OIC: in the lowest ebb of nothingness

By Shahnaz Bibi

No one can swallow the fact that Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the collective voice of Muslim world under the sun. It is the second largest inter–governmental organization after the United Nations. It came into being in 1969, when Baitul Muqaddas was conflagrated by the Jews. In such fragile circumstances, Muslim Ummah hoisted the flag of OIC to promote peace, integrity, solidarity and harmony across the world.

The prime objective behind its formation was to rebuild and reunite the disorganized Muslim community from the desert of the Sahara region to the Pole of Pamir. Unfortunately, the enchanted and refulgent slogan of OIC was buried under the debris of degradation and downfall of the Muslim Ummah. It was a cherished dream to reconstruct a sound relation, harmony and peace in every fabric of Muslim society.

Initially, it was the genuine effort of the leading spirit of the organization to regain the glory and grandeur of the pristine Islamic civilization which had been lost in the labyrinth of western intrigues and machination. In the incipient days of OIC, various Islamic conferences, summit conferences and bundle of seminars were arranged to cleanse the Augean stable of myriad problems and issues of Muslim community but it was limited to flowery speech and embellished into pages of documents; hence it did not bring any pragmatic results.

There are multifarious reasons due which it could not come out with flying colors. One such primordial reason is the clash of doctrines among the members states. Although, OIC  embowers almost  57 Muslim states, intrinsically the member states have been divided into sectarian fractions: Sunni, Shia, Druze, Zaidies, Yazdis  are passionately ready to fly at each other’s throat to impose and aggrandize their own brand of Islam. The entire Ummah is baffled, bewildered and consternated due to terrorism, civil war and carnage but OIC as a toothless organization cannot do any tangible things. It is the gospel truth that OIC stands at the corner pole where the huge forlorn Muslims have trapped in the vortex of war, violence and genocide in Kashmir, Myanmar, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia etc.

Such overweening and myopic approach is impeded in the way of the actual mandate of OIC to regulate its affairs effectively. In the doctrinal perspective we cannot ignore the nefarious role of Saudi Arabia and Iran, both states have been manifesting extremist and theocratic brand of Islam to vanquish each other. Their mutual abhorrence, incessant detestation, indomitable obstruction, illogical elation, naked narcissism and blatant ethnocentrism has divided the entire Middle East into hostile power blocks.

Such venomous sectarian divisions plunged the Muslim world into the abyss of dark chasm and allowed the Power politics to stem the tide at flood. The historical animosity between US and Russia started a new episode in the Middle East to promote its own loaves and fishes. Saudi Arabia is the lapdog of US in the region to inculcate US policy and to ensure her interests while Iran is the apple of Russian eyes which stand to cut the nerves of Saudi influence directly and US containment indirectly.  The so-called Arab Spring Revolution was the brain-child of US which led into bloody civil war and bloodshed rather than flourishing democracy and curbing down the octopus of prevailing corruption. In the current political predicament, Trump’s National Security Strategies are hanging the sword of Damocles not only over Iran but Middle Eastern Region as well.  In such shaky circumstances, OIC as usual dump spectator even could not dare to raise a voice against the brutal act of Trump administration.

The second reason is the hegemonic behavior of Saudi Arabia who has kept OIC under her mighty clutches thus diminishing the bright face of OIC. Therefore, it has been completely failed to address the issues of Muslim World. The other regional organizations like European Union, ASEAN and SCO reached at Olympian heights of progress but the unfortunate OIC is still licking the wound of desperation.

The third reason is the cold behavior of the other strong Muslim countries like Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, and Indonesia being slightly acquainted with the gamut of OIC .Recently, Tayyip Erdogan and Mahathir bin Muhammad organized a mini Islamic Summit in Kuala Lumpur to promote solidarity, peace and economic cooperation. The Kuala Lumpur summit proved to be a throne in the flesh of Saudi Arabia. The PM Imran Khan was the kindred spirit of the summit but could not attend it due to huge pressure from Saudi Arabia. The mini-Islamic Summit was an endeavor in response of the toothless OIC, because OIC has been in deep hibernation for a long period of time pragmatically as it has completely failed to bury the hatchet of war and sectarian disruption among the member countries.

In a nut shell, the establishment of mini Islamic Summit will foster tendencies of another power block in Ummah. Thus it is the prime responsibility of the emerging leaders to unite the disorganized Muslim under the umbrella of OIC .The unity and mutual consensus among the emerging leadership will change the ostrich behavior of Saudi Arabia and only this is the only silver bullets which will play its vital role in the unification of Muslim world.