OIC Watch

Charlie Hebdo Episode Highlights Pernicious Effects of Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws in OIC Countries and Beyond

January 14, 2015

The Islamist extremist attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices in Paris highlights the continuing, pernicious effects of blasphemy and apostasy laws common across member-states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC"), where limits on freedom of expression are commonly used by both Islamist and secularist governments in conflict with each other.
OIC Waffles on Free-Speech Limits that Fueled Islamist Attack on Charlie Hebdo

January 14, 2015

Although the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC"), the 57-member-state organization defined by its charter as "the collective voice of the Muslim world," issued an official statement condemning the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo news offices as "a terrorist act by criminal perpetrators," the OIC is actively engaged in lobbying for international legal restrictions on "defamation of religions," which are the equivalent of silencing mechanisms on any (Muslim and non-Muslim) dissent and criticism of Islam.
OIC Bolstering Support for Palestinian Cause

January 07, 2015

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”), whose mission is to advance the interests of the worldwide Muslim community, visited the Palestinian Authority (“PA”) and the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, as part of the organization's push to improve bilateral cooperation with the PA.
OIC Names Jerusalem as Capital of Islamic Tourism for 2015

January 07, 2015

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) has selected Jerusalem as the "capital of Islamic tourism" for 2015, and OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani announced that the organization will coordinate a strategic plan with member-state tourism agencies, in order to boost the number of Muslim pilgrims to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
OIC Chief to Make Statement Visit to Jerusalem

January 07, 2015

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”), the global, multilateral group composed of 57 Muslim-majority member-states, has announced his upcoming visit to East Jerusalem with a call to the world's Muslims to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque there.
OIC Calls in International Organizations to Protect CAR Muslims

January 07, 2015

The global Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) accused the international community of indifference to Muslims in the civil war conditions in the Central African Republic (“CAR”), and called on the United Nations to implement OIC recommendations to protect CAR's Muslim population.
OIC Criticizes UN Security Council Vote on Israel-Palestine Resolution

January 02, 2015

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC") issued an official statement criticizing the United Nations Security Council for its failure to approve a draft resolution that would have imposed a three-year deadline for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza, characterizing the Security Council's decision as support for Israeli "colonial rule and apartheid."
OIC Chief in Sudan to Boost Islamic Solidarity in Africa

December 31, 2014

The Secretary General of the 57-member-state Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) is visiting Sudan to explore opportunities for strategic partnerships with the Sub-Saharan country, as part of the OIC's broader effort to consolidate "Islamic joint programs" throughout the African Continent.
Malaysian Student Groups Call on OIC to Pressure Interpol on Islamist Arrest Warrant

December 24, 2014

A broad-based coalition of Malaysian university-student groups, the Students' Representative Council of Islamic Higher Education Institutions, has called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”), the global organization claiming to represent the interests of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, to pressure Interpol into revoking its arrest warrant for Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Yussuf al-Qaradawi.
OIC Chief Identifies Need for Anti-Terror Conference after Taliban Assault on School

December 24, 2014

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”), former Minister of Information for Saudi Arabia, announced that he will consider convening a conference to discuss counter-terrorism strategy, in the wake of the Pakistani Taliban's recent attack on a school in Peshawar.