJP of bringing the coronavirus to India.
The rising trend of Islamophobia in Western countries poses an existential threat to Muslim communities living in non-Muslim majority countries but the OIC does not seem to have a clear policy in this regard. The Christchurch massacre of Muslims in New Zealand and many other examples in non-Muslim countries are ample evidence of Islamophobia.
Individual Interests
The OIC has been unsuccessful in protecting the interests of Muslims all over the world because member states prefer individual benefit over the greater welfare of the world’s Muslim community. For example, two rich Muslim countries gave their highest national honours to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi even after what he is doing in occupied Kashmir. It was obviously to protect their own economic interests.
Political Differences
This sort of attitude has destroyed the unity of the Muslim world. More than sixty percent of the world’s conflicts exist in the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia and Iran have drifted apart. Qatar is being boycotted by some Arab states on the charges of supporting terrorism. As a result, Qatar has left OPEC and its relations with the Gulf countries are sore. The lingering Syrian and Yemen conflicts and objections of some Muslim countries on the Kuala Lumpur Summit are glaring examples of differences in the Muslim world. All this makes the OIC an incapable body
The Future
The OIC, when it was set up, was seen as a beacon of light in the Muslim world. The dream was to unite the Muslims and to protect their interests collectively. The Muslim world is more in need of the OIC than ever before. Member states must revisit their policies to unite the world’s Muslims. Member states must trust and respect the sovereignty of one another. The Muslim world also needs to develop its human resources independently in all fields to counter the developed nations.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was constituted in 1969 after an arson attack inside Al-Aqsa Mosque which damaged a part of its roof and the 800 years old pulpit of Salahuddin Ayubi – known as the conqueror of Jerusalem. The founding pillar of the OIC was to protect the interests of Muslims across the globe collectively. Initially, there were 24 member countries while now it consists of 57, which are almost all Muslim majority countries. OIC is the second-largest organization after the United Nations, covering nearly over 1.8 billion population in several African, Asian and South American countries. The Arab League, which is a 22-member platform of only Arab countries, is also a part of the OIC. There are five observers at the OIC. It also has a permanent delegation to the European Union and the United Nations. Arabic, English, and French are its official languages. The OIC is dominated by rich Arab countries. 
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