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The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; https://www.oic-oci.org) is a Jeddah-based inter-governmental organisation with present membership of 57 countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. It was founded in 1969 as an angry collective response to an attempt by a Zionist fanatic to set fire to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israel war.
A Map of OIC Member-States (Dark Green) and Observer States (Light Green)
The Charter:
Its 18-page, 39-article charter was adopted at its first summit in Rabat in September 1969. It endeavours to represent the Islamic Ummah (Global Community) to safeguard and protect the common interests and … to enhance and consolidate the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among the member states. Its membership is open to any state member of the United Nations, having a Muslim majority and abiding by the Charter, even as several current members are either secular or do not have a Muslim majority. By its genesis, it has a special focus on the Palestine issue.
The Structure:
The Organs of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation consist of:
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Islamic Summit: It is the supreme authority of the Organisation and is expected to have an ordinary session once in three years, alternating between Asia, Africa and Europe. An extraordinary summit can be held whenever the interests of the Ummah warrant it, to consider matters of vital importance to the Ummah and coordinate the policy of the Organisation. So far, there have been 15 ordinary Summits last being in Banjul in May 2024. In addition, there have been 9 extraordinary Summits, the last one having been held in Jeddah in October 2023 to consider the Gaza conflict.
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Council of Foreign Ministers: It is the main operational body of the OIC and is expected to meet once every year in a normal session. Extraordinary sessions can be held to consider exceptional situations. The Council makes decisions about administrative (including appointments of the OCI Secretary General and others), financial (including the Budget), political and other policy matters. So far, the Islamic Foreign Ministers’ Council has met 51 times in their normal session, the last being in Istanbul on June 21-22, 2025. They have also held 20 extraordinary meetings, the last one being in Jeddah in March 2025.
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Standing Committees:
To advance issues of critical importance, the OIC has formed the following Standing Committees, which are chaired at the Head of State level:
i. Al Quds Committee;
ii. Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC);
iii. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC); and
iv. Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).
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Executive Committee:
It is comprised of the Chairmen of the current, preceding and succeeding Islamic Summits and Councils of Foreign Ministers, the host country of the Headquarters of the General Secretariat, as well as the Secretary-General as an ex-officio member.
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Other Bodies:
Mirroring the United Nations, the OIC has also created bodies such as the International Islamic Court of Justice, the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission, the Committee of Permanent Representatives, etc. In addition, there are numerous Subsidiary Organs, Specialised Institutions and Affiliated Institutions. Of special significance as a Specialised Institution is the Islamic Development Bank based in Jeddah. It has a paid-up capital of $7.8 billion. It is engaged in funding projects and other economic activities in OIC countries. In 2022 (the last year for which details are available), the annual net approvals of the IsDB Group increased by 18.6% to reach $10.5 billion.
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General Secretariat:
It is headed by a Secretary-General, who shall be the Chief Administrative Officer of the Organisation, and has the requisite support staff. The Secretary-General is elected by the Council of Foreign Ministers under the principles of equitable geographical distribution, rotation and equal opportunity for all Member States for five years, renewable once only. Among his responsibilities are the following: Undertaking Comprehensive Due Diligence of the Organisation, following up on the decisions by Summits, CFMs and other ministerial meetings, Providing the Member States with working papers and memoranda, annual reports, etc, Preparation of the programme and the budget and General Coordination and harmonisation, etc. Mr Hissein Brahim Taha, a Chadian diplomat, has been the OIC Secretary General since November 2021.
The budget:
The Budget of the General Secretariat and Subsidiary Organs is borne by Member States in proportion to their respective national incomes. In practical terms, most of the funding for the OIC comes from the host country, Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers, and several member countries have not been paying their dues.
Voting:
Two-thirds of the Member States constitute the quorum for the meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Decisions are taken by consensus, failing which, the decision is taken by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting unless otherwise stipulated.
Present Status:
OIC has permanent delegation status to the United Nations and the European Union.
Its member states had a collective population of over 1.8 billion as of 2015, accounting for just under a quarter of the world’s population. Their collective area is 31.66 million sq kms.
The collective nominal Gross Domestic Product of the OIC member states was estimated at $9.9 trillion, and their average per capita income was put at $9.361.
