Sectarianism and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

ABSTRACT

The effectiveness of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was challenged after the suspension of Syria's membership in 2012. There were already indications of Iranian–Saudi rivalry on the issue of Syria's membership, but the 2016 summit held in Turkey became the stage for a very public dispute between the two states. This was not the first time that the OIC had been undermined by interstate rivalry. Formed in 1969 to project an image of political unity among Muslim states, it has often been challenged by the identity politics and geopolitical competition of its member states. This paper studies the factors that contribute to interstate tensions within the OIC and its approaches to addressing it. By examining a series of OIC events during the period 2012–18 through the lens of critical discourse analysis, it argues that identity politics in the form of sectarianism have been employed, more overtly since the Arab Spring, by both Iran and Saudi Arabia to promote their geopolitical agendas with direct implications for the coherence of OIC. The rivalry not only threatens to fracture the OIC but also makes the notion of Muslim unity nothing more than a mirage.

KEYWORDS:

• sectarianism
• discourse
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that led to improving the paper. They are also indebted to Azadeh Davachi and Husam Al-Janabi, Deakin University, for their assistance in data collection.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The Shia–Sunni split, which is at the heart of the present-day sectarianism and sectarian violence, happened in the early formation of Islam. The main reason was a dispute over leadership following the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The split between Muslims led to two groups: Sunni, believing in the non-hereditary lineage of successors of the Prophet Muhammad – the first three caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, and the fourth Ali; and Shias, who did not recognize the first three caliphs as the rightful successors of the Prophet (Matthiesen, 2013, p. xi).

2 In 2011, the organization's name was changed from the Organisation of Islamic Conference to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

3 Although Syria's membership was suspended in 2012, it is still included in the list of members on the OIC website (https://www.oic-oci.org/states/?lan=en), taking the total number of member states to 57.

4 Madani's term was short because he had to resign after making fun of the Egyptian president. Saudi Arabia's former Social Affairs Minister Yousef Ahmed Al-Othaimeen has replaced Madani as the OIC Secretary-General.

5 The Statistical, Economic, Social Research hand Training Centre for Islamic Countries is based in Ankara, Turkey. The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture is based in Istanbul, Turkey. The Islamic University of Technology is based in Gazipur, Bangladesh. The Islamic Centre for the Development and Trade is based in Casablanca, Morocco. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy, and Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf are based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.