Culture is a powerful bridge of solidarity among the OIC member countries. Starting from the establishment of the Organisation in 1969 around common Islamic causes, the main factor of unity that brought and kept these countries together has been their common culture. For this organization, today the second largest after the UN, the cultural commonalities and similarities of its member countries has been a vector of expansion and effectiveness. This dimension, inclusive of the common faith, shared histories and cultural heritage of member countries, offers a framework of mutual understanding, dialogue and cooperation. Over the years, activation and development of existing cultural bonds and planned development of cultural cooperation in the OIC context has supported and opened avenues for cooperation in all other areas, including politics, economy, trade and development. Today cultural cooperation in the OIC framework is organized through a fully-fledged institutional setup.
It is noteworthy that the OIC is the only international organization that has the cultural aspect of international relations at its very foundation and as a binding factor.
The cultural agenda of the OIC's 13th Summit Conference in Istanbul covers a wide range of subjects from education, science and technology and tourism to inter-faith issues, action to counter stereotyping, hate speech, xenophobia and Islamophobia, violent extremism and terrorism. This agenda spans from issues concerning the OIC member countries themselves to those involving the wider world community. Thus, cultural cooperation within the OIC has inward and outward dimensions. It covers not only cultural issues of member countries but also the joint objective of diffusing true information about Islam, its civilization, the cultures, history and peoples of the Muslim world; eliminating biases and stereotypes, promoting sound and objective teaching of history, scholarship, publications and media coverage of Muslims' cultural issues throughout the world.
It is noteworthy that the OIC is also the only international organization that has established subsidiary organs and agencies assigned to study the Islamic culture, history and arts.
In 1976, at the proposal of Turkey during the 7th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs which convened in Istanbul, the OIC Member States took the decision to establish a subsidiary organ of the OIC to undertake research and studies aiming to strengthen mutual understanding in the cultural field between the member countries on the basis of their common civilization and heritage. The said center became operational in 1979. It is IRCICA, the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture located at Yıldız Palace in Istanbul, in historical premises allocated by the Turkish Government. It was the first international organization to be set up in Istanbul. With its leading scholarly initiatives and innovative cultural programs led over the decades, today IRCICA is known worldwide as a focal point for subjects relating to Islamic civilization and Muslim cultures. It specializes in history, arts and traditional handicrafts, history of science, history of arts, cultural interactions between the Muslim world and other cultures and communities in the East and West. After IRCICA, an ad hoc International Commission was set up by the OIC in 1983, to deal with Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage (ICPICH). IRCICA was its Secretariat and Executive Organ. In 2000 the Commission was merged with IRCICA; its work programs were merged into those of IRCICA. The OIC also has a specialized agency in culture related fields, namely the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) located in Morocco. Other than these, supervisory bodies in the field of culture are the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs chaired by the President of Senegal which meets triennially, and the biennial OIC Conference of Culture Ministers. Cultural cooperation between OIC countries also takes place through other organizations, such as UNESCO, ASEAN, the African Union, the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), Gulf Cooperation Council, Black Sea Cooperation, TÜRKSOY and the Turkish Council.
Cultural cooperation within the OIC multilateral framework offers distinct advantages to the member countries. The activities of IRCICA offer a number of international platforms where governments, cultural institutions, universities, NGOs, artists, scholars and other parties concerned from not only member countries but all over the world exchange experiences and develop cooperation schemes. These platforms include academic congresses, competitions of art and architecture, festivals of handicrafts, training programs, field studies in heritage sites among others.
IRCICA is a cradle of cultural cooperation for OIC member countries and a resource institution on culture, history and arts of the Muslim world.
Until April 2016 IRCICA organized 102 academic congresses on history and cultures of OIC member countries, with focuses on Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, West Africa, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, Central Asia, Caucasia, Volga-Ural region and the Balkans.
IRCICA's series of bibliographies in Quranic studies, philosophy and sciences highlight the intellectual heritage of Islamic civilization.
Its long-term program on Islamic heritage of Al-Quds and Palestine involves research, publications, field studies and education activities. On preservation of whole Islamic architectural heritage, it coordinates projects to assess, record, preserve and promote historical sites and monuments. It organizes biannual training programs on the conservation of architectural heritage.
Its activities on arts include symposiums, competitions, and training programs. Since 1986 it has organized international calligraphy competitions once every three years; the tenth competition will be finalized in May 2016. Its training courses on the art of calligraphy drew 108 calligraphers from 34 countries in total till now. IRCICA also organized symposiums, on “Common Principles, Forms and Themes of Islamic Arts" (Istanbul), “Islamic Arts and Crafts" (Isfahan) and “Female Calligraphers" (Istanbul).
IRCICA's festivals, competitions, seminars and exhibitions on traditional handicrafts are held in different member countries. They cover all categories of handicrafts such as
eramics, textiles, embroidery, traditional costumes; carpets, paper-making, gilding and binding.
IRCICA's library contains over 80.000 books which specialize in history and civilization of Islam, cultures, languages, arts and sciences of the Muslim world. Its archives contain 70.000 historical photographs of cities, monuments and scenes of social life from around the Muslim world.
OIC cultural cooperation as represented by and largely concretized in the above activities of IRCICA is wide-ranging and offers a large variety of channels and mediums for development of cooperation in other areas as well. This cultural dimension has been supportive of the overall joint action in OIC context. And certainly, boundless potential is there for further development of cultural cooperation itself.
-by
Director General, IRCICA
