The Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which holds its three-yearly summit in Jakarta this week, was founded in 1969 when the Pan Arab movement promoted by former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser was completely disbanded after the humiliating Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The Arabs, with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia as their proponent, who was from the beginning not happy with Nasser’s socialist Pan Arab ideology, saw the need to replace it with a new and broader organisation based on Islam.
The idea was to unite the Muslim world to support the establishment of a Palestinian state on the land illegally allotted and then occupied by Israel.
From 25 Muslim countries initially registered as members, it has now expanded to 57 member states from four continents, “representing” 1.4 billion people.
OIC is the second largest intergovernmental organisation in the world today after the UN.
The summit is expected to come forward with a resolution that will reaffirm the principle positions of the OIC member states on the causes of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem), and a Jakarta Declaration, which will present commitments by the leaders of OIC member states to taking concrete steps in support of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
After 47 years with annual foreign ministerial meetings and no less than 15 summits, with resolution after resolution, declarations and now and then condemnation, Israel is still there, even with expanded occupied land.
Of the remainder, the Palestinians have two pieces — less than 22% — of Bantustan-style land, separated by Israeli occupied territory, where they have to pass through Israeli checkpoints to travel from one side of their home to the other.
Perhaps because of some despair, OIC’s charter no longer focuses on the liberation of Palestine but has been revised and expanded several times.
Its mission now is broadened into more general terms such as preserving Islamic social and economic values; promoting solidarity among member states; increasing cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific and political areas; upholding international peace and security; respecting the sovereignty of states; and advancing education, particularly in the fields of science and technology.
Although OIC from time to time still maintains its clout in galvanising votes in the UN General Assembly, whose resolutions are non-binding, its political arm is ineffective for several reasons.
The rationale of why it has produced few effective results is because OIC has turned in to a sort of club, where ministers and heads of government meet regularly to talk, debate and exchange views, then return home without real commitments.
Its resolutions are not only non-binding but are also, oftentimes, non-implementable because the fate of Palestine and conflict resolution in Muslim countries more often than not are dependent upon the varying interests of the big powers.
OIC has become even less than a club because by definition a club is an organisation of people with a common purpose or interest, who meet regularly and take part in shared activities.
As we know, the only shared interest and identity of the member states of OIC is their common religion.
Even here, sectarianism between different schools of thought (Sunni-Shia) among member states has of late become sharp, as can be clearly seen in the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.
Not all member states have a majority Muslim population, but India, which has the third-largest Muslim population in the world (some say the second largest after Indonesia) is not welcome to join OIC because of objections from Pakistan.
The unending conflicts between two main factions, Fatah and Hamas in Palestine, which is one of the main stumbling blocks for achieving independence, has not been easy to resolve because each faction has the backing of different and opposing members of OIC.
The group’s biggest problem is also its failure in dispute resolution among member states. In the Syria crisis, for example, disagreements among its members have brought OIC to an impasse.
The prolonged inhuman bombing by the Saudi coalition of Yemen, both member states of OIC, which destroyed Yemeni infrastructure and left thousands dead and suffering, is a clear betrayal of the OIC charter.
The destruction of member state Libya by Western powers in front of OIC countries eliminated any last hope of the relevance of OIC. The formation of a 34-Sunni state Islamic military coalition “to combat terrorism” in mid-December last year further confirmed the segregation of Sunni and Shia members in the organisation.
Just a few days ago, the Gulf Council of Cooperation (GCC), which consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, declared Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, whereas we know that Hezbollah in Lebanon is about the only real challenge to the Israeli military might.
One month earlier, Saudi Arabia halted a US$4 billion program to fund French military supplies to Beirut.
All these predicaments when added up only bring us to one conclusion, that as it is today OIC’s stated mission in its charter “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world”, including its efforts to liberate Palestine, is merely a daydream.
Under the circumstances, what can Indonesia do to revive the spirit of cooperation among the member states of OIC and at the same time help Palestine and promote peace in the Middle East?
It is certainly not a function any country would be jubilant to assume but being not involved in the complications of Middle East politics, Indonesia could become a neutral mediator to encourage mutual trust among all parties in the organisation.
Indonesia could also inspire some of the less democratic governments of member states by showing how democracy is compatible with the rules and values of Islam.
When authoritarianism is reduced or eliminated, transparency in governance increases and this in turn would lead governments in Muslim countries to opt for policies that are not based on self-interest.
Our good relationship with big powers on the opposing sides of the world would constitute an additional strength in reducing tensions in conflict areas.
We should also remind conference participants that Palestinian-Israeli problems should not only be viewed through religious binoculars, or else we will miss the aspects of realpolitik that relate to various interest groups globally.
It is also important for Indonesia to convince all OIC members that as long as they are unable to settle their differences and unite under the flag of moderate and inclusive Islam as a religion of peace and mercy for all mankind, OIC will eventually become extinct and will be remembered only on the dark side of history. – The Jakarta Post, March 6, 2016.
* Abdullah Toha is former member of the foreign committee at Indonesia's House of Representatives.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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