OIC’s Struggle To Address Global Muslim Crisis!

Junaid Hassan

With the noble aim of uniting the Muslim world under one umbrella and safeguarding the interests of Muslim-majority countries an organisation named Islamic Conference Organisation (later came to be known as Organization of Islamic Cooperation) was formed in 1969 in Rabat, Morocco. It is the second largest organization in the world after the United Nations(UN) with 57 current members.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) was formed in response to a growing Islamophobia that has persisted globally since decades of the post Cold War era. However the real stimulus for its creation came after the 1969 attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque (considered as the third Holiest site in Islam) in Jerusalem, capital of Palestine, by an American extremist. This tragedy led Muslims worldwide to seek unity and protection under a common organization.

Despite its long history of establishment (more than 54 years) the question still remains the OIC’s effectiveness in dealing with the goals for which it was established. Has it done the work for which it was created? The answer may not be that complex!

There is no denying the fact that the organization has provided humanitarian aid in response to natural disasters like floods and famines, the same thing done by the UN also. The OIC has indeed failed to assign itself in terms of political action or meaningful intervention to protect the rights of Muslims worldwide. The crisis in Rohingya is the perfect example of the same. When thousands of Muslims were butchered, including women and children, and subjected to violence in Myanmar, the OIC issued empty condemnations, with absolutely no political action. It was, in fact, Gambia, a tiny African nation that took Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its genocidal actions, with minimal support from the OIC.

The situation in Palestine apparently offers another insight of the OIC’s ineffectiveness. Besides issuing empty statements and condemnations, the organization has done little to no measures to end the occupation or hold Israel accountable for its genocidal actions. Israel’s siege has left 1.1 Million Gaza’s residents on the verge of starvation as per the Famine Review committee.

Contrarily, South Africa, not a member of OIC, took Israel’s genocidal war crimes to the ICJ. This culminates not only in the failure of OIC to act decisively but also its role as a passive observer rather than an active force for transformation.

The OIC’s indecisiveness in these critical issues raise serious doubts over its effectiveness. Its leaders, though vocal in their condemnations, fail to transform these statements into realistic efforts. The organization, as of now, seems to be little more than “an empty vessel making much noise”!

The author can be reached at thakurjunaid01@gmail.com