Islamic World in the New Century: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, 1969-2009

These are challenging times for the world's fifty-seven Muslim countries and their relationship with the West. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the Muslim world's intergovernmental body--the largest such organisation outside of the United Nations system and is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.In 2005, OIC countries elected Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey with a mandate to transform the forty-year-old organisation. Created to respond to the Palestinian crisis, it has since branched out into economic development, education, culture, science, technology, conflict resolution and Islamophobia. This book tells the OIC story, how and why it was formed; its achievements, successes and failures, and why modernisation is needed.