The Islamic Conference: Retrospect and Prospect: Difference between revisions

The title is an article by Hamid H. Kizilbash<ref>Hamid H. Kizilbash is Associate Professor of Political Science at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill.</ref> published in “Arab Studies Quarterly”, Vol. 4, No. 1/2, and “The Islamic Alternative”, (Spring 1982), pp. 138-156. The following is the article.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857622</ref>

active in world affairs through such forums as the conference of the nonaligned, the OAU, the group of77, the Arab League, as well as the United Nations. That they should have felt the need for another organization, based on the common factor of Islam, is a development that merits some attention. What are the objectives which the Muslim States hope the OIC will help them achieve? What are the issues that unite the members of the OIC given their many political, regional, and other differences? What role do the member states visualize for the organization in international politics?

1970, and while no formal charter of the organization was approved until the third conference in March 1972,8 it became clear that many Islamic States were interested in working together at the international level for certain common objectives. The 1970 meeting approved a proposal for an annual Conference of Foreign Ministers, a secretariat to be located at Jeddah (until Jerusalem could be liberated), and secretary-general to be from Malaysia.° Twelve Conferences of Foreign Ministers have been held since 1970; the last met in Baghdad in June 1981.

... we have before us a unique opportunity not only to forge this Islamic Conference into a collective political force that is to be directed in support of a just solution to a burning problem. Much more than that, we are being given the opportunity to work at the resurgence of Islam and of lslamic brotherhood and solidarity as an effective moral force for peace in the Middle East and in the world at large."

=Charter of the OIC=

The charter of the OIC mentions three principal organs and a standing committee. These are: (I) the Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government (CKHS), (2) the Conference of Foreign Ministers (CFM), and (3) the General Secretariat. Obviously, the intent was to have a simple two-tiered process of consultation to be facilitated and coordinated by a secretariat and the secretary-general and not the elaborate institutional framework of commissions, councils, and assembly associated with inter• national organizations such as the United Nations, the European Community, or even the League of Arab States. In fact, the organizational structure of the OIC appears closer to that of the Organization of African Unity with its annual assembly of heads of state and its Council of Ministers. The member-states of the OIC seem to have approached the task of international institution-building with considerable caution and the most liberal interpretation of the charter does not suggest any radical surrender of sovereign prerogatives to the new organization. The framers of the OIC charter appear to have opted for a modest first step toward consultation rather than an uncertain leap toward a supranational entity of Islamic nations.

advisory and independent agencies reflecting the growing importance attached to economic cooperation and solidarity among Islamic countries.3° The length and scope of the present study do not permit in-depth attention to these agencies. They include the Islamic Commission for Economic, Cultural, and Social Affairs, the Islamic Solidarity Fund, and the Islamic Development Bank, and such agencies are the most important aspect of the growing organization of the Islamic Conference.

The OIC has concerned itself with a fairly broad range of political, economic, and cultural issues. A review of the agenda items and the resolutions passed suggests four categories of issues: (I) threats to the territorial integrity and security of Muslim States from outside the Muslim world; (2) the struggle of Muslim minorities; (3) issues relating to racism, colonialism, and imperialism including movements for liberation; and (4) economic and cultural issues. The fifth category of issues arising out of differences between Muslim countries could be added, but the number of such issues to come before the Conference have been few and there seems to be an unwritten policy to avoid getting involved in such issues unless both sides request it.31 Unity against the common enemy of all Muslim States, whether it be Zionism, imperialism, colonialism, or economic backwardness, has been emphasized, while the causes of disunity have been played down.

The OIC has shown considerable interest in this category of issues both by reference to the Islamic message of brotherhood and equality and the colonial experience of Islamic States. In 1976 the seventh CFM further added to this category by declaring Zionism to be another form of racism. In the words of the 1976 resolution:

An extremely important area of activity not covered by the classification of issues used in this section, is the coordination of policies and actions to be followed by Islamic States in other international forums. The CFM has been used by member states to agree on candidates for international offices, to define positions to be taken at international conferences, and to work out strategy for cooperation with other regional and Third World organizations.

We have established that there is a new intergovernmental organization set up by Islamic States and that its members are dealing with a variety of political, economic, and cultural problems. This section turns to the important question: What chances does the organization have of achieving its objectives in the international arena today?

Community have suggested three tests for evaluating the capacity of an international organization to act on the international scene: (1) degree of autonomous decision-making power of the central institutions of the organization; (2) extent of significant and continuing functions performed by the organization which have an impact on interstate relations; and (3) significance attached to the organization in the formation of foreign policies of States, particularly by the members. 48 Judged by this criteria, the OIC, at this time, is clearly not as effective an organization as it could be, although its central institutions enjoy considerable autonomy and its decisions are acquiring greater influence in the interstate relations and the foreign policy of member-states. This set of criteria assumes that all international organiza• tions seek the same level of cohesion and supranational authority. The record of the OIC seems to suggest that it may not be seeking, at present, the kind of community that Europe has achieved.

The role of Islam in providing the necessary unifying force to improve the prospects for the OIC also needs to be understood more clearly. There is a tendency, particularly in Western circles, to see Islamic resurgence as one monolithic movement to return to fundamentalism marked by the use of severe punishments for crime. In fact, the resurgence of Islam means different things in Libya, Iran, or Pakistan. At the level of personal beliefs and faith in the teachings of the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet, Islam unites the one billion Muslims of the world, but until Islamic institutions are designed and developed which are common to the polity and the economy of the different States, the basic common belief can, at most, only provide a starting point. Developing common Islamic institutions is a process that the OIC has helped to launch and will facilitate, but it is not a reality that can emerge overnight. If the economic power of the oil-rich Islamic countries can help them achieve greater freedom of action and break the dependence on the former colonial powers, it can also contribute to a movement to develop and consolidate economic and political institutions which will become common to most of the Islamic world.

International politics today is characterized by the emergence of a multipolar global community and an increasing confrontation between the North and the South. In one sense, the OIC is a product of both these trends. Just as the European Community and the Peoples Republic of China have become powerful independent forces after the end of the bipolar era, so also a unity of Islamic States has the potential to become another center of power in world affairs. The States of the Islamic world share the kind of population base, resources, and technology that are essential for great power status. In the North-South confrontation, Islamic States recognize their place in the South, and by strengthening their economic position vis-~-vis the North, they can influence the balance in favor of the South. In other words, the OIC is capable of playing an important role in shaping the international politics of the future.  

Recalling with satisfaction the establishment of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and noting with pleasure the progressive development of this organization, as well as its growing status in international fora as a symbol of the unity of Muslims and a framework of understanding and rapprochement among them, and noting also the establishment of other institutions emanating from the organization, and the continuation of joint efforts in this direction, we commit ourselves to support and develop our organization, and to provide it with appropriate skills and adequate resources, so that it may discharge the noble tasks assigned to it, and further to support the Islamic Solidarity Fund and Al-Quds Fund as well as other organs and projects of the organization to ensure their success."

The footnotes are available on the website of the article.

The bibliography is available on the website of the article.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857622</ref>