Organization of Islamic Cooperation

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 17, Feb 2022

Reference News:-

India  has condemned the “motivated and misleading statement” made by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which expressed deep concerns over what it called “continued attacks on Muslims in India” and called upon the international community to take necessary measures.

What’s the issue?

OIC had expresses deep concern over recent public calls for genocide of Muslims by the ‘Hindutva’ proponents in Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand and reported incidents of harassment of Muslim women on social media sites as well as banning of Muslim girl students from wearing hijab in the state of Karnataka.

India’s response:

Issues in India are considered and resolved in accordance with our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as democratic ethos and polity.

Concerns over these remarks:

This is not the first time that the OIC has commented on India’s internal matters.

• The OIC had asked India to reverse its decision of scrapping Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, during the sidelines of 76th UN General Assembly.

About OIC:

• It is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states.
• It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
• The organisation states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony “.
• The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
• Permanent Secretariat is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Significance of OIC for India:

OIC’s growing economic and energy interdependence with India has become important in recent times.

• Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have improved significantly in recent years.
• The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbours, Bangladesh and Maldives.