Comments on OIC’s Performance:
The OIC claims to be “the second largest organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents”, conveniently ignoring the Non-Aligned Movement. It is, arguably, even more dysfunctional than the other two. It is perhaps the only religion-based international organisation in the world with country memberships, even as its members include many which have a non-Muslim majority. The performance of the OIC and its associated organs is quite patchy. Barring a few exceptions, such as the Islamic Development Bank, most are performing below par. The reasons for poor performance range from a lack of a clear mandate, political interference, stifling and a large multinational bureaucracy, etc.
Politically, the following aspects hobble the OIC:
(i) The OIC claims to be “the collective voice of the Muslim world and endeavours to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.” This claim flies in the face of multiple contradictions within the “Muslim world” that remains quite divided, with a large number of faithful living in either secular or non-Muslim majority countries, such as Turkey, Nigeria, India, Lebanon, etc.
(ii) The OIC is dominated by Saudi Arabia as the host, the country with the largest GDP among OIC members and the Custodian of Islam’s two holy shrines. Initially, the Kingdom sought to leverage the OIC to promote Islamic solidarity against Arab Nationalism. However, lately the Kingdom has tried to ride both boats, as seen in hosting the joint OIC-Arab League Summits in October 2023. Riyadh has also used the OIC ventriloquistically to articulate its position and to prompt others, as well as to test Islamic waters. These aspects complicate the OIC’s functioning, particularly when the Kingdom under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is increasingly acting as a confident nationalist power.
(iii) Moreover, to a large extent, the travails of the Islamic Ummah (“Global Community”) are caused by the shortcomings within, particularly as the Ummah has not been a glowing example of either pluralism or democracy. Many of its ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Chad, Pakistan-Afghanistan, Algeria-Morocco, etc, are essentially fratricides among Muslims themselves. Similarly, the global mayhem caused by non-state actors such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda is essentially due to the radicalised Islamic fundamentalism.
(iv) Socially, too, the Ummah is neither stable nor tolerant of ethnically different Muslim groups and non-Muslim citizens.
(v) Economically, the global community has humungous disparities with a small number of oil-rich countries amidst a vast ocean of economically challenged states, such as Yemen, the Sahel region of Africa, etc. for instance, 2024 nominal per capita incomes of Qatar ($80,365) was 128 times that of Yemen ($628). In fact, many of the poorer members of the OIC had development assistance as the main motive for joining the body. Yet, barring lending and other socio-economic activities by the Islamic Development Bank Group, the OIC has played no worthwhile role in bridging the economic divide, mitigating the natural calamities, post-war reconstruction, etc.
(vi) Despite the multiple headwinds facing the Muslim community, the OIC largely remains focused on externalisation of its problems and crises. Israel remains its permanent bête noire, particularly after the recent war actions involving Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran. While OIC has been deafeningly silent on either intra-Islamic issues or the difficulties of Muslim minorities in friendly and powerful countries such as China and Russia, it has been busy taking highly partisan and intrusive positions on India-Pakistan disputes.
OIC and India:
After Israel, India is perhaps the most criticised country in the OIC documents and pronouncements, despite India having nearly 11% of the world’s Muslim population. New Delhi, too, has been dismissive of the adversarial and partisan stances adopted by the OIC at Pakistan’s behest. The following points are relevant:
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Historically, India and the OIC fell out with each other at the latter’s initiative during the Rabat Islamic Summit in 1969. India was formally invited to join as a member, and an Indian delegation led by Mr Fakhruddin Ahmed, then Minister of Industrial Development, reached Rabat to take part. Pakistani President Gen Yahya Khan threatened a boycott if India was admitted, as Pakistan considers itself the sole representative of the Sub-continent’s Muslims. Under Islamabad’s duress, the Summit secretariat decided to reject India’s credentials for membership of the OIC – effectively contradicting its earlier invitation to join the body. New Delhi reacted strongly to this action, breaking off relations with Morocco and withdrawing its ambassador from Jordan. Subsequent offers to India to join the OIC as an “Observer” were rejected by New Delhi.
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Following Pakistani attempts to trigger an insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s, Islamabad sought to leverage the OIC to put diplomatic pressure on India. Since then, under Pakistani insinuation, OIC has introduced anti-Indian agenda items into its internal discussions about the Jammu and Kashmir situation, India-Pakistan dispute, the Condition of Indian Muslims, Islamophobia in India, etc. A 5-member “OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir” was established in 1994, and an “OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir” was also subsequently appointed. The activities and pronouncements of these and other OIC outfits have been one-sided: pro-Pakistan and anti-India. Every time this happens, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issues a curt statement pointing out that the OIC has no locus standi on these matters, which are in India’s internal domain.
