Who are the 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation?

Leaders from across the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have gathered in Doha for an Arab-Islamic summit to forge a unified stance on Israel following its attack on a Hamas office in Qatar’s capital on September 9 that killed six people.

The emergency summit of the Arab League and OIC began on Monday, following a closed-door meeting of foreign ministers in Doha, where a draft resolution outlining concrete measures against Israel was prepared.

“It’s time for the international community to abandon dual standards and to hold Israel accountable for all the crimes it has committed,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said before the meeting, adding that the attack must be met with “fierce” and “firm” measures.

The Qatari leader also chided Israel’s continuous derailment of Gaza ceasefire talks, stating: “Israel must know that the continuous genocidal war against the Palestinian people, aiming at forcibly transferring them outside their homeland, cannot succeed, no matter what false justification is provided.”

Israel’s attack on Qatar was part of a broader wave of strikes extending beyond its borders, marking the sixth country Israel had targeted in 72 hours and the seventh since the start of this year.

Among the attendees are representatives from the Arab League, a group of 22 member nations stretching from North Africa to the Gulf and representing primarily Arab-majority states, with a combined population of nearly 500 million — about six percent of the world’s population.

Officially known as the League of Arab States, the Arab League was established in Cairo on March 22, 1945, by seven founding members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. Its creation reflected the shared desire of Arab countries emerging from colonial rule to coordinate their political stances, promote regional solidarity and safeguard their sovereignty and independence.

Over the decades, membership grew to 22 states, stretching from North Africa to the Gulf. Egypt was suspended in 1979 after signing a peace treaty with Israel, but its membership was reinstated in 1989. Libya was suspended during the 2011 uprising but readmitted later that year. Syria was suspended in 2011 amid its civil war and reinstated in 2023.