It is frustrating that 57 OIC members in possession of 70% of the world energy resources and 40% of available raw material record only 5% of the world GDP.Moreover,OIC trade is about 13 – 14 % as compared to trade of most Muslim countries with west to 80%. In view of prevalent internal and external challenges to Muslim Ummah organizations such as OIC need to be restructured ,revitalized and reformed in order to enable Muslims to represent themselves in the global political forum.

 

Over the past 60 years ,the five major catastrophes in the Islamic World (separation of East Pakistan ,1971, invasion of Lebanon by Israel 1982,Iran Iraq war,invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Union 1979 and US occupation of Iraq 2001) have not only hampered the growth of OIC but also highlighted its inability to respond meaning fully to such problems. The OIC has till now held 10 summits interspersed at regular 3 years intervals and numerous meetings at ministerial and experts levels to oversee summit decisions.

The last summit held in Makkah on 9th December 2005 was convened at the initiative of King Abdullah to address the global changes and challenges confronting Muslim countries.The Makkah Declaration reviewed the status of the member states in the contemporary world,acknowledging the ‘dire need of a fresh vision to turn the tide’ and called for “collective will” and “joint Islamic action” .The ’10 year programme of action’ to face the challenges of Muslim people in the 21st century proposed a wide range of reforms,initiative and proposals to address the multifarious problems confronting the Ummah.The summit was seen as a turning point in the OIC’s history,as it also addressed the issues of re-structuring reformation and redefinition of the OIC mission,charter and objectives .