BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

GROWING TENSIONS IN THE OIC: A GEOPOLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Author: Sajid Karim, Md. Jahan Shoieb

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2022v43n3a1

ABSTRACT

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), established with the aim of upholding Muslim solidarity along with supporting the cause of emancipation of Palestine people, is now facing growing tensions among its member states. The normalisation process centring around establishing ties with Israel by the four OIC member states and the subsequent development of discontent, either supporting or objecting to the initiative, have brought the issue of division within the OIC to the forefront. This is not the first time the unity of the organisation has been questioned, which has often been challenged by the theological split, sectarian divide, identity politics and overlapping lines of disputes. Though religious fault-lines have long been used as a prism to comprehend the underlying divisions within the OIC, the recent tensions within the organisation signal shifting geopolitical realities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the power redistribution, where new issues are emerging, challenging the unity of the largest Muslim organisation. Based on a qualitative research method, the paper studies the aspects of emerging tensions in the OIC and explains the issues from a geopolitical perspective.