OIC 40th Anniversary

About OIC

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The OIC is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various peoples of the world.

The OIC was established pursuant a decision adopted by the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, on 12th Rajab 1389 AH/ 25 September 1969 AD, following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. In 1970, the first ever meeting of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah. It adopted the decision to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the secretary general. Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu is the 9th Secretary General who assumed office in January 2005 after being elected by the 31st ICFM Session.

The first OIC Charter was adopted by the 3rd ICFM Session held in 1972. The original Charter was amended to keep pace with the developments that have unraveled recently across the world. The 11th Islamic Summit held in Dakar in March 2008 endorsed the new Charter, which laid down the objectives and principles of the organization and fundamental purposes to strengthen the principles of solidarity and cooperation among the Member States. Over the last 40 years, the OIC membership has grown from its founding members of 25 to 57 states.

The OIC has the singular honor of galvanizing the Ummah into a unified voice and representing Muslims by espousing all causes close to the hearts of over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world.

The Member States of the OIC face many challenges in the 21st century. To address these challenges, the 3rd Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Makkah in December 2005, laid down a blue print called the Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA) which envisages joint action by the Member States, promotion of tolerance and moderation, modernization, extensive reforms in all spheres of activities including science and technology, education, and development of trade. It also emphasizes good governance and the promotion of human rights in the Muslim world, especially with regard to the children’s and women’s rights as well as family values enshrined in Islamic Shariah (Law).

For more details, visit the OIC website at URL www.oic-oci.org Tel: 02-6515222 Fax 02-6512288 P.O. Box 178. Jeddah 21411 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Organization of the Islamic Conference OIC

40th Anniversary

General Secretariat Information Department

OIC 40th Anniversary 1969 - 2009

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Table of Contents ■ Foreword by OIC Secretary General, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

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■ Preface

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- Chapter I : OIC organs

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• Islamic Summit

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• Ordinary Sessions

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• Extraordinary Sessions

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• Council of Foreign Ministers

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• Ordinary Meetings

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• Extraordinary Sessions

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• Sectoral ministerial meetings

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• Standing Committees

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• Executive Committee

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• Permanent Representatives Committee

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• International Islamic Court of Justice

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• Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission

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• General Secretariat

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• Secretary General

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• Assistant Secretaries-General

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• Departments at the General Secretariat

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• OIC Organs and Institutions

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• Subsidiary organs

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• Specialized institutions

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• Affiliated institutions

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- Chapter II : OIC itinerary

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1 - OIC role in promoting Islamic unity

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2- Reform process

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* Ten-Year Program of Action

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* Charter

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3- OIC External Relations

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* United Nations

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* European Union

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* League of Arab States

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* African Union

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* Gulf Cooperation Council

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Chapter III : Publications

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* Islamophobia Report

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* OIC Journal

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* Weekly Newsletter

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* Daily News Monitoring Brief

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* Website

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* Other publications

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Chapter IV : OIC Headquarters

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Chapter V : Member States

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OIC Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

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Foreword by OIC Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

Forty years ago, twenty-five states from the Muslim world agreed to set up a framework for collective cooperation to serve common causes.

Over time, this togetherness evolved into the 57member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

On this 40th anniversary of the OIC creation, I feel privileged, in my capacity as the OIC Secretary General, to share with the readers of this book some of my views, observations and impressions about the OIC and my thoughts as to its future prospects.

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already taken strong hold in the political discourse and popular consciousness of Westerners, resulting in an erroneous impression depicting Islam as an enemy.

We believe that the rise in tone and frequency of such a negative and

offensive discourse does not bode well for the future of the two sides as well as

for the future of humanity as a whole. Faced with this stark and regrettable reality, we made it our duty to defend the true image of Islam.

To correct this perception, we were very active on different fronts. We

approached the UN Human Rights Council and UN-related institutions in Geneva; we brought our case to the UN General Assembly where we managed to pass several resolutions over the last few years that deplored acts of discrimination

and intolerance instigating hatred of religions. We called, on every occasion, for

wider cooperation to put an end to this sort of incitement. We responded firmly to

the instigators of fanaticism and hatred against Islam as it happened in the case of the Danish offensive cartoons, or the Dutch film ‘Fitna’. We have engaged with Western scholars, think-tanks and relevant fora in Europe and in the US and evoked the need to implement the international covenants and legal instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in an attempt to put an end to this negative trend.

Today, we are still pursuing our endeavor of dialogue among civilizations,

which we initiated at the level of the United Nations since 1998. We are determined to continue our efforts to preserve, carry and reflect the true image of Islam to the

world as a religion of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and moderation, calling for the respect of human dignity and human rights and advocating harmony and concord.

The encouraging remarks recently conveyed by U.S. President Barrack

Obama about Islam and his promises to start a new course of engagement and

cooperation with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual interest and reciprocal respect are indeed very heartening and promising. The good example set by

Ireland on July 10, 2009, through passing a Defamation (of religion) Bill that bans publishing or uttering blasphemous matter, is very welcomed as it sets an

example of the need for such a law to ensure harmony, peace and concord among fellow human beings regardless of their religion, race, language or ethnic origin.

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In this vein, I have repeatedly called for a historic reconciliation between

Islam and Christianity, as was the case between Judaism and Christianity in

the last century. I think that what brings the followers of all religions together outweighs what separates them. This is all the more true when it comes to the West and Islam, given the commonalities that link them at the level of spirituality,

intellectual heritage, geographical proximity and economic interests. I believe that

all humanity is duty-bound to focus on the commonalities that flow in all religions and cultures, in a bid to safeguard humanity to ensure peaceful coexistence, and to preserve the world and its resources for our future generations.

As part of the reform process, a number of new subjects have been included

in the OIC’s agenda, some addressing emerging needs and concerns, others aiming at modernizing the existing practices by introducing methods newly developed in international policy or previously not used in the OIC framework.

Within its new vision, the OIC has accelerated its momentum by redefining

and reaffirming its objectives in view of the 21st century, modernizing and

optimizing its operations for more efficiency. It is indeed no mere coincidence that a comprehensive OIC reform and renewal is taking place concurrently with the reform process of the UN.

The Organization is presently, and increasingly, assuming its position in the

world scene as the voice of the Muslim world. A remarkable indication of this development is that many countries are approaching the OIC to acquire observer

status or to establish special relations with it. Presently four OIC member states

are non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and three OIC member states are members in the G-20.

Some crucial challenges that the OIC will be facing in the coming period

are the completion of the institutional and legal bases within the OIC in the field

of human rights in order to ensure abidance by and promotion of human rights principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to create

institutional capacity in preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and peace keeping. Within the reform process of the OIC, both the TYPOA and the new

Charter stipulate these two areas among the OIC priorities. Intergovernmental deliberations were initiated on both areas in 2009.

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Naturally, establishing a permanent and independent human rights

commission and increasing as well as institutionalizing capacity in preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and peace keeping would be important and tangible

results of the reform process and would certainly further boost the visibility and credibility of the OIC in the international arena.

Thanks to its General Secretariat and its subsidiary and specialized organs,

in cooperation with the Member States, the OIC will continue its efforts in all

spheres with dedication and determination. It is our sincere hope that with the drive and impetus given by the on-going reform and development process, the

40th Anniversary of the OIC will mark a real turning point in the history of the Organization.

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Preface On 21st August 1969, the infamous Israeli extremist Michael Dennis Rohan set fire to the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Muslim Qiblas and the third Muslim Holy Shrine. This horrendous criminal arson caused untold outrage amid Muslims across the world. Until today, the resonance of this abominable act continues to reverberate loudly. Concerns over the fate of the City of Al-Quds have grown even more acute following the recent dangerous aggression it has sustained as Israeli occupation authorities undertake large-scale excavations near Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif [noble sanctuary], threatening the very foundations of the Mosque itself.

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Since Israel laid its occupation hand on the eastern section of the city of AlQuds in the aftermath of the 1967 war, Muslim leaders redoubled their efforts to

face up the developments unraveling in Palestine. Many thought that time had come to set up an entity that would put together the fragmented Islamic Ummah

after the abolition of the Islamic caliphate, which provided an umbrella under whose banner all Islamic peoples lived. The result was an increasing eagerness to revive the bonds of Islamic solidarity(1). In fact, between the years 1965 and

1966 King Faisal floated initiatives to reunite Islamic countries. Truly, the AlAqsa Mosque arson was the spark that ignited passions and provided the driving

force to create a solidarity and unionist framework likely to empower the Muslim

Ummah to defend its interests and sanctities. It also helped achieve the goal of the Ummah that was embraced and sponsored by King Faisal.

The sincere efforts deployed by both King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, King of

Saudi Arabia, and King Hassan II of the Kingdom of Morocco played a major role

in bringing together the leaders and representatives of twenty-five Islamic states in Rabat, capital of Morocco, from 22 to 25 September 1969 at the first Islamic summit, which marks the actual start of the establishment of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The leaders of the Muslim world announced at their first summit the need

to restore the City of Al-Quds in its pre-June 1967 status and to safeguard its

spiritual character. A meeting of the foreign ministers of Muslim countries followed in March 1970 in Jeddah. During that meeting, a decision was made to

1- It should be noted that, following the abolition of the Islamic caliphate, some of the Ummah’s leaders and scholars sought to work out practical alternatives to fill the vacuum left by the absence of the caliphate umbrella. Most prominent among these attempts in terms of intellectual innovation was the project floated by Sanhouri Abdul Razzaq (d. 1971) suggesting the establishment of an institution that would provide a framework for Islamic solidarity. The project was laid out in his Ph.D. thesis entitled “Caliphate Jurisprudence and Evolution towards an Oriental United Nations” written in the aftermath of the abolition of the Caliphate (1926). Another attempt was the Cairo Conference held in 1926 with the support of King Fuad I and Al-Azhar University and with the presence of delegates from 13 countries. There have been subsequent calls for creating an institution that would bring together Muslims and express their solidarity. A number of conferences have been organized in different parts of the Islamic world, most notably the meeting held under the auspices of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud in Makkah. The meeting, held in Dhu al-Hijja 1344 AH/June 1926 AD was attended

by Muslim leaders within the framework of what was then known as ‘World Muslim Congress’ which agreed to hold annual meetings during the Hajj season.

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establish a general secretariat to follow up on the decisions taken in Rabat and to elect a Secretary General to oversee these issues. In 1972, the OIC Charter was adopted, defining the Organization’s objectives and entrusting it with the duty of defending the causes of the Muslim world.

The current Secretary General, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, is the

ninth OIC Secretary General. He took office in January 2005 after his election by

the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers at its 31st Session held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, from 14-16 June 2004. Ihsanoglu is, in fact, the first OIC

Secretary General to be elected through a democratic process and voted to office among several other candidates.

The Late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz - attending the 1st Islamic Summit - Rabat – Morocco (September 1969) (Televised photo)

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The Late King Hassan II - chairing the 1st Islamic Summit - Rabat – Morocco (September 1969) (Televised photo)

In 2005, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, called for an extraordinary summit to be held in Makkah AlMukarramah to address the challenges facing Muslims in the 21st century. The Summit adopted the Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA), which constituted a launch-pad for a new vision capable of keeping pace with the rapidly unfolding changes in the world today. The TYPOA stipulated the importance of amending the OIC Charter to bring it in line with the requirements and exigencies of the times. Indeed, the 11th Islamic Summit held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, over 13 and 14 March 2008, adopted the new OIC Charter. Work is still ongoing to bring to completion the implementation of the clauses enshrined in the TYPOA, which represents a major watershed in the history of the OIC. Today, the OIC having rounded up its fortieth year of existence and having been endowed with an amended Charter and a clear-vision developmental Ten-year Programme of Action, covering all aspects of life and catering to the individual and collective requirements of the OIC Member States, it now looks forward to the future in confidence about its aptitude to assume the mission invested in

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Chapter I

OIC Organs - Chapter I : OIC organs - Islamic Summit : Ordinary & Extraordinary Sessions - Council of Foreign Ministers - Ordinary Meetings - Extraordinary Sessions - Sectoral ministerial meetings - Standing Committees - Executive Committee - International Islamic Court of Justice - Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission - Permanent Representatives Committee - General Secretariat - Secretary General - Assistant Secretaries-General - Departments at the General Secretariat - OIC Organs and Institutions - Subsidiary organs - Specialized institutions - Affiliated institutions

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it, particularly as the General Secretariat has been through a series of in-house reforms over the past few years, making the OIC neatly qualified to represent the Muslim world and defend the interests of Islam and Muslims.

The OIC is composed of the following bodies:

1. The Islamic Summit The Islamic Summit is the OIC supreme authority. It is composed of Kings and Heads of State and Government of the Member States. It convenes once every three years to deliberate, take policy decisions and provide guidance on all issues pertaining to the realization of the objectives inscribed in the Charter.

The Summit also holds extraordinary sessions as needed in keeping with the interests of the Ummah and with the aim of exploring issues of vital importance to the Ummah.

So far, eleven ordinary Islamic summits have been held, as follows: First Summit The First Islamic Summit was held in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, from 22 to 25 September 1969. This First summit focused on examining the possibility of establishing a general secretariat for coordination and follow-up.

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The Late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz

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The Late King Hassan II

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The OIC is an intergovernmental organization set to enhance the bonds of solidarity and cooperation among its Member States, coordinate their endeavors in the political, economic and cultural fields. After four decades of existence, the OIC now constitutes an institutional entity that channels the voice of its Member States. It is equally a framework that streamlines a significant part of the member States’ external relations.

The OIC is the second largest organization of the world after the United

Nations. It is the voice and representative of 1.5 billion Muslims geographically spread over various regions of the world.

I like to recall here that before assuming office in 2005 as the OIC Secretary General, I had been associated with this Organization for almost 25 years, in my capacity as Director General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), a subsidiary organ of the OIC. Having been part of the journey of the OIC for over a quarter of a century, my earnest hope and ambition is to see this Organization reformed, overhauled and placed on a solid and fast track to serve as an engine for progress and prosperity in the Muslim Ummah [nation].

In this context, I like to point out that the Third OIC Extraordinary Summit called for by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, was held in December 2005 and was a milestone that constituted a decisive turning point in the contemporary history of the Muslim world. The Summit adopted a Ten-Year Programme of Action (TYPOA), which as a blueprint of transformation, deals with all domains needed to be reformed individually and collectively within the OIC system. It also drew up guidelines for joint Islamic action undertaken in all fields of development and international relations. While Islamic solidarity is the traditional and spiritual bond that unites the Ummah, new material links and pledges were introduced by the TYPOA to ensure joint action that will engage further concrete cooperation among its governments and peoples. These links cover an all-encompassing set of programmes dealing with political, cultural, socio-economic, and scientific domains, among others, which, when enforced, will set the Muslim world firmly down the path of progress, strength and prosperity.

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The TYPOA defines a set of priorities and ways of how to achieve them

over the next decade, with the aim of bringing development and prosperity to the Muslim world, strengthening its position in global politics and economy to be commensurate with its real demographic, geographic, and economic potentials. It has provided a framework for a prioritized economic programme. It also brings a participatory process, time-bound and measurable goals and objectives. One

of its top priorities was to amend the Charter of the OIC in light of present-day requirements relating to the Muslim world and to the global environment.

Since I assumed my duties at the beginning of 2005, and particularly since

March 2008 under the new vision of the new OIC Charter, I have tried to direct

the OIC towards a two-pronged direction resting on the principles of moderation

and modernization. In this, the OIC stands firm in rejecting and condemning

all forms of fanaticism, extremism, terrorism and bigotry. It emphasizes inter-

civilizational and interfaith dialogue based on mutual respect. The new Charter of the OIC also defends the respect of human rights, including the establishment

of an Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights, and endeavors to

promote good governance, to widen political participation, to reinforce respect of

the rule of law, and to ensure transparency and accountability, while combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejecting all attempts to justify this scourge. A great deal of the efforts of the OIC is now directed towards human

development in the socio-economic spheres through concrete and practical programmes, including poverty alleviation, education, science and technology, combating diseases, humanitarian assistance in case of disasters, and providing equal status to women in society.

All of the above focused on the OIC home front. Now, externally, the OIC

General Secretariat engaged another challenging task with the outside world

in a bid to maintain our dialogue with our counterparts, explaining the Muslim world’s concerns and stands, correcting fallacious perceptions about Islam and Muslims, as well as defending our just causes.

The biggest concern for us, however, was and still is the rise of the

phenomenon of Islamophobia in the West. Although the prophecies of the socalled ‘clash of civilizations’ did not materialize in the real world, this thesis has

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Second Summit The Second Summit was held in Lahore, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 22 to 24 February 1974. This summit accorded special importance to the issue of economic cooperation among Muslim countries.

Third Summit The third summit was held in Makkah Al-Mukaramah and Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 25 to 28 January 1981. This summit approved an action plan for economic cooperation and established a number of standing committees.

The Late King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz addressing the summit (January 1981) (Televised photo)

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Morocco’s late King Hassan II addressing the Summit On the dais, Prince Fahd then Crown Prince, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, and former OIC Secretary General Habib Chatty (January 1981) (Televised photo)

Fourth Summit The fourth summit was held in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco, from 16 to 19 January 1984. This summit dwelt on issues of development in the Muslim world, particularly in the domain of infrastructure.

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Fifth Summit The fifth summit was held in Kuwait under the title 'Session of the Islamic Solidarity' from 26-29 January 1987. The summit discussed the latest developments across the Muslim world, notably the issues of Palestine, the IraqIran war, Afghanistan and Kashmir.

Emir of Kuwait, the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah and H.H. Incumbent Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad (January 1987) (Televised photo)

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Sixth Summit The sixth summit was held in Dakar, capital of Senegal under the title 'Session of Al-Quds, Harmony and Unity' from 9 to 11 December 1991.

Former Senegalese President Abdou Diouf, President of the Summit and former OIC Secretary General Hamid Algabid. (December 1991) (Televised photo)

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Seventh Summit The seventh summit was held in Casablanca, Kingdom of Morocco, under the title 'Session of Fraternity and Revival' from 13 to 15 December 1994.

The late Moroccan King Hassan II chairing the Summit (January 1994) (Televised photo)

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Eighth Summit The eighth summit was held in Tehran, capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the title 'Session of Dignity, Dialogue, Participation' from 9 to 11 December 1997.

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Summit Chairman (December 1997) (Televised photo)

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Ninth Summit The ninth summit was held in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, under the title 'Session of Peace and Development "Al-Aqsa Intifada" ' over 12 and 13 November 2000.

Summit Chairman, Sheikh Hamad, the Emir of the State of Qatar, and former OIC Secretary General Azzeddine Laraki (November 2000) (Televised photo)

The late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat addressing the Summit (November 2000) (Televised photo)

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Tenth Summit The tenth summit was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, under the title 'Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of the Ummah' on 16 -17 October, 2003.

Summit Chairman, former Malaysian PM Dr. Mahathir Mohammad (October 2003) (Televised photo)

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Eleventh Summit The eleventh summit was held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, under the title 'Session of the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century’ over 13 and 14 March 2008.

This Summit adopted the new OIC Charter.

Summit Chairman, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and the OIC Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the opening of the Summit (March 2008)

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The Secretary General Ihsanoglu addressing the Dakar summit. (March 2008)

Signature of reconciliation agreement between Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and his counterpart Chadian President Idriss Deby in Dakar during the summit (March 2008)

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Extraordinary Summits First Extraordinary Summit The first extraordinary summit was held in Islamabad, capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on 23 March 1979, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

Second Extraordinary Summit The second extraordinary summit was held in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, on Wednesday, 5 March 2003, to discuss the issue of threats against Iraq.

Third Extraordinary Summit The third extraordinary summit was held on an invitation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over 7 and 8 December 2005. The Summit adopted the Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA), which seeks to reform the OIC and upgrade its working tools and performance in order to keep pace with unfolding developments. The TYPOA also aims at empowering the Muslim Ummah to live up to the new challenges of the 21st century.

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Leaders of the Muslim world participating in the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah Al-Mukarramah (7 -8 December 2005)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu at the opening of the Summit (Makkah- December 2005)

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2. Council of Foreign Ministers The Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) examines the ways and means of implementing the general policy of the OIC and adopts the decisions and recommendations on issues of common concern. The CFM adopts the programs and budgets of the General Secretariat and the OIC subsidiary organs. It also elects the Secretary General and appoints assistant secretaries-general. Since the founding of the OIC, the CFM has held thirty-six session meetings, as follows: First Session: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 1970 Second Session: Karachi, Pakistan, December 1970 Third Session: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, February - March 1972 Fourth Session: Benghazi, Libya, March 1973 Fifth Session: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 1974 Sixth Session: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 1975 Seventh Session: Istanbul, Turkey, May 1976 Eighth Session: Tripoli, Libya, May 1977 Ninth Session : Dakar, Senegal, April 1978 Tenth Session: Fes, Morocco, March 1979 Eleventh Session: Islamabad, Pakistan, May 1980 Twelfth Session: Baghdad, Iraq, June 1981 Thirteenth Session: Niamey, Niger, August 1982 Fourteenth Session : Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 1983 Fifteenth Session : Sana’a, Yemen, December 1984 Sixteenth Session: Fez, Morocco, January 1986 Seventeenth Session: Amman, Jordan, March 1988 Eighteenth Session: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 1989 Nineteenth Session: Cairo, Egypt, July-August 1990

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Twentieth Session: Istanbul, Turkey, August 1991 Twenty-first Session : Karachi, Pakistan, April 1993 Twenty-second Session : Casablanca, Morocco, December 1994 Twenty-third Session : Conakry, Guinea, December 1995 Twenty-fourth Session: Jakarta, Indonesia, December 1996 Twenty-fifth Session: Doha, Qatar, March 1998 Twenty-sixth Session: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, June-July 1999 Twenty-seventh Session: Bamako, Mali, June 2001 Twenty-eighth Session: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 2000 Twenty-ninth Session: Khartoum, Sudan, June 2002 Thirtieth Session: Tehran, Iran, May 2003 Thirty-first Session: Istanbul, Turkey, June 2004 Thirty-second Session: Sana’a, Yemen, June 2005 Thirty-third Session: Baku, Azerbaijan, June 2006 Thirty-fourth Session: Islamabad, Pakistan, May 2007 Thirty-fifth Session: Kampala, Uganda, June 2008 Thirty-sixth Session: Damascus, Syria, May-June 2009

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Extraordinary CFM Sessions The CFM has held several extraordinary sessions, as follows: - Islamabad, Pakistan, January 1980, to discuss the issue of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan - Amman, Jordan, July 1980, to discuss developments in Palestine and AlQuds - Fes, Kingdom of Morocco, September 1980, to discuss developments in Palestine and Al-Quds - Istanbul, Turkey, July 1992 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, December 1992 - Islamabad, Pakistan, September 1994 - Doha, Qatar, May 2001 - Doha, Qatar, October 2001 - Doha, Qatar, December 2001 - Putrajaya, Malaysia, April 2002

CFM Annual Coordination Meetings Once a year, a CFM coordination meeting is held in New York on the sidelines of the Ordinary Session of the UN General Assembly. The meeting is devoted to the discussion of issues of concern for the Muslim world that are included in the agenda of the General Assembly. The meeting also contributes to coordinating positions of the OIC Member States vis-à-vis these issues. It also explores a number of issues of ongoing concern, such as the dossier of Al-Quds City, Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir, Somalia and Sierra Leone.

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Sectoral Ministerial Meetings Information Ministers Conference Sessions The first session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers was held in Jeddah in October 1988 in pursuance of the resolution adopted by the Fifth Islamic Summit held in Kuwait in 1987. So far, eight sessions of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers have been held, as follows: First Session: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 11-12 October 1988 Second Session: Cairo, Egypt, 26 - 27 January 1991 Third Session: Damascus, Syria, 24 - 25 May 1995 Fourth Session: Dakar, Senegal, 29 - 30 November 1997 Fifth Session: Tehran, Iran, 1 -2 December 1999 Sixth Session: Cairo, Egypt, 10 - 11 March 2003

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Seventh Session: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 13 - 14 September 2006 Eighth Session: Rabat, Morocco, 27 -28 January 2009

Ministers of Culture Conference Sessions Until today, six Sessions of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers of

Culture have been held, as follows: First Session: Dakar, Senegal, 25 to 26 January 1989

Second Session: Rabat, Morocco, 12 to 14 November 1998 Third Session: Doha, Qatar, 29 to 31 December 2001 Fourth Session: Algiers, Algeria, 15 to 16 December 2004 Fifth Session: Tripoli, Libya, 21-23 November 2007 Sixth Session: Baku, Azerbaijan, 13-15 October 2009

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Ministers of Education and Scientific Research Conference Sessions So far, four sessions of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers of Education and Scientific Research have been held. The first Session was held in Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 15 to 18 October 2000. Three sessions followed, one of which was held in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, from 6 to 9 September 2003, while the third session was hosted by Kuwait City between 19 and 21 November 2006. The fourth and latest session was held from 6 to 8 October 2008 in Baku, capital of Azerbaijani.

Ministers of Tourism Conference Sessions Six sessions of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers of Tourism have been held so far, the latest being held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, from 1st to 3rd July 2008.

The first session was held in the city of Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran, from 3rd to 4th October 2000. The second was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 12 to 13 October 2001. A third one followed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from 7 to 9 October 2003. The fourth session was held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, from 29 to 30 March 2005, and, over the period from 9 to 12 September 2006, the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, hosted the fifth one.

Conference Sessions of the Ministers in charge of Women's Affairs Two sessions on women and their role in the development of Muslim societies have been held. The first one was held in Istanbul, Turkey, over 21 and 22 November 2006. The second was held in Cairo, capital of Egypt, over 24 and 25 November 2008.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Conference Sessions of the Ministers in charge of Children Two sessions of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers in charge of Children have been held so far, the first of which was held in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, from 7 to 9 November 2005, while the second one was held in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, from 1st to 3rd February 2009.

Conference Sessions of the Ministers of Health So far, two sessions of the Islamic Conference of the Ministers of Health have been held, the first of which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 12 and 15 June 2007, and the second in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from 1st to 4th March 2009.

Conference Sessions of Environment Ministers So far, three sessions of the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers in the OIC Member States have been held. The first and second sessions were both held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 10 to 12 June 2002, and from 13 to 15 December 2006, respectively. The latest session was held in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, over 29 and 30 October, 2008.

Conference Sessions of the Ministers in charge of Water The First Islamic Conference of the OIC Ministers in charge of Water was held on the sidelines of the 5th World Water Forum hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 March 2009.

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3 - Standing Committees The OIC has set up the following standing committees to address issues of paramount importance for the Organization and its Member States.

Al-Quds Committee Al-Quds Committee was established pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 6th CFM held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 12-15 July 1975. The Committee is chaired by the King of Morocco. It is seated in Rabat, capital of Morocco, and its membership includes sixteen countries.

The Committee aims to follow up on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit pertaining to Al-Quds and Palestine. An offshoot agency called 'Bayt Mal al-Quds ' [Al-Quds Fund] was created to offer assistance to the Palestinian population and institutions in the holy city of Al-Quds and to help preserve Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC) The COMIAC was established pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 3rd Islamic Summit Conference held concurrently in Makkah Al-Mukaramah and Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in January 1981. The COMIAC seeks to enhance the role of information and culture in the Muslim world, develop information technology, and bridge the digital gap in the OIC Member States. It also strives to sensitize international public opinion to the causes of the Islamic Ummah. The COMIAC, based in Dakar, capital of Senegal, is chaired by the President of the Republic of Senegal.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) The COMCEC was established pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 3rd Islamic Summit held concurrently in Makkah Al-Mukarammah and Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in January 1981. This Committee coordinates joint Islamic action in the fields of economy and trade and builds the proper infrastructure for such work through the articulation of programs, agreements, and treaties that serve this purpose. The COMCEC, chaired by the President of Turkey, follows up on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Islamic Conference in the economic, commercial fields. (See URL www.comcec.org )

Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) The COMSTECH was established in January 1981 pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 3rd Islamic Summit Conference held concurrently in Makkah Al-Mukarammah and Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This Committee is concerned with the scientific and technological fields, as well as developing scientific and technological research in the OIC Member States by putting together scientific and technological programs and studies. The COMSTECH is chaired by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and is based in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. (See URL www.comstech.org )

4 - Executive Committee The Executive Committee is composed of the incumbent, the former and the next Islamic Summit Chairmen (Troika) along with the incumbent, former and the next Chairmen of the CFM as well as the General Secretariat's host country (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and the Secretary General, who is an ex officio member.

The Committee meets, if and when necessary, to discuss the latest developments and emergency issues arising in between ministerial sessions.

Since its inception in 2005, the Executive Committee has held eight meetings.

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5 - Permanent Representatives Committee This Committee is composed of the Member countries’ representatives

accredited to the OIC. The CFM defines the functions of this committee.

6 - International Islamic Court of Justice (IICJ) The IICJ was established pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 5th Islamic

Summit held in Kuwait in 1987 for it to form the key OIC judicial organ as of the date of entry in force of its Statute.

