SPECIAL REPORT: 38 CFM
The OIC changes its name to
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu, President of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev, and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kazykhanov during the session of announcing the new name and emblem of the OIC
From now on the OIC will stand for Organization of Islamic Cooperation instead of the name given to the Organization when it was established over 40 years ago. This is a milestone in the history of the OIC and it is meant to reflect the reforms and developments it has achieved since its early days. In 1969 Muslim leaders met in a historic Islamic Summit Conference and decided to establish an organization that unified their efforts towards common objectives. Consequently, in 1970 the foreign ministers met and established a General Secretariat for the Organization of the Islamic Conference as the collective voice of the Muslim world that represents its interests and defends its causes. The name chosen for the Organization reflected the occasion for its establishment. While Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestine remain the central issues for the Organization, its activities and role have expanded in the past 40 years to meet the demands and expectations of the Muslim world. Since 1969 the number of Member States has increased, Observer states have been accepted, and various Subsidiary, Specialized and Affiliated institutions have been created to serve the Muslim world. Furthermore, the role of
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the OIC Journal www.oic-oci.org June - August 2011
the Organization itself in the international arena has become more prominent and active. “The key word is cooperation,” OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told delegates at the 38th Session of the CFM. “We need to focus on avenues of cooperation among OIC countries and the world bodies at large.” The 38th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers made the decision based on article 11 of the Ten-year Program of Action adopted by the 3rd Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah Al Mukarramah on 7 and 8 December 2005 on “Reform the OIC through restructuring and consider changing its name, review its Charter and activities...” Being aware of the importance of changing the name of the Organization and choosing a new name that better reflects the functions and objectives of the Organization, and recognizing the importance of preserving the acronym by which the Organization has been known throughout its long history (OIC), the CFM made this historic decision to change the name to Organization of Islamic Cooperation.