Organization of the Islamic Conference

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC; Arabic: منظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي) (Turkish: İslam Konferansı Örgütü) (French: Organisation de la Conférence Islamique) is an inter-governmental organization with a Permanent Delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 mostly Islamic nations in the Middle East, North and West Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The OIC is dedicated to serving the interests of the world's estimated 1.4 billion Muslims.

Contents 1 History and goals 2 Structure and Organization 2.1 The Islamic Summit 2.2 The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers 2.3 The Permanent Secretariat 2.4 Standing Committees 2.5 Subsidiary Organs 2.6 Specialized Institutions 2.7 Affiliated institutions 3 The Secretary General OF OIC 4 Members 4.1 Future Membership 5 Past Islamic Summit Conferences 6 See also 7 External links

History and goals

The primary goals of the OIC are, according to itself, "to promote solidarity among all member states; to consolidate cooperation among member states in economic, social, cultural, scientific, and other fields of activity; to endeavor to eliminate racial segregation and discrimination and to oppose colonialism in all its forms; to support the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain their national rights and to return to their homeland; and, to support all Muslim people in their struggle to safeguard their dignity, independence and national rights."

The OIC was set up in Rabat, Morocco, on September 25, 1969 in reaction to an arson attack against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on August 21, 1969.

The flag of the OIC (pictured on the left) has an overall green background (symbolic of Islam). In the center, there is a red crescent enveloped in a white disc, symbolic perhaps of the neutral humanitarian aid provider Red Crescent. On the disc the words "Allah Akbar" are written in what appears to be modern Arabic calligraphy.

On August 5, 1990, 45 foreign ministers of the OIC adopted the controversial Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam to serve as a guidance for the member states in the matters of human rights.

Structure and Organization

The OIC system consists of:

The Islamic Summit

The highest policy-making organ, attended by the Kings and the Heads of State and Government of the member states, convened every three years.

The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers

It meets once a year to examine a progress report on the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the policy defined by the Islamic Summit.

The Permanent Secretariat

It is the executive organ of the Organization, entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies, and is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Current secretary is Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, from Turkey, since January 1, 2005.

Standing Committees

• Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee.
• Standing Committee on Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC).
• Standing Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC).
• Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH).
• Islamic Committee for Economic, Cultural and Social Affairs.
• Permanent Finance Committee.
• Financial Control Organ.

Subsidiary Organs

• The Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries, located in Ankara, Turkey.
• The Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), located in Istanbul, Turkey.
• The Islamic University of Technology, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The Islamic Center for the Development of Trade, located in Casablanca, Morocco.
• The Islamic Fiqh Academy, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Executive Bureau of the Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Islamic University of Niger, located in Niamey, Niger.
• The Islamic University of Uganda, located in Mbale, Uganda.

Specialized Institutions

• The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), located in Rabat, Morocco.
• The Islamic States Broadcasting Organization (ISBO) and the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Affiliated institutions

• Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), located in Karachi, Pakistan.
• Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity Games, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC), located in Benghazi, Libya.
• Islamic Shipowners Association (ISA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• World Federation of International Arab-Islamic Schools, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• International Association of Islamic Banks (IAIB), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Secretary General OF OIC

• 1.H.R.H. Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia): (1971-1973)
• 2.H.E. Hassan Al-Touhami (Egypt): (1974-1975)
• 3.H.E. Dr. Amadou Karim Gaye (Senegal): (1975-1979)
• 4.H.E. Mr. Habib Chatty (Tunisia): (1979-1984)
• 5.H.E. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada (Pakistan): (1985-1988)
• 6.H.E. Dr. Hamid Algabid (Niger): (1989-1996)
• 7.H.E. Dr. Azeddine Laraki (Morocco): (1997-2000)
• 8.H.E. Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz (Morocco): (2001-2004)
• 9.H.E.Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Turkey): (2005 to present)