7 - Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights The establishment of the Commission on Human Rights was announced

pursuant to a resolution adopted by the 3rd Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in

Makkah Al-Mukarramah in 2005, as part of TYPOA clauses. The objective of the

commission is to promote civil, political, social, and economic rights included in the OIC covenants and announcements as well as in universal human rights covenants in line with Islamic values.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

8 – The General Secretariat The General Secretariat is the chief OIC administrative body. It is the

executive organ of the OIC. The Secretary General is invested with the following responsibilities:

• Follows up on the implementation of resolutions and recommendations adopted by summits, CFMs and other ministerial meetings.

• Draws up working papers and explanatory memos pursuant to the

resolutions adopted by the Summits and the CFMs, in addition to the activity budget program and budget of the General Secretariat.

• Submits annual reports to the CFM on the work of the OIC. He draws the attention of the OIC organs to issues he deems useful or otherwise to the objectives of the Organization.

• Carries out other tasks entrusted to him by the Summit or the CFM. • Submits nominations of the Assistant Secretaries-General for five-years.

• Appoints staff at the General Secretariat from among nationals of the OIC Member States on the basis of professional competence, integrity, gender equality and equitable geographical distribution. The Secretary General is also entitled to appoint experts and consultants on a temporary basis.

• The Secretary General may appoint special representatives in line with the resolutions adopted by the Islamic Summit and the CFM upon approval by the CFM. The General Secretariat may also establish subsidiary organs or specialized institutions following approval by the CFM. • The Secretary General is elected by the CFM for a term of five years, renewable once.

The post of OIC Secretary General has been held by the following personalities:

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Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia (1970-1973)

He was born in 1903 in Alor Star, Malaysia. He is the son of the Sultan of the state of Kedah in northwest Malaysia. He pursued his studies in Malaysia, Thailand and England.

The first OIC Secretary General, Tunku Abdul Rahman, with General Secretariat staff

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

He is the founder and first Chief Minister of Malaya Peninsula (19571963). He also served as Prime Minister of Malaysia between 1963 and 1970.

He was the first to assume the post of OIC Secretary General in 1970, and continued in that position until 1973. He died in 1990 Hassan Al-Touhami, Egypt (1974 - 1975) He was born on 26 April 1924 in Egypt. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1942 and became infantry officer. He took part in the Palestinian war in 1948.

In March 1973, Al-Touhami was named OIC Secretary General and held that position until December 1975.

He had been appointed as political adviser to the President of the Republic of Egypt in 1969. He then became Secretary General of the Presidency of the

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Republic. He also served as adviser for religious affairs with the grade of deputy prime minister. He died in 2009.

Amadou Karim Gaye, Senegal (1976 - 1979) A politician having held several ministerial positions in Senegal, Gaye was born on 8 November 1913 in the city of St. Louis, then capital of Senegal.

He held several ministerial posts, namely in the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Planning, and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technical Cooperation. Between June 1968 and June 1972, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Senegal. After that, he chaired the Economic and Social Council from June 1972 until November 1975.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

He was appointed OIC Secretary General in 1975 and held that position until January 1980. He died in 2000.

Habib Chatty, Tunisia (1980 - 1984) A man of politics, he was born in the city of M’saken in Tunisia on August 9,

1916. He worked in journalism starting in 1937, and contributed to the national struggle against French colonialism.

He took on the administration of the Prime Minister Office and was named

in 1955 as Director of Information in the first Tunisian Ministry to be set up

post-independence. He worked as Tunisian Ambassador to several countries. In the early 1970s he was entrusted with the responsibility of managing President

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Habib Bourguiba's Court. In January 1974, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, and remained in office until January 1977.

Chatty was selected in October 1979 to hold the position of OIC Secretary

General and remained in office until 1984. He died in 1991.

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Pakistan (1985 - 1988) Born in June 1923, Pirzada is a Pakistani lawmaker.

He was educated at Bombay University in India in 1945. He held several functions in the field of legal consultancy in his own country and abroad. He also served as Foreign Minister of Pakistan. He was selected to fill the position of OIC

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Secretary General between 1985 and 1988. He was one of the members of the Panel of Eminent Jurists tasked in 2007 to review the OIC Charter.

Hamid Algabid, Niger (1989 - 1996) Algabid was born in 1941 in Niger and earned a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne University, France, in 1988.

He held several ministerial posts in his country. He was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Trade and Finance. He became Prime Minister between 1983 and 1988.

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Prof. Ihsanoglu and Dr. Hamid Algabid (April 2006)

He was appointed Secretary General of the OIC between 1989 to 1996. He

contributed to the work conducted by the high-level committee that formulated the new Charter in 2006-2007.

Azzedine Laraki, Morocco (1997 - 2000)

Dr. Azzeddine Laraki was born in 1929 in the city of Fes, Kingdom of

Morocco. He enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine in Paris from which he obtained a doctorate in 1957. He held a chair at the Faculty of Medicine in Rabat.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Dr. Laraki engaged in politics by joining in 1942 in the Istiqlal [Independence] Party. He became Prime Minister in 1986 after holding the position of Minister of Education. In 1996, he was appointed OIC Secretary General, a post he held until 2000.

Dr. Azzeddine Laraki has published several scientific and literary research works.

He was a member of many national and foreign scientific associations. He died in 2010.

Abdelouahed Belkeziz, Morocco (2001 - 2004) Belkeziz was born on 5 July 1939 in Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco. He worked in the academic and diplomatic fields.

After obtaining a Ph.D. in Law from the Faculty of Law in Rennes, France, he was appointed in 1977 as Moroccan ambassador in Baghdad, then Minister of Information, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs over 1983 and 1985.

He served as Dean of Mohammed V University in Rabat. In 2000, he was selected to serve as OIC Secretary General until the end of December 2004.

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Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Turkey (2005 -2013) Ihsanoglu is a Turkish scholar and diplomat. He was born in Cairo in 1943.

He received his Bsc. in 1966 from the University of Ain-Shams, and a Master's Degree in chemistry from the University of Al-Azhar in 1970. In 1974, he earned a Ph.D. Degree from the University of Ankara, Turkey. In the period from 1975 to 1977, he was a visiting professor at the University of Exeter in the UK. Ihsanoglu held the general directorship of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Culture and Arts (IRCICA) in Istanbul, an OIC subsidiary organ from 1980 to 2004. He served as a faculty member in several faculties of science and then became the first professor and founding Head of the Department of History of Science of Istanbul University. He is also the founding Chairman of the Turkish Society for History of Science (TBTK) and ISAR Foundation. He further served as President of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS) between 2001 and 2005. He is a member of various international societies, scientific councils, advisory boards of numerous international academies, centers and institutes, and editorial boards of many international journals.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Incumbent OIC Secretary General, Prof. Ihsanoglu (far right), along with four former Secretaries General (from right to left: Habib Chatty, Hassan Al-Touhami, Karim Gaye, and Sharifuddin Pirzada (At the celebrations of the 20th Anniversary of the creation of the OIC, Jeddah, 7 February 1990)

He published numerous books, articles and papers in Turkish, English and Arabic on science, history of science, Islamic culture, Turkish culture, relations between the Muslim and Western worlds, and Turkish-Arab relations, some of which were translated to Russian, French, Japanese, Korean, Bosnian, Albanian, and Malay.

He took on the position of OIC Secretary General in January 2005. In fact, he is the first Secretary General ever to be elected by vote to the position. In 2008, The Kings and Heads of Government of the OIC Member States elected him for a second term in office.

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Assistant Secretaries General

The Assistant Secretaries-General assist the Secretary General in carrying out

his multiple tasks and responsibilities. They also represent him at some meetings.

The Secretary General submits nominations for the appointment of the Assistant

Secretaries-General for a five-year term in accordance with the principle of equitable geographical distribution, taking into account their competence, integrity and dedication to serving the objectives of the OIC Charter. One of the positions of assistant secretary-general is allocated to the dossier of Al-Quds and Palestine.

Departments at the OIC General Secretariat

Cabinet of the Secretary General

The Cabinet follows up on and coordinates the work of the various

departments. It prepares and finalizes the reports of the Secretary General in addition to coordinating with subsidiary organs, specialized institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. It also coordinates protocol issues.

The functions of the General Secretariat are allocated across departments,

as follows:

Department of Palestine and Al-Quds Al- Sharif

This department undertakes the follow-up on developments related to the

Palestinian and Al-Quds issues. It also coordinates between the OIC General Secretariat and Palestinian institutions. The Department puts together documents on Palestine and Al-Quds for ministerial meetings. It also formulates media plans to impart information to the public about the Palestinian cause.

Islamic Office for the Boycott of Israel

The Office monitors and follows up on the implementation of the provisions of

economic boycott against Israel in the OIC Member States and the implementation

of the decisions taken by summits and ministerial meetings in this regard. It also urges states to refrain from dealing with Israel in any direct or indirect ways.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

The General Directorate of Political Affairs This Directorate follows up on a host of political affairs that concern the Muslim world in general, including African, Arab, Asian, Balkan and Western world affairs. It also oversees relations with international and regional organizations. The General Directorate is entrusted with files on disarmament, conflict resolution, contribution to peace-building operations and security in the OIC Member States in accordance with the decisions adopted by the Islamic Summit and CFMs. It also follows up on the issues of terrorism and studies various international and regional political issues.

Department of Economic Affairs

This department puts together studies and research reports on the economic

situation in the Muslim world. It oversees the promotion of economic and trade cooperation by urging states to implement the TYPOA and the resolutions of the

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) and the Islamic Center for Development of Trade (ICDT). It is also in charge of the relations of the General Secretariat with the OIC economic and financial

organs, such as the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

Information Department

This department carries out the dissemination of information on and defense

of the Muslim world and joint Islamic causes. It also sensitizes the public to the work, mission and objectives of the OIC as well as covers the activities,

initiatives and stands of the Organization. The Information Department publishes the outcome of meetings and conferences held under the banner of the OIC. It also

publishes press releases issued by the Organization, which express its positions and views about various issues and events. Additionally, the Information Department monitors various media content and issues a number of media publications.

