THE OIC has, over the decades, been known to issue strong statements and not do much else when it comes to critical issues affecting the Muslim world.

Regarding the recent US-Israeli aggression against Iran, a similar pattern has been witnessed. Foreign ministers of the OIC states have issued the Istanbul Declaration after meeting in the Turkish city over the weekend, in which various questions were addressed, including the genocide in Gaza and the attack on Iran.

The document condemned the “destabilisation policies of Israel” with regard to Iran, Syria and Lebanon, while condemning “firmly” the Israeli assault on the Islamic Republic.

In a more circumspect tone, the OIC General Secretariat has expressed “concern” over America’s targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, adding that the US intervention is a “dangerous escalation”.

The fact is that such insipid statements will do little to stop the war on Iran, just as the OIC’s past pronouncements have done next to nothing to halt Israel’s slaughter in Gaza.

It must be acknowledged that the OIC brings together Muslim-majority states allied to various geopolitical camps and with diverse foreign policy agendas.

Some are beholden to West-led international financial institutions to stay afloat; others feel the American military umbrella will protect them from foes, real and imagined.

Yet, despite their respective foreign policy compulsions, it is highly unfortunate that the members of the ‘ummah’ cannot formulate a substantive response when it comes to matters of grave import, such as the ongoing Gaza massacre or aggression against a Muslim state.

The condemnation of Israel and the US should have been stronger for attacking Iran and creating the conditions for a regional conflagration. Today, Iran has been targeted; yesterday it was Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Libya and Yemen.

Tomorrow, it can be any other OIC member, especially if Israel is allowed to continue its mad rampage across the region, supported by the US and others in the Western bloc.

The bare minimum the OIC can do is to take firm action against the butchery of the Palestinian people and resist regime change in the Muslim world.

This can be achieved, for example, through economic boycotts and suspension of diplomatic relations with states that target Muslim populations, such as in occupied Palestine or those that initiate aggression against Muslim countries. Mealy-mouthed criticism will only embolden the aggressor.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2025