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Relevant to note here that with the solitary exception of Pakistan, India enjoys normal, cordial and substantive relations with all country-members of the OIC. At the same time, these countries do not wish to get involved in India-Pakistan disputes and therefore routinely rubber-stamp the partisan statements issued at the OIC fora. At the same time, they individually seek to reassure India that the OIC actions would not have any impact on their bilateral ties with India.
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In 2019, an exception was made in this five-decade of India-OIC adversarial relationship when the United Arab Emirates hosted the Islamic Foreign Ministers’ Conference. Over Pakistan’s vehement objections, it invited India as a “guest of honour” at the Conference, held just three days after an aerial bombing raid on Pakistan’s Balakot. As a result, the Indian delegation, led by then-foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, attended the meeting’s plenary session. Pakistan boycotted it. The invitation to India for the 2019 foreign minister’s meeting, despite flaring tensions with Pakistan, was, observers suggest, the result of Delhi’s strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – two of the most important members of the organisation. The deepening of India’s bilateral ties with them, among other oil-rich West Asian nations, has been on the back of mutual interests and the need for economic cooperation.
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The 31-article “Istanbul Declaration” issued after the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held on June 21-22, 2025, contained the following articles pertaining directly to India:
13. Express solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan, express our deep concern over the recent military escalation in the South Asia region, including the unjustified strikes carried out on multiple locations in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and stress the need to exercise maximum restraint and avoid actions that would destabilise the region,
14. Emphasise that the ceasefire, announced on 10 May 2025, must be faithfully adhered to, in the interest of regional peace and stability; Acknowledge, with appreciation, the efforts made by various Member States for the de-escalation of tensions;
15. Call for strict adherence to bilateral agreements, including Indus Waters Treaty, and stress The importance of a broad-based dialogue for peaceful settlement of all outstanding disputes between Pakistan and India;
27. Renew solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and express full support for their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council and OIC resolutions, and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, and condemn the massive human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,
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In response to the Istanbul Declaration, an Official Spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs made the following statement the next day:
Statement on references to India and comments made by Pakistan at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
June 23, 2025
India categorically rejects the unwarranted and factually incorrect references to India at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. These statements, driven by Pakistan, which has turned terrorism into statecraft, reflect the continued misuse of the OIC platform for narrow political ends.
2. The OIC’s repeated failure to acknowledge the real and documented threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, most recently evidenced in the heinous Pahalgam attack, reflects a wilful disregard for facts and the global consensus on the fight against terrorism.
3. The OIC has no locus standi to comment on India’s internal affairs, including Jammu & Kashmir, which is an integral and sovereign part of India — a fact enshrined in the Indian Constitution and irreversibly settled.
4. The OIC should reflect deeply on the perils of allowing Pakistan’s propaganda to hijack and politicise its agenda. Any other course can only undermine the OIC’s credibility and relevance.
5. The comments made by Pakistan at the OIC meeting are nothing more than a desperate attempt to deflect international attention from its own appalling record of state-sponsored terrorism, minority persecution and sectarian violence, apart from the failure of governance.
6. India also outrightly rejects Pakistan’s baseless allegation of “unprovoked and unjustified military aggression.” India’s Operation Sindoor, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, was a precise and legitimate act of self-defence against terrorist camps operating from Pakistani territory. It is absurd for Pakistan to speak of targeting only Indian military installations when its retaliatory attempts not only failed but recklessly endangered civilian lives and property and ended up causing several deaths and injuries among the civilian population.
7. It is also ironic that Pakistan, a country with an abysmal human rights record and a history of sheltering, breeding and empowering terrorists, should lecture others on counter-terrorism and human rights.
New Delhi
June 23, 2025
Conclusion:
India, a secular democracy, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a religion-based inter-governmental institution bent upon externalising its travails, are structurally different. They could have ideally existed in their mutually exclusive domains. But, in the real world, countries like Pakistan, single-handedly scheme to create a schism between the two in the hope against hope to paper over its inadequacies vis-à-vis India. Islamabad’s “success” is the collective failure of the OIC in alienating India, a country and economy, the OIC member states need on their side. By being prejudiced and disconnected from the ground realities in South Asia, the OIC has progressively become a hostage to Pakistan, diminishing its relevance to the Ummah and the world at large.
The previous issue of Arab League @80: An Assessment (West Asia & North Africa Digest) are available here: LINK