The General Directorate of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs This Directorate is concerned with issues of a cultural character in the Muslim world. It examines, studies and follows up on issues related to interfaith and intercultural dialogue and the Alliance of Civilizations. It prioritizes tackling Islamophobic campaigns, the preservation of the Islamic character of the City of

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Al-Quds, and the protection of Islamic sanctities across the world. It also supports cooperation between the Member States in the fields of culture, education, social development, and the advancement of women, the family, children and youth.

The General Directorate oversees the OIC Islamophobia Observatory, which was established in 2007 under the General Secretariat with the objective of following up and monitoring the phenomenon of Islamophobia, particularly with the phenomenon having taken on such grave dimensions in recent years and having turned into a source of great concern to the Muslim world. The Observatory is entrusted with the task of preparing and issuing an annual report that lays forth the manifestations of Islamophobia at all levels as well as the initiatives undertaken by the OIC General Secretariat in this regard.

Department of Da'wa Affairs This department seeks to streamline and coordinate efforts of Islamic Da'wa [propagation of Islamic teachings and values] across the world and to coordinate them through Da'wa organizations, institutions and societies that are members of the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Islamic Action and its spin-off committees. The department also organizes international seminars and conferences in order to showcase the real and civilizational image of Islam to the world.

The General Directorate of Administration and Finance The General Directorate of Administration & Finance of the OIC General Secretariat comprises two separate departments: the Administration Department, which is in charge of all administrative affairs that include human resource, personnel management procedures, maintenance, procurements, travel arrangements, assets management, security services and so on; and the Finance Department, which is responsible for providing the financial services that include the management, documentation and preparations of final accounts and other audit-related matters as well as the preparation, implementation and maintaining of annual budgets and any other financial issues. Both departments are also responsible to coordinate and cooperate with the OIC subsidiary organs and other institutions on all administrative and financial matters for the General Secretariat of the OIC. The overall functions of the General Directorate of Administration & Finance ensure the sound and efficient administrative and financial management of the OIC resources and funds, in accordance with OIC Personnel Regulations & Financial Rules as well as any other policies and procedures in effect.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

Internal Audit Department

Internal audit seeks to ensure an independent advisory work, which aims to

add value to and improve the OIC performance as well as ensure the proper and neat application of the regulations. Internal audit also strives to ensure the effective and rational use of resources and the accuracy of account statements and data.

Department of Protocol and Public Relations

This department's key function lies in carrying out protocol tasks and

communications as well as addressing issues related to the privileges and

immunity of the Organization and its staff. The Department also functions as the public relations arm of the OIC. Conference Section

This department undertakes the task of preparing, translating, printing,

archiving and circulating conference documents to Member States, as well as

arranging meetings at the General Secretariat together with summit and ministerial conferences in coordination with host countries.

Department of Legal Affairs

This department deals with legal and regulatory issues relevant to the General

Secretariat and its subsidiary organs. It examines and studies draft conventions and

international treaties of interest to the Member States or those which the Member

States are invited to join. The department also undertakes the legal procedures for the deposit, registration and publication of treaties and agreements. It provides

legal advice to the various departments at the General Secretariat and to the OIC

subsidiary organs, whenever necessary. It also follows up on all matters pertaining to human rights issues and to the legal aspects of terrorism.

Department of Science and Technology, Health and Environment

This department strives to enhance scientific and technological development

in the Muslim world by ensuring the implementation of the resolutions of the

Islamic Conference in the field of scientific and technological cooperation among

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the Member States. It also follows up on activities of the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) and other concerned subsidiary organs.

Department of Muslim Minorities and Communities

This department follows up and monitors issues affecting Muslim minorities

and communities in non-OIC Member States. Moreover, it undertakes the task of

providing data, information and statistics on Muslim communities and organizes contacts and relations with them and their host countries.

Department of Humanitarian Affairs

This is a new department created back in 2008. It is concerned with Islamic

relief work. It coordinates relief efforts conducted individually by the OIC Member

States and among charities and civil society institutions in the Member States on the one hand, and international organizations and civil society institutions on the other.

IT Department

The main function of the department is to oversee and manage the IT

infrastructure at the General Secretariat. It manages and maintains the local

network of the various departments at the OIC General Secretariat. It also provides the means of preserving the security of information, and the follow-up and update of the OIC electronic archive database. It is in charge of designing,

developing and regularly updating the OIC website, in addition to providing

technical supervision over the management and classification of documents and the provision of special IT services during conferences and meetings, as well as offering technical advice as needed.

Library

The library was established in 2007 at the OIC General Secretariat. It

undertakes the task of gathering, organizing and classifying all OIC publications.

It acquires the latest publications on issues of interest to the OIC. It also electronically indexes all publications by using advanced information systems.

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

OIC Organs and Institutions The OIC has subsidiary organs and specialised institutions. The subsidiary

organs are established within the OIC in accordance with the resolutions of the Islamic Summits and Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). The latter approves

their budgets. The specialised institutions are of a voluntary and open membership

to the OIC Member States and enjoy independent budgets. There are also affiliated institutions which are recognised by the CFM and whose objectives are

in line with those established in the OIC Charter. Their membership is voluntary and open to all OIC Member States organs and institutions. Their budgets are independent from those of the OIC General Secretariat, its subsidiary organs or specialised institutions.

The OIC subsidiary organs and specialised and affiliated institutions play a

vital role in the implementation of the policies and objectives of the Organisation in all spheres.

Subsidiary Organs Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF)

The Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) was established in pursuance of a

resolution adopted by the 2nd Islamic Summit Conference held in February 1974 in Lahore, Pakistan.

The ISF was established to assist a number of small cultural, social and relief

activities in the Muslim World and among Muslim communities and minorities living in non-Muslim states. (www.isf-fsi.org)

Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC)

The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for

Islamic Countries (SESRIC) was founded in pursuance of a resolution adopted by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) held in Tripoli in 1977.

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The principal objective of the Centre is to enhance research, conduct studies,

and collect, collate and disseminate statistics on the socio-economic conditions in the Muslim World with a view to enhancing development projects in the OIC Member States. The Centre is based in Ankara, Republic of Turkey. (www.sesrtcic.org)

Islamic University of Technology (IUT)

The Islamic University of Technology (IUT) was initially established as an

Islamic Centre in pursuance of a resolution adopted by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) held in Dakar, Senegal in 1978. Later, it became the Islamic University of Technology.

The main objective of the University is to offer help in terms of human

resources development in member states of the OIC, in different fields of

engineering, technology and technical and vocational education. The IUT is based in Dhaka, People’s Republic of Bangladesh. (www.iutoic-dhaka.edu)

Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA)

The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Istanbul in 1976,

adopted a proposal to establish the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) which started its activities in 1980, undertaking research and

studies, relating to history, culture and art in the Muslim World and documentation thereof. The Centre is also a gathering space for Muslim scholars and researchers in these fields of interest. It comprises a big library which has a large number of

rare books about the Islamic world and civilization. It also publishes a variety of studies and books in different languages in various fields of interest. IRCICA is seated in Istanbul in the historical Yildiz Palace. (www.ircica.org)

International Islamic Fiqh Academy

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy was founded in pursuance of a

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

resolution adopted by the Third Islamic Summit Conference, held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Taif in 1981. The academy conducts in-depth Islamic Fiqh

(jurisprudence) studies relating to the world’s contemporary issues in different spheres of life. It also performs the task of Ijtihad (independent reasoning) and

issuance of jurisprudence decisions and Fatwa (legal opinion) regarding religious and life matters referred to it. It has recently been developed to be the highest

reference of Fatwa and it has the mandate of coordinating Fatwa with a view

to counter erring and extremist thoughts which misuse religion and the Fatwa exercise.

The Academy is seated in the city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (www.fiqhacademy.org)

Islamic Centre for the Development of Trade (ICDT) The Third Islamic Summit Conference approved the statute of the ICDT

in 1981. The Centre develops and encourages OIC intra-trade through the organisation of exhibitions, symposia and training sessions as well as through conducting economic studies and research.

The Centre is headquartered in Casablanca (Kingdom of Morocco). (www.icdt-oic.org)

Specialized Institutions Islamic Development Bank (IDB) The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an OIC specialized financing

institution, was established in pursuance of a resolution adopted by the Islamic

Conference of Finance Ministers held in Jeddah in December 1973. The Bank was officially opened on 20 October 1975.

The purpose of the Bank is to foster socio-economic development in

member countries and among Muslim communities in non-member countries

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(individually and collectively) in conformity with the principles of Shari’ah.

The Bank provides a wide range of services to member countries to enhance their human development. This includes trade financing and encouragement of investments and all forms of economic cooperation among member countries.

The Bank establishes and operates special funds for specific purposes, one of these being the Fund for Assistance to Muslim communities in non-member

countries. The IDB also supervises trust funds and provides member countries with technical assistance, training facilities for personnel engaged in economic,

financial and banking activities and helps member countries to develop their intra-trade of manufactured goods.

The main condition for accession to IDB membership is for the applicant State

be a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and a regular payer of its contribution to the capital of the Bank as may be decided by the IDB Board of

Governors. The present membership of the Bank consists of 56 countries. The Bank’s

authorised capital is 30 billion Islamic Dinars (ID)(1) and its subscribed capital is ID15 billions. The Bank’s principal office is in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (www.isdb.org)

Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO)

ISESCO is a specialised institution of the OIC in the fields of education,

science and culture in the Islamic world.

It was established by virtue of a resolution of the Islamic Conference of

Foreign Ministers held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in May 1980. ISESCO’s constituent conference was held in Fez, Kingdom of Morocco, in May 1982.

