OIC Reform and Muslim Unity

From Ceremonial Solidarity to Collective Muslim Action

Jamaat-e-Islami has always understood the Muslim Ummah as a moral, spiritual and political community whose responsibilities extend beyond national borders. Nation-states are a present political reality, but they should not prevent Muslim societies from cooperating in defence, education, trade, humanitarian relief, scholarship and the protection of oppressed peoples.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation brings together 57 states and possesses institutions concerned with political cooperation, economics, science, culture, human rights and Al-Quds. Its charter speaks of solidarity, sovereignty, peace, justice and cooperation. Yet the organisation has repeatedly failed to convert these commitments into timely collective action. 

Palestine, Kashmir, the Rohingya, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and the Uyghur question have demonstrated the cost of division. Muslim governments often issue resolutions after tragedies have occurred, but lack binding mechanisms for implementation, mediation, sanctions, humanitarian intervention or strategic coordination.

Jamaat therefore seeks not the abandonment of the OIC, but its transformation into an effective institution of the Ummah.

Jamaat’s Early International Engagement

Jamaat’s relations with the wider Muslim world began soon after Pakistan’s creation.

In 1950, formal contact developed with the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1952, Maulana Masud Alam Nadwi toured Arab countries and introduced Jamaat’s thought and literature. Maulana Maududi’s journey through the Middle East in 1960 established further relations with scholars, intellectuals and movement leaders. Jamaat representatives participated in conferences at Amman, Makkah and other centres of Muslim consultation.

Arabic translations of Maulana Maududi’s writings circulated widely. They gave many Arab readers access to a systematic discussion of Islamic revival, state, society, education, economy and resistance to colonial ideologies. At the same time, Jamaat workers learned from the experiences of Arab, Turkish, African and Southeast Asian Islamic movements.

According to Jamaat’s institutional accounts, senior figures including Mian Tufail Muhammad, Professor Khurshid Ahmad and Maulana Khalil Ahmad Hamidi also used their contacts to encourage dialogue and reconciliation between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian authorities. Public documentation of these contacts is limited, but they reflect Jamaat’s wider preference for consultation, reconciliation and the protection of Islamic movements from state repression.

Professor Khurshid Ahmad later established major intellectual connections through the Islamic Foundation in Britain and the Institute of Policy Studies in Pakistan. His work helped develop Islamic economics, education and public policy as modern academic disciplines. 

Relations With Islamic Movements

Jamaat’s international relations are based on shared values, mutual respect and consultation. These movements are independent organisations. They are not branches controlled by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.

Egypt

Jamaat has maintained deep intellectual and fraternal relations with the Muslim Brotherhood. Hasan al-Banna’s movement and Jamaat developed independently, but both emphasised Islamic revival, education, organisation, welfare and reform of society and state. Jamaat has honoured the sacrifices of Sayyid Qutb, Mohamed Morsi, Mohammed Badie and other Brotherhood leaders who faced imprisonment or execution.

Syria

Jamaat has maintained contact with Syrian Islamic scholars and members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. It has condemned both authoritarian repression and the destruction of Syrian society, while supporting a political order based on public consent, justice and national unity.

Jordan

Relations with the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front have centred on Palestine, Al-Quds, democratic participation and Muslim cooperation. Jordan’s proximity to Palestine gives its Islamic movement an important role in sustaining public support for Palestinian rights.

Palestine

Jamaat has maintained relations with Palestinian Islamic leaders, including figures associated with Hamas. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal have been regarded as representatives of a people resisting occupation. Jamaat’s contact with Palestinian movements has focused on political solidarity, humanitarian relief and the defence of Al-Aqsa.

Türkiye

Jamaat developed a strong relationship with Necmettin Erbakan and the Milli Görüş tradition. Qazi Hussain Ahmad was warmly received at Refah Party gatherings and maintained close contact with Turkish Islamic leaders. Jamaat also maintains relations with different political and social actors in Türkiye while recognising that Turkish movements have their own national history and institutional structure.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami emerged from the former East Pakistan organisation and later developed as an independent national movement. Despite decades of repression, imprisonment and executions, relations between the two organisations have remained based on shared intellectual origins, Islamic brotherhood and mutual concern.

India

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has a separate organisation, leadership and national programme. It shares the intellectual heritage of Maulana Maududi but operates within India’s political and social conditions. Relations centre on Islamic education, minority rights, social service, interfaith engagement and opposition to communal persecution.

Malaysia

Jamaat has maintained relations with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, PAS, and with leaders connected to Malaysia’s Islamic youth and reform movements. Recent exchanges involving Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, PAS and Malaysian leaders continue this tradition of cooperation on Palestine, public welfare and challenges facing the Ummah.

A Programme for OIC Reform

Jamaat proposes that the OIC should develop:

  1. A Permanent Conflict-Mediation Council: respected statesmen, scholars and diplomats capable of intervening before disputes become wars.
  2. An OIC Humanitarian Response Force: coordinated medical, rescue, shelter and logistics units for disasters and conflicts.
  3. A Muslim Common Market Roadmap: lower trade barriers, food-security agreements, development finance and joint industrial projects.
  4. Educational and Scientific Cooperation: shared universities, research funds, scholarships, technology transfer and common digital platforms.
  5. Collective Diplomatic Action: coordinated voting and legal action at the United Nations, international courts and financial institutions.
  6. A Human Rights and Minority Protection Mechanism: sustained advocacy for Muslims living under occupation or persecution, including Palestinians, Kashmiris, Rohingya and Uyghurs.
  7. Defence and Strategic Consultation: intelligence cooperation, cybersecurity, defence research and early warning against threats to member states.
  8. A Parliamentary and Civil-Society Forum: participation by elected representatives, scholars, welfare organisations and credible Islamic movements rather than governments alone.

Muslim unity does not require identical political systems or the erasure of national differences. It requires agreement that no Muslim people should be left alone when facing occupation, genocide, starvation or forced displacement.

For Jamaat-e-Islami, the OIC must become a centre of decision, coordination and implementation, not simply a platform for speeches.