The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -ISESCO- was set up upon the adoption of its Statute by the Eleventh Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, meeting in Islamabad, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in May 1980. This decision crowned the efforts made by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to establish an international organization specialized in the fields of education, science and culture. The Third Islamic Summit Conference, held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Taef, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, decided, in January 1981, to set up the Islamic Organization -ISESCO-. The Founding Conference of ISESCO was then held in Fez, Kingdom of Morocco, in May 1982.

The objectives of the Islamic Organization are:

a) To strengthen and promote cooperation among Member States and consolidate it in the fields of education, science, culture and communication;

b) To develop applied sciences and use advanced technology within the framework of the lofty and perennial Islamic values and ideals;

c) To consolidate understanding among Muslim peoples and contribute to the achievement of world peace and security through various means, particularly through education, science, culture and communication;

d) To consolidate complementarily and to seek to achieve coordination among the specialized institutions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the fields of education, science, culture and communication and among the Member States of the Islamic Organization (ISESCO) in order to consolidate Islamic solidarity;

e) To make Islamic culture the basis of educational curricula at all levels and stages;

f) To consolidate Islamic culture, protect the independence of Islamic thought against cultural invasion and distortion factors, and safeguard the features and distinct characteristics of the Islamic civilization;

g) To safeguard the Islamic identity of Muslims in non-Islamic countries.