The objectives of ISESCO include strengthening cooperation among

member states in the field of education, science, culture and communication; promoting the positive image of Islam and Islamic culture; encouraging dialogue between civilisations, cultures and religions and promoting the values of justice,

(1)1 The value of the Islamic Dinar is subject to fluctuation as it is tied to a currency basket. Its value in August 2009 was equal to US$ 1.560591.

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peace, freedom and human rights in conformity with the perspective of Islamic

civilisation and with due consideration to the preservation of cultural identity and intellectual independence. The Organisation also provides support to the

educational, scientific and cultural institutions of the Muslims in non-member countries.

The ISESCO is headquartered in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. (www.isesco.org.ma) International Islamic News Agency (IINA) The International Islamic News Agency was established in March 1972 with a view to develop close relations among mass media in the field of information and to expand communication and technical cooperation between news agencies in the OIC member states. The Seventh Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (2006) decided to restructure the Agency.

The Agency is headquartered in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (www.iina.me) Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU) The Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU) was established in 1975 with the aim of enhancing cooperation among broadcasting institutions in the Islamic world and exchanging radio and TV programmes serving the OIC objectives. The Union is due to witness some reform and fresh development process.

The headquarters of the Union are located in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (www.isboo.org)

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Affiliated Institutions Islamic University of Niger (IUN)

The Islamic University of Niger (IUN) was created in pursuance of a

resolution adopted by the 2nd Islamic Summit Conference held in Lahore, Pakistan in February 1974. The IUN promotes the Islamic culture and education in the broader sense and assists in preserving Islamic identity and improving

the conditions of Muslims in the West African region. In addition it promotes knowledge and encourages scientific research. (www.universite-say.ne)

World Federation of Arabo-Islamic International Schools (WFAIIS)

The World Federation of Arabo-Islamic International Schools was established

in 1976. It represents the Arabo-Islamic Schools all over the world and seeks to support and assist them.

The Federation’s headquarters is located in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt. (www.wfais.org)

Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC)

The Islamic Committee of the International Crescent was established in

1977 to provide medical and humanitarian assistance during natural or man-made disasters.

The Headquarters of the Committee is located in Benghazi, the Great

Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)

The Statute of the Chamber was adopted in December 1978 in Karachi.

The Chamber represents the private sector in 57 member countries and works

on developing closer collaboration in the fields of commerce, information

technology, insurance/reinsurance, shipping, banking, promotion of investment

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and joint venture opportunities in the private sector of the member countries.

The headquarters of the Chamber is located in Karachi, Pakistan. (www.iccionline.net) Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC) The Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities was officially founded in 1980 to consolidate collaboration among the member states’ capitals and cities.

The headquarters of the OICC is located in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the offices of its General Secretariat are based in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (www.oicc.org) Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation was founded by virtue of a resolution adopted by the Third Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah/ Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in January 1981 (1401H). The Federation is aimed at strengthening Islamic solidarity among youth in Member States.

The headquarters of the ISSF are in the Saudi Capital, Riyadh.

Organisation of the Islamic Shipowners Association (OISA) The Organisation of the Islamic Shipowners Association was created in January 1981 (1401H) to coordinate and unify the efforts of maritime companies with a view to developing maritime transport in Member Countries.

The OISA headquarters are located in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (www.oisaonline.com) Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) The Islamic World Academy for Sciences was established in 1986 with the aim of strengthening the capacities of the Islamic world in the field of science and technology.

The headquarters of the Academy are located in Amman, Jordan. (www.ias-worldwide.org)

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Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries (FCIC)

The Federation of Consultants from Islamic Countries was established in

1986 to assist in the development of consultancy services in Islamic countries and encourage the various disciplines in the profession to attain a high degree of proficiency and competence.

The headquarters of the Federation are located in Istanbul, Turkey. (www.fcic-org.com)

The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU)

The IUIU commenced its activities back in 1988. It is a leading institution

in the field of higher education in the east African region. Its core task is to disseminate knowledge, cultivate skills, provide training programs as well as encourage scientific research. (www.iuiu.ac.ug)

International Union of Muslim Scouts (IUMS)

The International Union of Muslim Scouts comprises scouts bodies and

associations representing Muslim scouts all over the world. It was granted the affiliated-institution status in 1994. The Union aims at promoting scouting activities and building self-reliance among Muslim youth.

The headquarters of IUMS are located in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia.

(www.iums.net)

Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC)

The Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation became

an OIC affiliated institution in 2005. It seeks to coordinate youth activities in the OIC Member States.

The ICYF-DC headquarters are located in Istanbul, Turkey. (www.icyf.com)

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Chapter II

OIC itinerary 1 - OIC role in promoting Islamic unity 2- Reform process - Ten-Year Program of Action - Charter 3- OIC External Relations - United Nations - European Union - League of Arab States - African Union - Gulf Cooperation Council

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1- OIC Role in Promoting Islamic Unity Since its establishment, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference has been dedicated to serving the objectives of Islamic solidarity and defending the just causes of the Ummah, foremost of which that of Al-Quds and Palestine. The OIC has consistently enhanced joint Islamic action and has, over the past four decades, become an Islamic forum defending the just causes of the Muslim Ummah at all international and regional fora and institutions.

The establishment of various subsidiary and specialised organs within the OIC has helped to develop mechanisms for joint Islamic solidarity and to expand such mechanisms to include the commercial, economic and cultural cooperation domains. Similarly, the OIC Islamic solidarity activities have helped in the promotion of the values of fraternity and collaboration among the Muslim peoples across the globe. These activities have reached Muslim communities and minorities in non-member countries and helped to resolve many problems and difficulties which have occurred occasionally.

This has been helpful to the Organisation in gaining adequate experience in conflict resolution and preservation of peace among member states. The OIC was instrumental in addressing the consequences of the conflict between the two parts of Pakistan, which led to the independence of Bangladesh. In addition, the Casablanca Charter which was adopted by the Fourth Islamic Summit in 1984, provided for a number of initiatives to this end.

The OIC played a significant role in convincing the conflicting parties in Iraq to sign the “Makkah Document on the Situation in Iraq” in 2006 to end the sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites.

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Professor Ihsanoglu with Iraqi Sunni and Shiite Scholars after signing Makka Document Makka Al-Mukarrama (October 2006)

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2- Reform process Over the past decade, the OIC Member States realised the dire need for the

role of the Organisation to be invigorated and for them to focus their efforts on overcoming the state of disfunction and weakness of joint Islamic action resulting

from the stagnating human development movement in many countries of the

Islamic world and the widespread unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and lack

of potential. Therefore, calls for reform and radical change emerged to enable the Ummah to preserve its identity, civilisation and human values against the challenges deriving from the global situation.

The leaders of the Islamic world realised the need for an enhanced cooperation

in order to meet these challenges and for practical initiatives to be adopted in that direction so as to revive and revitalize the pioneer role of the Islamic Ummah.

In response to these calls, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King

Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, launched an invitation to the leaders of the Ummah to convene in an OIC extraordinary conference to address the causes of solidarity and joint Islamic action.

These efforts resulted in the Makkah Al-Mukarrama Extraordinary Summit

being held in December 2005 with a view to take practical and effective decisions

to work through the obstacles standing in the way of achieving a real renaissance at the political, economic, cultural and social levels all over the Islamic world.

In preparation for this Extraordinary Summit, an elite group of intellectuals, scholars and specialists in different disciplines met to contribute realistic and

optimal solutions. The Extraordinary Summit approved a ten-year programme of action prepared by the General Secretariat, providing well-considered and

realistic programmes as well as solutions to meet challenges and develop the

Islamic world through joint efforts in all spheres of political, socio-economic, cultural and scientific life.

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Ten-Year Programme of Action The Ten-Year Programme of Action (TYPOA), a document setting the

means to achieve reform in the Islamic world, was unanimously adopted in December 2005 by the leaders of the Member States participating in the Makkah Al-Mukarrama Extraordinary Summit.

The TYPOA adopted a number of significant measures such as strengthening

the bonds of solidarity and collaboration among Member States in various fields,

establishing the values of moderation and tolerance, combating extremism, violence and terrorism, and countering Islamophobia.

In the economic and scientific fields, the TYPOA calls for the enhancement

of development and prosperity, and the promotion of intra-OIC trade given the

abundant economic resources and potentials of the OIC Member States. Priority is given to the situation of the least-developed countries, in particular, in Africa.

Similarly, the Ten-Year Programme of Action focuses on education

and culture to tackle the spread of illiteracy and support the efforts aimed at improving educational curricula in the fields of science and technology, and

achieving scientific excellence and constructive education for the present and

future generations. In addition, the TYPOA called for the OIC Charter to be amended through the introduction of new principles, objectives and visions in order for it to be in alignment with the present-day challenges, and in order for

the Organisation’s role to be boosted in all its fields of activity. This would make it more capable of advancing in the fields of reform, development and progress

including the empowerment of Muslim women and supporting their efforts for the development of the Muslim communities.

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Charter After exhaustive discussions among scholars, jurists, politicians and

diplomats for two years, the Eleventh Islamic Summit held in March 2008 in

Dakar, Senegal, adopted the new Charter of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

Based on its new insightful vision the Charter has become the base for the

OIC future course of action in line with the requisites of the twenty first century.

The new Charter is comprised of eighteen chapters which include thirty

nine articles. The main objectives and principles of the Charter are to enhance

and consolidate the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among the Member States; safeguard and protect the common interests, support the legitimate causes of the Member States and coordinate and unify their efforts to meet the challenges facing the Islamic world in particular and the international community in general.

The Charter also calls for strengthening intra-Islamic economic and trade

cooperation in order to achieve economic integration.

In addition, it provides for disseminating, promoting and preserving the

Islamic teachings and values which are based on moderation and tolerance, promoting Islamic culture, safeguarding Islamic heritage, and striving to achieve sustainable human development and economic well-being in Member States.

