INTRODUCTION:
The Council of Islamic Cooperation, or also known as CIC, is an international organization created with aim to safeguard and protect the interests of the World Muslim communities in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony. The council is created as a result of a meeting between the Acehian and Mahdistani delegations about a further cooperation between the 2 nations in religious affairs. The CIC lacks central headquarters, but maintain branch offices in the capital of its member nations.
The Council consisted of various nations, not only Muslim-majority nations but also Muslim-minority nations that have interests in Muslim affairs of their countries, or to make further cooperation with the world muslim communities.
PROGRAMS:
The Council of Islamic Cooperation at first only facilitated cooperation between its member and observer nations regarding religious affairs, but with the change of time, its goals and missions are broaden to include cooperation in education, health, social, and cultural sectors between its member and observer nations. Further details on the programs of CIC are:
1. Education Sector:
CIC want to raise the awareness of its member nations of the importance of knowledge by providing aids to construct schools, libraries, and universities in nations around the world. CIC also help to supply books and the other materials needed, to support the education in its member nations.
2. Social Sector:
Through its waqf, zakat, and welfare aids, CIC helps to eradicate the poverty in poor nations, especially its member nations, and also hold several training programs for the unemployment so they can learn basic skills for work while at the same time help the host nation to create work field for its population.
3. Health Sector:
Inspired by the Islamic teachings regarding the importance of health, CIC wants to raise the awareness of the importance of health among its member nation's population, by providing aids to construct hospitals and clinics, support joint medical researches between the scientists and medical experts of its member nations, and hold medical training for medical staffs of its member nations in order to raise their skills and knowledge in health treatments.
4. Cultural Sector:
CIC provides aids to help its member nations to preserve its Islamic artifacts and cultural products, while at the same time helping promote Islamic cultures among the world Muslim communities as a bridge to promoting understanding among its member nations regarding each other differences.