The Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Tuesday changed its name to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
and unveiled a new emblem at the start
of its Council of Foreign Ministers annual meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

New Emblem:

The Muslim world’s largest grouping said in a statement that the name
change was approved by its 57 members at a conference in Astana,
Kazakhstan, of its foreign ministers.

The change comes almost 42 years after the founding of the
inter-governmental organization in reaction to the August 1969
arson attack on Occupied Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque,
the third holiest site in Islam. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has served as its
secretary general since January 2005.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov introduced the
resolution to make the change and said it will become a symbol of
modernization, unanimity and competitiveness of the Islamic world.
“We should strengthen our cooperation, both internal and external,
in all fields,” Kazykhanov said. “Our internal cooperation means
consolidating Islamic integrity and solidarity while external
cooperation would aim to solidify the Ummah’s position in the world.”


Saudi Gazette - OIC changes name, emblem