The Charter is also keen on making manifest the true image of Islam and defending

it. It also calls for the promotion of inter-faith and inter-civilizational dialogue.

One of the most significant objectives of the Charter is to advance and protect

human rights and fundamental freedoms including the rights of women, children,

youth, the elderly and people with special needs, and to preserve Islamic family values. It also aims to safeguard the rights, dignity and religious and cultural identity of Muslim communities and minorities in non-Member States.

The Charter provides for support to be extended to the Palestinian people in

their struggle and their quest to achieve their right to self-determination and to the establishment of their sovereign state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. It also provides for efforts to be made to safeguard its historic and Islamic character of Al-Quds/Jerusalem and the holy places therein.

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Furthermore, the Charter urges for the enhancement and development of

science and technology, encouragement of research, cooperation among Member States in these fields, promotion and defense of a unified position on issues of

common interest in the international fora, cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, cooperation and coordination in times of

natural disasters and man-made emergencies, contribution to the maintenance of

international peace and security and refraining from interfering in each other’s

internal affairs as enshrined in the current OIC Charter, the Charter of the United Nations, international law and international humanitarian law.

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3- OIC External Relations The Organisation of the Islamic Conference entertains relations with many

international and regional organisations foremost of which the United Nations where the OIC enjoys an observer status.

Since the mid-1970s, the OIC embarked on concluding cooperation

agreements and memos of understanding with these organisations to serve

common interests and facilitate coordination. In the course of the Seventies of the Twentieth Century, the OIC signed an agreement with the United Nations

Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) along with other collaboration agreements with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN High Commission for Refugees, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations

Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

The OIC has offices in New York, Geneva and Brussels enhancing its

affiliations and its role at the international fora and coordinating the efforts of the representatives of the Member States therein.

In addition, the OIC participates in the activities of many international and

regional organisations and organises a range of symposia and events in many world

cities with a view to promoting and defending Islam and the legitimate causes of the Muslim world. In this vein, a number of events have recently been organised in various venues such as Wilton Park and Oxford Centre in Britain, Dialogue

Centre at New York University, School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University in New York, International Peace Academy, Council on Foreign Relations, US Committee on Foreign Policy as well as Georgetown

University, Centre for Strategic Studies, Rumi Forum and the Atlantic Council in Washington.

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United Nations In 1976 the Organisation of the Islamic Conference signed an agreement

with the United Nations Organisation by virtue of which the OIC was granted an observer status at the UN. This entitled the Organisation to attend the various UN conferences and events.

Ihsanoglu & UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – Doha (January 2009)

The level and scope of cooperation between the OIC and UN have expanded in the political, economic, social, cultural, scientific and technological domains.

An annual coordination meeting on collaboration between the two Organisations is held with two high-level delegations representing the OIC General Secretariat and the United Nations and their specialised organs to exchange experiences and visions, discuss issues of common interest and coordinate.

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European Union The Organisation of the Islamic Conference has, in recent years, sought to establish close work ties with several key international organisations, opening work channels to coordinate joint efforts aimed at fruitful collaboration to serve public interests.

Secretary General in a meeting with Finnish President Tarja Halonen (Jeddah – October 2007)

The OIC headquarters in Jeddah often receive European delegations comprising ministers, ambassadors, consuls and parliamentarians to exchange views on all issues of common interest and concern.

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SG Ihsanoglu & former EU High Commissioner, Javier Solana (At the Headquarters of the OIC General Secretariat - Jeddah - February 2006)

League of Arab States The Organisation of the Islamic Conference signed a Cooperation Agreement with the League of Arab States (LAS) in 1975. On 21 January 2009, this agreement was amended and signed at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah by the OIC Secretary General and LAS Secretary General.

Given that all LAS Member States are members of the OIC, prospects of

collaboration between the two Organisations are very broad. The OIC Member States are the strategic depth of the LAS and its Member States. It is therefore

only natural that the stances and views of the two Organisations are convergent on almost all major issues of concern to the Islamic and Arab worlds.

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SG Ihsanoglu & LAS SG Amr Moussa at signing ceremony (At the Headquarters of the OIC General Secretariat - Jeddah - January 2009)

African Union Twenty six African countries are members of the Organisation of the Islamic

Conference, which entails distinguished and diverse relations between the latter and the African Union. Consequently, regular contacts are maintained between the

two organisations through dispatching joint missions to coordinate and integrate stances on causes of common interest in a manner that serves the interests and causes of the two parties.

The OIC has a special programme for development and poverty alleviation in

Africa, particularly in human resources, economic and technical development and fighting diseases in the continent, most importantly polio, malaria and AIDS.

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Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) The Organisation of the Islamic Conference has signed a cooperation

agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council with a view to boosting coordination between the two parties on political, cultural, media, economic, social and environmental issues.

Ihsanoglu and GCC SG Abdurrahman Al-Atiya during signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement (Jeddah - September 2008)

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Chapter III

Publications - Islamophobia Report - OIC Journal - Weekly Newsletter - Daily News Monitoring Brief - Website - Other publications

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Islamophobia Observatory Report The Islamophobia Observatory issues an annual report on the manifestations

of Islamophobia which alarmingly continues to grow and has become a demonstration of racism and discrimination against Muslims. The Observatory has issued two reports, of which the latest was released in May 2009. The two

reports detail the efforts of incitement to hatred and attack against Muslim symbols and sanctities.

The reports also reflect the concern of the Organisation of the Islamic

Conference over the intricate situation of Muslims in Western communities. In addition, they shed light on legal aspects in countering this phenomenon through

emphasising that it is in contradiction with the demands of the international conventions which prohibit violation of human rights, call for tolerance

and refraining from the defamation of religions, and urge to end all forms of discrimination and intolerance against Muslims.

In addition, the reports note that there is now a growing awareness on the

part of the international community of the disadvantages of Islamophobia and the threats posed by continuing to defame Islam.

OIC Journal The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, through its Information

Department, issues a quarterly journal which covers the OIC activities and organs. It also addresses the causes and preoccupations of the Muslim world.

The OIC Journal is published in Arabic and English and there are also plans to have it published in French. Eleven issues have been published so far, which are accessible on the OIC website: www.oic-oci.org.

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Weekly Newsletter To cover the major activities of the OIC and its organs, the Information Department issues an electronic weekly newsletter which is sent to all information bodies in the OIC Member States and beyond.

Daily News Bulletin Similarly, the Information Department of the OIC General Secretariat releases a daily electronic bulletin to follow up the OIC and Islamic world news reported by world press and news agencies. The information collected is saved and archived on a daily basis on the OIC website.

OIC Website

Given the wide scope of communication and outreach afforded by electronic media, the OIC website (www.oic-oci.org) has gone through a considerable process of development and improvement. This website is particularly attracting the attention of visitors whose numbers are rising steadily.

The website includes all the files and documents defining the OIC and its organs including the General Secretariat. The website also comprises all information relating to the OIC in terms of conferences, agreements, conventions as well as coverage of the latest OIC events.

Other Publications The OIC subsidiary organs, affiliated and specialised institutions as well as the General Secretariat’s Departments have various periodic publications.

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Chapter IV

OIC Headquarters

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Annex of the OIC Member States

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The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abullah Bin Abdelaziz, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, gave his instructions for the construction of a new headquarters for the Organization of the Islamic Conference. This generous gesture is a concrete evidence of the interest given to OIC affairs by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the headquarter-State, and its determination to ensure that the OIC and all its employees are accorded all the means necessary to facilitate their work and promote their efficiency. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had gifted the OIC with a large plot of land covering 40.000 sq meters to build its new headquarters. The initial stages for the construction of the new headquarters started after selecting the best design prepared by the Austrian Office <Thomas Pucher and Alfred Bramberger>, winners of an international design competition organized for the purpose.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had laid the foundation stone for the new headquarters of the OIC on the occasion of the opening of the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah-Al Mukarramah on 7-8 December 2005 in the presence of the kings and heads of State and Government of the OIC. The new headquarters, which will be built on a prime location in Jeddah, is expected to be an Islamic monument with unique characteristics such as to make of it one of the most attractive architectural sites in the city.

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Foundation Stone of the Future OIC Headquarters in Jeddah (December 2005)

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HRH Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Governor of Makkah Region and the Secretary General in front of the scale model of the Future OIC Headquarters - Jeddah (March 2008)

Picture of the first OIC Headquarters (1970 - 2002) (Televised photo)

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Current OIC Headquarters (Since November 2009)

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Chapter V

Member States

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The new Charter states that the OIC is made up of its current 57 Member States and of any other State which may later accede to this Charter. It further states that any State, member of the United Nations, having a Muslim majority and abiding by the Charter, which submits an application for membership, may join the Organisation subject to the approval by consensus of the Council of Foreign Ministers on the basis of the agreed criteria adopted by the said Council.

Attached as a separate annex(1) is a list of the OIC Member States including a brief summary about these states. The summary has utilised the statistics on population, national day, names of capitals and national currency as released by the Ankara-based Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for the Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

In this respect, it must be pointed out that the General Secretariat contacted the Member States to solicit their views as to the information included in their respective summaries, and the responses received were duly taken care of.

