The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; Arabic: منظمة التعاون الإسلامي, romanised: Munaẓẓamat at-Taʿāwun al-ʾIslāmī; French: Organisation de la coopération islamique), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The organisation claims to be "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".
OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. Its official languages are Arabic, English, and French. It operates affiliated, specialised, and subsidiary organs within the framework of OIC Charter.
Member states had a collective population of over 1.8 billion as of 2015, accounting for just under a quarter of the world's population. The collective area is 31.66 m km2.
On 21 August 1969, after the Al-Aqsa mosque fire in Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, the former Mufti of Jerusalem, called for a summit of all Muslim heads of state. The fire destroyed part of the old wooden roof and an 800-year-old pulpit. The arsonist was an Australian Christian fundamentalist Denis Michael Rohan. On 25 September 1969, representatives of 24 Muslim majority countries met in Rabat, Morocco. A resolution was passed stating that Muslim governments would henceforth strive for close cooperation and mutual assistance in economic, scientific, cultural and religious endeavors.
In March 1970, the First Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 1972, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference was founded.
While the al-Aqsa fire is regarded as one of the catalysts, many Muslims aspired to a pan-Islamic institution that would serve the common political, economic, and social interests of the ummah (Muslim community) beginning in the 19th century. In particular, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate after World War I left a vacuum.
According to its charter, the OIC aims to preserve Islamic social and economic values; promote solidarity amongst member states; increase cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific, and political areas; uphold international peace and security; and advance education, particularly in science and technology.
The OIC emblem contains three main elements that reflect its vision and mission as incorporated in its Charter: the Kaaba, the Globe, and the Crescent.
On 5 August 1990, 45 foreign ministers of the OIC adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam to provide guidance in matters of human rights in as much as they are compatible with Sharia (Quranic Law).
The Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOICM) was established in Iran in 1999, and its head office is situated in Tehran. Only OIC members are entitled to membership in the union.
In March 2008, the OIC revised its charter to promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, and good governance in member states. The revisions removed any mention of the Cairo Declaration. Within the revised charter, the OIC supported the Charter of the United Nations and international law, without mentioning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On 28 June 2011, during the 38th Council of Foreign Ministers meeting (CFM) in Astana, Kazakhstan, the organisation changed its name from Organisation of the Islamic Conference (Arabic: منظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي; French: Organisation de la Conférence Islamique) to its current name. The OIC also changed its logo at this time.
According to the UNHCR, OIC countries hosted 18 million refugees by the end of 2010. OIC members continued to absorb refugees from other conflicts, including 2011 uprising in Syria. In May 2012, the OIC addressed these concerns at the "Refugees in the Muslim World" conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
On 27 June 2007, then-United States President George W. Bush announced that the United States would delegate an envoy to the OIC. Bush said of the envoy, "Our special envoy will listen to and learn from representatives from Muslim states, and will share with them America's views and values." As of June 2015, Arsalan Suleman is acting special envoy. He was appointed on 13 February 2015. In an investigation of the accuracy of a series of chain emails, Snopes.com reported that during the October 2003 – April 2004 session of the General Assembly, 17 individual members of the OIC voted against the United States 88% of the time.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has 57 members, 56 of which are also member states of the United Nations. The exception is Palestine. Some member countries-Ivory Coast, Guyana, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria, Suriname, Togo and Uganda are not Muslim-majority. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central African Republic, Thailand, Russia, and Northern Cyprus (under the name "Turkish Cypriot State") are observer states, and other organisations and groups participate as observers.
Syria’s OIC membership was suspended on 14–15 August 2012, because of the government’s use of heavy weapons against civilians and its refusal to engage in peaceful dialogue. On 7 March 2025, Syria officially restored a full membership after the fall of the Assad regime.
The OIC, on 28 March 2008, joined the criticism of the film Fitna by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, which features disturbing images of violent acts juxtaposed with alleged verses from the Quran.
In March 2015, the OIC announced its support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the Zaydi Houthis.