Encyclopedia of Islam

Organization of the Islamic Conference

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tions such as the United Nations and the Arab 

League. Although newly decolonized Muslim 

countries had long been aware of the pan-Islamic 

notion of a united community (

umma

) of the faith-

ful, they lacked a means by which to establish a 

common bond or collectively exert their influ-

ence in global affairs in the 20th century. This 

situation changed considerably when the secular 

Arab nationalist movement under the leadership 

of J

amal

 a

bd

 

al

-n

asir

 (d. 1970) lost its credibility 

as a result of the shocking victory of Israel over 

Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli 

war. At the same time many governments in Mus-

lim countries feared the spread of socialism and 

commUnism

, especially among newly urbanized 

populations and youth.

Saudi king F

aysal

 

ibn

  a

bd

 

al

-a

ziz

 (d. 1975), 

a life-long opponent of the secular Arab national-

ist movement and communism, spearheaded an 

international effort to promote solidarity among 

Muslim countries and create an international 

organization with a specifically Islamic identity. 

The loss of J

erUsalem

 to Israel and a failed attempt 

to burn down the a

qsa

 m

osqUe

 by an Australian 

evangelical Christian in August 1969 helped King 

Faysal convince enough Muslim leaders to con-

vene a summit meeting in Rabat in 1969. This led 

to several follow-up meetings and finally a charter 

issued in February 1972. It had 25 founding mem-

ber states, including Pakistan, Malaysia, Turkey, 

Iran, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Chad, and Niger, in 

addition to s

aUdi

 a

rabia

 and Morocco.

The OIC, which has its main headquarters 

in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, resembles the UN in its 

organization. It has a permanent Secretariat and 

five standing committees that specialize in social, 

cultural, economic, and financial affairs. There are 

also a number of other OIC subsidiary institutions 

and affiliates located in several Muslim countries, 

ranging from Turkey to Uganda, Bangladesh, and 

Malaysia. These organizations include universi-

ties, a research center, media organizations, a 

chamber of commerce, a 

fiqh

 academy, and even a 

sports federation for the Islamic Solidarity Games. 

The OIC has held 10 summit meetings for heads 

of state since 1969, plus three extraordinary 

sessions. The last of the extraordinary sessions, 

convened in 2005, dealt with the controversial 

cartoons of m

Uhammad

 that were published in 

Danish newspapers in September of that year. In 

addition to the summit meetings the OIC also 

holds annual meetings for the foreign ministers of 

member states. Recent meetings have been held 

in Karachi (2007), Baku (2006), Sanaa (2005), 

Istanbul (2004), and Tehran (2003).

The work of the OIC has centered on politi-

cal matters rather than on religious affairs, and 

Saudi influence is significant. The OIC has sought 

to have a voice in resolving a

rab

-i

sraeli

 

con

-

Flicts

, the Iraq-Iran war of 1980–88, the Bosnian 

crisis, the status of k

ashmir

, and recent issues 

pertaining to the threat of Islamic radicalism, the 

Israeli-Lebanese war of 2006, the reconstruction 

of  a

Fghanistan

, and Darfur. On the issue of the 

U.S. occupation of i

raq

 and its consequences, 

it has recently resolved to affirm the territo-

rial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq, calling for 

greater participation by neighboring countries and 

international agencies in its reconstruction. It has 

also condemned terrorist attacks on civilians. On 

specifically religious affairs, its most important 

achievement has been to establish quotas for the 

number of pilgrims each country can send for the 

annual 

haJJ

 to m

ecca

.

See also  a

rab

-i

sraeli

 

conFlicts

;  b

osnia

 

and

h

erzegovina

; F

ederation

 

oF

  i

slamic

  o

rganiza

-

tions

; g

UlF

 W

ars

; p

an

-i

slamism

.