Revitalizing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to strengthen solidarity in the Islamic world is considered crucial to encourage concrete contributions in realizing world peace, especially the defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian independence.

 By Mohammad Anthoni

Jakarta (Indonesia Windows) - In achieving its common goals, all members must maintain the relevance of the OIC in a changing world and push for its revitalization to save Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (locally known as MPR RI) Prof. Dr. Hidayat Nur Wahid emphasized the importance of revitalizing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to strengthen solidarity in the Islamic world.

The step is considered crucial to encourage concrete contributions in realizing world peace, especially the defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian independence.

Hidayat made the remarks at the recent Actual Discussion Forum on Nation and State in collaboration with the MPR RI and the Indonesian Institute.

In the forum, he said that the existence of the OIC from the start could not be separated from the struggle to defend Al-Aqsa and liberate Palestine.

Other speakers are Moch. Faisal Karim PhD, senior fellow of the Indonesian Institute for Foreign Affairs (IIFA), Muhammad Takdir, Director General/Chairman of the Agency for the Strategic Foreign Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Heru Susetyo PhD, the University of Indonesia and Mardani Ali Sera, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Hidayat further said, the background to the founding of the OIC in 1969 was the response of the leadership of Muslim countries to the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish zionist extremists, so that the issue of Palestine and Jerusalem became the main foundation of the organization.

So from the start it was decided that Jerusalem would be the headquarters of the OIC Secretary General which would be the capital of independent Palestine and the place where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located.

Therefore, the revitalization of the OIC should still refer to the initial objectives of its establishment.

"The OIC should not be separated from Al-Aqsa and Palestinian independence. So that the second largest international organization after the UN, which is also known as the United Nations of Moslem Countries, does not lose its relevance," Hidayat stated.

He acknowledged that although in its journey the OIC faced various dynamics, challenges and even internal conflicts between member countries, the organization has a great potential to return to its effective role.

He gave examples of a number of global dynamics that show the success of the OIC in presenting a UN resolution rejecting religious blasphemy, and even a UN resolution to combat Islamophobia in 2022.

Apart from that, OIC member countries have considerable military capabilities and solidarity to form military alliances, as well as superior capacity geopolitically, economically and strategically, such as the presence of some OIC countries in very strategic locations such as the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Malacca.

Therefore, Hidayat highlights Indonesia's position which is considered very strategic in encouraging the revitalization of the OIC.

As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world and one of the founders of the OIC, and well accepted in Western countries as a democratic and moderate country, Indonesia is considered to have strong legitimacy to take a leadership role in the revitalization of the OIC.

Moreover, in 2024 Indonesia signed the Charter of Establishment of the OIC, an international organization that Indonesia helped found in 1969. He understands this step for three reasons which previously were often said to be irrelevant.

Considering that from the start, OIC membership did not require an Islamic-based country, but was open to member countries of the United Nations.

There are eight non-Muslim majority OIC member countries that have signed the OIC Establishment Charter, such as Togo, Suriname, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

"So after the signing, Indonesia should take a more active role, so that it can contribute more in determining the direction of the organization, realizing the ideals of its founding which are also in line with the Indonesian Constitution," Hidayat noted.

He further said one of the important steps that needs to be taken in order to revitalize the OIC is to revive the Jakarta Declaration as a result of the OIC Extraordinary Summit which was held in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta in 2016.

The declaration contains concrete commitments from member countries to save the Al-Aqsa Mosque and support an independent Palestine, through political, economic, diplomatic and international legal channels.

He believed that if the commitments in the declaration are carried out by the OIC countries consistently, then the OIC can become an effective global force in advancing its member countries and contributing to the fight for world peace.

"The many challenges as experienced and conveyed by experts, are important to use as a diagnosis to find an effective recipe. So that the revitalization of the OIC can be carried out, and the liberation of Al-Aqsa, which is now increasingly controlled by Israeli zionists, is also not impossible to do again, as long as there is seriousness and strong leadership, and Indonesia can make its contribution," he said.

Meanwhile, Moch. Faisal Karim said that all 57 members of the OIC are unable to create meaningful political pressures against Israel. "The OIC has no collective political will," he said.

On the role that Indonesia can play, he said that Indonesia can be among other things an honest diplomatic broker. The country has global diplomatic network (ASEAN, G20, Non-Aligned Movement) and a bridge builder between West Muslim World.

According to him, Indonesia can lead a Coalition of the Willing in OIC. "The effective diplomacy is not a rhetoric but real action. It is time for Indonesia to lead. Words are just words until they appear in action," Faisal said.

Presenting his paper titled Anatomi Sebuah Titik Api: Menguraikan Konflik Al-Aqsa (Anatomy of a Flashpoint: Unraveling the Al-Aqsa Conflict), Heru Susetyo mentioned the roots of conflicts on competition to control the area.

"To understand today's political crisis, we must to analyze its geographical physics, theology, and laws framework related with the area," he said.

According to him, the OIC lacks the institutional load-bearing walls necessary to convert consensus into compliance.

The OIC is not failing despite its design; it is operating exactly as its structure permits. It functions as a symbolic pressure valve for public outrage rather than a geopolitical lever.

"Reaframing the OIC from a reactive forum to a proactive geopolitical bloc requires fundamental structural upgrades," Heru explained.

Muhammad Takdir said that geopolitical conflicts loom over the globe, challenging inter-order and the efficacy of multilateralism.

'The OIC is the second largest organization after the United Nations. However, the OIC is unable yet to stop aggression or to give absolute security guarantees for the Palestinian sovereignty," Takdir noted.

According to him, there is a leadership vacuum or no single Islamic dominant country to lead.

Mardani Ali Sera who has just arrived from a meeting in Istanbul said that the OIC is strengthening collaborations and solidarity to create peace and shared prosperity.

*Mohammad Anthoni is Indonesia Window’s senior journalist and editor