The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will mark on September 25 its 55th year of establishment via celebrating achievements and efforts within the Islamic mainframe since establishment in the late 1960s.
On September 25, 1969, the OIC — formerly known as the Organization of Islamic Conference up to the Astana, Kazakhstan, summit in 2011 — was established in Rabat, Morocco, in reaction to the arson attack by a Jewish extremist targeting the Aqsa Mosque in Palestine.
The organization, with 57 members from four continents, made it its mission to fend off harm targeting Muslim countries as well as promoting interests of Islamic nations within the regional and international spheres.
The statute of the OIC was approved by the third Foreign Ministers conference in 1972 with the number of members increasing from 30 during the process of establishment to the current 57 number.
The statute was amended during the 11th OIC summit in Dakar, Senegal, in 2008 to be compatible with the 21st century needs and to serve the 1.5 billion Muslims around the globe.
In 2005, the OIC set a plan to address challenges facing Islamic countries and by 2015, the plan executed most of its goals with more 10-years strategies launched 2016 and one executed by 2025.
The strategy included 18 spheres and 107 goals including issues such as the security of Palestinians, the sanctity of the Aqsa Mosque in Palestine, battling poverty, sustainable develop, and other issues of paramount importance.
As the OIC is scheduled to mark this joyous occasion, the State of Kuwait — which is a founding member of the organization — had played an integral part in the development of the Islamic-oriented entity.
In 1987, Kuwait hosted the fifth OIC summit, promoting Islamic solidarity during the event.
The then Amir late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah delivered a speech during the event, calling for solidarity against notions of extremism and he also urged for the support of the wellbeing of all mankind.
The speech was then included as one of the most important and official documents of the OIC.
Kuwait was also praised during the 42nd OIC Foreign Ministers meeting in 2015 in Kuwait, lauding then Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for attaining the UN honoring of global humanitarian leader.
The UN also recognized Kuwait as a world humanitarian center.
His Highness the Amir delivered a speech calling for countering extremism and propagating humanitarian efforts during the event. It was also included as an official OIC document.
As proposed by Kuwait in the Makkah 1981 OIC summit, the headquarter for the Islamic Justice court is located in the State of Kuwait since 1987, another evident of the Gulf country’s tremendous contribution to the organization.
Source: Kuwait News Agency