330 chapter eight
the call for the teaching and increasing the awareness of Islam among
the populace, though some were to be discredited later and be
stopped from operation. Of these organisations the OIC is particu-
larly prominent.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
The OIC is an inter-governmental organization that by 2006 incor-
porated fifty-seven states which have decided to pool their resources
together and combine their efforts to safeguard the interest and ensure
the progress and well-being of their peoples and those of other
Muslims in the world over (OIC Website). When the First meeting
of the leaders of Islamic states was held in September 1969, in the
wake of the arson offence committed by an Israeli on the Muslims’
sacred Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in August 1969, the heads of states
decided to establish a permanent organization of Islamic conference
to unite Muslim states in their action with the aim of “liberating
Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa from Zionist occupation”. At that meeting,
and with that mission in mind, the OIC was established. Six months
later, the First Islamic Conference of Foreign Affairs Ministers, held
in Jeddah, set up a permanent General Secretariat, and Headquarters
in Jeddah. Two years later, in 1972, the Charter of the Organization
was adopted, which aims at strengthening solidarity and cooperation
among Islamic states in political, economic, cultural, scientific and
social fields.
Under the Charter, the OIC has the following main objectives:
- To strengthen: (a) Islamic solidarity among member states, (b)
cooperation in the political, economic, social, cultural and scientific
fields, and (c) the struggle of all Muslim people to safeguard their
dignity, independence and national rights. - To coordinate action to: (a) safeguard the Holy places, and (b)
support the struggle of the Palestinian people and assist them in
recovering their rights and liberating their occupied territories. - To work to: (a) eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of
colonialism, (b) create a favourable atmosphere for promotion of
cooperation and understanding between Members States and other
countries.
To be able to exercise its duties and responsibilities, the OIC has
constituted various committees, affiliated institutions, and set up