Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Representing 57 member states and 1.8 billion people, the OIC adds a crucial dimension of religious geopolitics and humanitarian crisis management, challenging delegates to represent worldviews very different from their own.

The OIC was founded on 25 September 1969 at the first Islamic Summit Conference in Rabat, Morocco, convened in the wake of the arson attack on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, which galvanized Muslim-majority states to coordinate a collective response. Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC today comprises 57 member states spanning four continents, making it the second-largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the United Nations itself, representing a collective population exceeding 1.8 billion people. Its charter commits members to safeguarding Islamic values, promoting solidarity among member states, and supporting peaceful resolution of disputes, while the organization addresses a wide range of political, economic, social, and cultural issues affecting the Muslim world. The OIC has historically taken strong positions on the Palestinian question and has increasingly engaged with issues such as Islamophobia, humanitarian crises in conflict zones, and economic cooperation among member states. As geopolitical tensions across the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa continue to evolve, the OIC's ability to forge consensus among its diverse membership remains both a defining challenge and its core purpose.