Members

Full members
State	Year
Afghanistan	1969
Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of	1969
Chad, Republic of	1969
Egypt, Arab Republic of	1969
Guinea, Republic of	1969
Indonesia, Republic of	1969
Iran, Islamic Republic of	1969
Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of	1969
Kuwait, State of	1969
Lebanon, Republic of	1969
Libya, Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	1969
Malaysia	1969
Mali, Republic of	1969
Mauritania, Islamic Republic of	1969
Morocco, Kingdom of	1969
Niger, Republic of	1969
Pakistan, Islamic Republic of	1969
Palestine, State of	1969
Yemen, Republic of	1969
Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of	1969
Senegal, Republic of	1969
Sudan, Republic of the	1969
Somalia, Democratic Republic of	1969
Tunisia, Republic of	1969
Turkey, Republic of	1969
Bahrain , State of	1970
Oman, Sultanate of	1970
Qatar, State of	1970
Syria	1970
United Arab Emirates, State of	1970
Sierra Leone, Republic of	1972
Bangladesh, People's Republic of	1974
Gabon, Republic of	1974
Gambia, Republic of the	1974
Guinea-Bissau, Republic of	1974
Uganda, Republic of	1974
Burkina Faso	1975
Cameroon, Republic of	1975
Comoros, Federal Islamic Republic of the	1976
Iraq, Republic of	1976
Maldives, Republic of	1976
Djibouti, Republic of	1978
Benin, Republic of	1982
Brunei Darussalam, Sultanate of	1984
Nigeria, Federal Republic of	1986
Azerbaijan, Republic of	1991
Albania, Republic of	1992
Kyrgyzstan, Republic of	1992
Tajikistan, Republic of	1992
Turkmenistan, Republic of	1992
Mozambique, Republic of	1994
Kazakhstan, Republic of	1995
Uzbekistan Republic of	1995
Suriname, Republic of the	1996
Togo, Republic of	1997
Guyana, Republic of	1998
Côte d'Ivoire, Republic of	2001
Observer States
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of	1994
Central African Republic	1997
Thailand, Kingdom of	1998
Russia	2005
Observer Muslim Organizations and Communities
Moro National Liberation Front	1977
Turkish Cypriot State	1979
Observer International Organizations
League of Arab States	1975
United Nations	1976
Non-Aligned Movement	1977
Organization of African Unity	1977
Economic Cooperation Organization	1995

Future Membership

India is home to more than 135 million Muslims and believes that it should be granted full membership. India's candiature is backed by some Islamic countries including Saudi Arabia. However, other members of the OIC argue that even though India has the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world, it is a Hindu- majority secular republic.

Past Islamic Summit Conferences

number	date	country	place
1st	1969 September 22-September 25	Morocco	Rabat
2nd	1974 February 22-February 24	Pakistan	Lahore
3rd	1981 January 25-January 29	Saudi Arabia	Mecca and Taif
4th	1984 January 16-January 19	Morocco	Casablanca
5th	1987 January 26-January 29	Kuwait	Kuwait City
6th	1991 December 9-December 11	Senegal	Dakar
7th	1994 December 13-December 15	Morocco	Casablanca
1st Extraordinary	1997 March 23	Pakistan	Islamabad
8th	1997 December 9-December 11	Iran	Tehran
9th	2000 November 12-November 13	Qatar	Doha
2nd Extraordinary	2003 March 5	Qatar	Doha
10th	2003 October 16-October 17	Malaysia	Putrajaya
3rd Extraordinary	2005 December 7-December 8	Saudi Arabia	Makkah Al Mukarramah

See also

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

External links

• Official The Organization of the Islamic Conference
• Official Islamic Conference with documents and information from the latest Summit (Arabic, English, French)
• UN Organization of the Islamic Conference

• December 12, 2005: Guardian Unlimited - An extraordinary meeting Brian Whitaker
• April 15th 2005 Dinar Standard - Is Intra-OIC Trade finally taking off?
• October 18, 2003: speech from Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad speech at the 10th OIC Summit
• September 14, 2001: statements from the Organization of Islamic Conference

Organization of the Islamic Conference
Afghanistan | Albania | Algeria | Azerbaijan | Bahrain | Bangladesh | Benin | Burkina Faso | Brunei | Cameroon | Chad | Comoros | Côte d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Gabon | Gambia | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Guyana | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Jordan | Kuwait | Kazakhstan | Kyrgyzstan | Lebanon | Libya | Maldives | Malaysia | Mali | Mauritania | Morocco | Mozambique | Niger | Nigeria | Oman | Pakistan | Palestine | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Sudan | Surinam | Syria | Tajikistan | Turkey | Tunisia | Togo | Turkmenistan | Uganda | Uzbekistan | United Arab Emirates | Yemen
Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina | Central African Republic | Russia | Thailand
Observer Muslim organizations and communities: Moro National Liberation Front | Turkish Cypriot State
Observer international organizations: Economic Cooperation Organization | Organization of African Unity | League of Arab States | Non-Aligned Movement | United Nations

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