(1) See Annex of the OIC Member States

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Baku

Republic of Azerbaijan

398.000

Bandar Seri Begawan Ouagadougou

Brunei-Darussalam

Burkina-Faso

15.208.585

9.025.402

Porto-Novo

150.000.000

760.168

8.237.672

34.800.000

3.143.291

30.000.000

Population

Republic of Benin

Dhaka

Algiers

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Tirana

Republic of Albania

Manamah

Kabul

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Kingdom of Bahrain

Capital

Country

273.600

5.765

112.620

147.570

690

86.600

2.381.741

28.750

653.000

Surface (sq Km)

CFA Franc

Bruneian Dollar

CFA Franc

Taka

Bahraini Dinar

Manat

Algerian Dinar

Lek

Afghani

Currency

+226 (bf)

+673 (bn)

+229 (bj)

+880 (bd)

+973 (bh)

+994 (az)

+213 (dz)

+355 (al)

+93 (af)

International Code

1974

1984

1983

1974

1972

1991

1969

1992

1969

Year of Membership

11 December

23 February

1st August

26 March

16 December

28 May

1 November

28 November

19 August

National Day

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Cairo

Abu Dhabi

Libreville

Banjul

Conakry

State of the United Arab Emirates

Republic of the Gabon

Republic of the Gambia

Republic of Guinea

Djibouti

Yamoussoukrou

Moroni

N’Djamena

Yaoundé

Arab Republic of Egypt

Republic of Djibouti

Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

Union of the Comoros

Republic of Chad

Republic of Cameroun

9.380.197

1.706.767

1.448.159

4.448.000

78.700.000

832.992

20.591.302

635.669

10.763.638

18.532.799

245.857

10.380

257.670

82.880

1.001.450

23.200

318.000

2.236

1.284.000

475.440

Guinean Franc

Dalasi

CFA Franc

Emirates Dirham

Egyptian Pound

Djiboutian Franc

CFA Franc

Comoran Franc

CFA Franc

CFA Franc

+224 (gn)

+220 (gm)

+241 (ga)

+971 (ae)

+20 (eg)

+253 (dj)

+225 (ci)

+269 (km)

+235 (td)

+237 (cm)

1969

1974

1974

1972

1969

1978

2001

1976

1969

1974

2 October

18 February

17 August

2 December

23 July

27 June

7 August

6 July

11 August

20 May

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Georgetown

Jakarta

Tehran

Baghdad

Amman

Astana

Kuwait

Bishkek

Beirut

Republic of Indonesia

Islamic Republic of Iran

Republic of Iraq

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Republic of Kazakhstan

State of Kuwait

Kyrgyz Republic

Republic of Lebanon

Bissau

Republic of Guyana

Republic of Guinea-Bissau

5.127.532

5.309.000

3.441.813

15.560.000

6.000.000

31.000.000

71.021.390

222.191.544

772.298

1.575.446

10.452

199.900

17.818

2.724.900

89.287

437.072

1.648.195

8.169.465

214.970

28.120

Lebanese Pound

Som

Kuwaiti Dinar

Tenge

Jordanian Dinar

Iraqi Dinar

Iranian Rial

Indonesian Rupiah

Guyana Dollar

CFA Franc

+961 (lb)

+996 (kg)

+965 (kw)

+7 (kz)

+962 (jo)

+964 (iq)

+98 (ir)

+62 (id)

+592 (gy)

+245 (gw)

1969

1992

1969

1995

1969

1975

1969

1969

1998

1974

22 November

31 August

25 February

16 December

25 May

11 February

17 August

26 May

24 September

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Rabat

Maputo

Niamey

Abuja

Muscat

Republic of Mozambique

Republic of the Niger

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Sultanate of Oman

Nouakchott

Bamako

Kingdom of Morocco

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Republic of Mali

Male

2.599.551

147.982.941

14.195.085

20.366.795

31.514.000

3.200.288

12.711.139

310.473

27.730.000

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Republic of Maldives

6.173.579

Tripoli

Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

309.500

923.768

1.267.000

799.380

710.850

1.030.700

1.220.190

298

329.750

1.759.540

Omani Riyal

Naira

CFA Franc

Metical

Moroccan Dirham

Ouguiya

CFA Franc

Rufiyaa

Ringgit

Libyan Dinar

+968 (om)

+234 (ng)

+227 (ne)

+258 (mz)

+212 (ma)

+222 (mr)

+223 (ml)

+960 (mv)

+60 (my)

+218 (ly)

1972

1986

1969

1994

1969

1969

1969

1976

1969

1969

18 November

1 October

3 August

25 June

30 July

28 November

22 September

26 July

31 August

1st September

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Mogadishu

Khartoum

Paramaribo

Damascus

Republic of Somalia

Republic of the Sudan

Republic of Surinam

Syrian Arab Republic

Dakar

Republic of Senegal

Freetown

Riyadh

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Republic of Sierra Leone

Doha

Al-Qods

Islamabad

State of Qatar

State of Palestine

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

22.331.000

515.124

38.555.569

15.000.000

6.500.000

12.211.181

21.400.000

1.500.000

8.000.000

162.389.013

185.180

156.000

2.503.890

837.657

71.740

196.722

2.250.000

11.521

27.009

803.940

Syrian pound

Surinam Dollar

Sudanese Pound

Somali Shilling

Leone

CFA Franc

Saudi Riyal

+963 (sy)

+597 (sr)

+249 (sd)

+252 (so)

+232 (sl)

+221 (sn)

+966 (sa)

+974 (qa)

+970 +9702 +9708 (ps)

Jordanian Dinar and other currencies Qatari Riyal

+92 (pk)

Pakistani Rupee

1972

1996

1969

1969

1972

1969

1969

1970

1969

1969

17 April

25 November

1st January

1st July

27 April

4 April

23 September

18 December

23 March

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Achgabat

Ankara

Kampala

Tashkent

Sana’a

Republic of Turkey

Republic of Uganda

Republic of Uzbekistan

Republic of Yemen

Tunis

Republic of Tunisia

Republic of Turkmenistan

Lomé

Dushanbe

Republic of Togo

Republic of Tajikistan

20.000.000

27.000.000

31.656.865

71.517.100

6.900.000

10.327.800

6.458.605

7.675.000

555.000

447.400

199.650

779.452

491.200

165.155

56.000

143.100

Yemenite Riyal

Sum

Ugandan Shilling

Turkish Lira

Manat

Tunisian Dinar

CFA Franc

Somoni

+967 (ye)

+998 (uz)

+256 (ug)

+90 (tr)

+993 (tm)

+216 (tn)

+228 (tg)

+992 (tj)

1969

1996

1974

1969

1992

1969

1997

1992

22 May

1 September

9 October

29 October

27 October

20 March

27 April

9 September

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1979 1994 1996 1998 2005

Turkish Cypriot State

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Central African Republic

Kingdom of Thailand

Russian Federation

State

Year of Membership

The status of ‘Observer’ at the OIC is currently enjoyed by five States, as follows:

Observer States

Organization of the Islamic Conference

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Professor Ihsanoglu

In Meetings with Leaders and Ministers

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdallah during The Third Extraordinary Summit – Makkah (December 2005)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade – New York (September 2008)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono – Jeddah (April 2006)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Tunis (November 2007)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Cairo (February 2007)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Baghdad (February 2009)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad Damascus (May 2009)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The Lebanese President Michel Suleiman Jeddah (October 2008)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Pakistani President Asif Zardari Islamabad (March 2010)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev Moscow (March 2009)

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Secretary-General receiving the Turkey President Abdullah Gul - Jeddah (February 2009)

Secretary-General in a discussion with The former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf – Islamabad (May 2007)

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Secretary-General receiving the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Jeddah (March 2006)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin Moscow (March 2009)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni Kampala (June 2008)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The King Abdullah II of Jordan – Amman (April 2010)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Doha (October 2009)

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Secretary-General and American President Barack Obama Istanbul (April 2009)

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Secretary-General in a meeting with The former French President Jacques Chirac Paris (January 2007)

HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Crown Prince, Secretary-General and the Egyptian Information Minister Anas al-Fiqi during the Opening of Conference of Information Ministers at its Seventh Session - Jeddah (October 2006)

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Secretary-General receiving HRH Prince Sa>ud al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia – Jeddah (February 2006)

Secretary-General in a meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Ghaith – Cairo (November 2008)

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Secretary-General receiving the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – OIC Headquarters - Jeddah (February 2010)

Secretary-General in a meeting with The former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice New York (September 2008)

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Conferences of Foreign Ministers

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1st Session (Jeddah - March 1970)

3rd Session (Jeddah - February and March 1972)

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Organization of the Islamic Conference

32nd Session (Sana’a - June 2005) Televised photo

33rd Session (Baku - June 2006)

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34th Session (Islamabad - May 2007)

35th Session (Kampala – June 2008)

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36th Session (Damascus – May 2009)

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Photos of some ministerial meetings

Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (8th Session – Rabat – January 2009

2nd Session of the Conference of Ministers in charge of Women’s Affairs (Cairo – November 2008)

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About OIC

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The OIC is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various peoples of the world.

The OIC was established pursuant a decision adopted by the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, on 12th Rajab 1389 AH/ 25 September 1969 AD, following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. In 1970, the first ever meeting of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah. It adopted the decision to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the secretary general. Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu is the 9th Secretary General who assumed office in January 2005 after being elected by the 31st ICFM Session.

The first OIC Charter was adopted by the 3rd ICFM Session held in 1972. The original Charter was amended to keep pace with the developments that have unraveled recently across the world. The 11th Islamic Summit held in Dakar in March 2008 endorsed the new Charter, which laid down the objectives and principles of the organization and fundamental purposes to strengthen the principles of solidarity and cooperation among the Member States. Over the last 40 years, the OIC membership has grown from its founding members of 25 to 57 states.

The OIC has the singular honor of galvanizing the Ummah into a unified voice and representing Muslims by espousing all causes close to the hearts of over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world.

The Member States of the OIC face many challenges in the 21st century. To address these challenges, the 3rd Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Makkah in December 2005, laid down a blue print called the Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA) which envisages joint action by the Member States, promotion of tolerance and moderation, modernization, extensive reforms in all spheres of activities including science and technology, education, and development of trade. It also emphasizes good governance and the promotion of human rights in the Muslim world, especially with regard to the children’s and women’s rights as well as family values enshrined in Islamic Shariah (Law).

For more details, visit the OIC website at URL www.oic-oci.org Tel: 02-6515222 Fax 02-6512288 P.O. Box 178. Jeddah 21411 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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