It was a terrifying prophecy that predicted Gaddafi’s downfall and gruesome execution, in fact. He claimed that Saddam had fought in America’s battle against Iran’s Khomeini before the US turned on him, and that, as a result, the entire Arab and Muslim world was merely a comedy that was beset by disaster after a catastrophe. The role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League stands in complete contrast to the appeals of various leaders of Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey as Libya teeters on the brink of a catastrophic civil war between various Arab states supporting different proxies.

There is no such thing as a unified Islamic front, as evidenced by India’s most recent unlawful invasion of the disputed region of Kashmir. In light of the Arab Spring and the Gulf dispute between the Saudi-led bloc and Qatar, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have also produced more squabbling rather than conflict resolution. Prior to the invasion in 2003, Saddam had issued a warning that several of Iraq’s so-called Muslim and Arab neighbors were preparing to annihilate the country. Senior American officials acknowledged that Iran assisted in providing key intelligence to the Americans and British that resulted in the war and removal of Saddam in Iraq.

Given that they have all actively assisted in facilitating the invasion of other nations with a majority of Muslims, all the much-lauded slogans of various Arab countries and Iran about advancing the “Muslim” cause are therefore simply in name. The actions and atrocities committed by India in Kashmir have Pakistan and its foreign minister rightfully fuming, but same Pakistan has purposefully kept silent about the alleged torture of Chinese Muslims in internment camps.

Arab nations are unable to maintain a position of moral superiority when attempting to play the Muslim card. The OIC and the Arab League have to step up their diplomatic efforts in this crisis and use the combined influence of their member nations to put pressure on Israel and its allies. Instead, these organizations opted for expediency over morality, leaving burdens on nations like Pakistan and Turkey. The OIC has not done much to advance Muslim interests internationally in the 47 years since its inception, though. In actuality, it is now barely more than a ceremonial body that can only convene conferences. However, a general lack of confidence in the OIC has resulted from its inability to take meaningful action on issues crucial to the Muslim Ummah.

There has never been a more urgent need for the OIC to successfully combat the anti-Islamic attitude present in the West than there is now, with Islamophobia on the increase in the West as a result of a wave of terrorist acts over the past two years. One crucial approach to achieving this is for the OIC to coordinate efforts made by Muslim organizations in the West to engage with the general public in Western nations and create bridges with them in the wake of terrorist incidents.

The OIC must devise a plan whereby Muslim leaders actively work to persuade the global community, in particular the UN, the US, the European Union, Russia, and China, to take all necessary steps to accomplish the Arab peace initiative and thereby bring about the two-state solution. The OIC must speak up in international venues or it will inevitably lose the narrative to the Islamophobes, who will then rule unchallenged on what the world believes about Islam and Muslims. Despite its history, the OIC can still turn things around by joining forces with other Muslim leaders in an aggressive, coordinated campaign to eradicate terrorism by supporting the Arab peace initiative and resolving issues confronting the Muslim umma, such as Islamophobia, the unresolved conflict in Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and enhancing trade among Muslim countries.

Ms. Hafsa Sherani works as an Assistant Research Fellow in Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) at BUITEMS, Quetta, Balochistan. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy.