For the OIC, it includes rolling out a new name and visual identity to reflect the organization’s current direction. For Kazakhstan, it is a chance to showcase its capital, which moved from Almaty to Astana in 1998.

Some say Astana lacks the charm of Almaty, but after a downturn in 2008, cranes are everywhere in this city of 700,000 with a Dubai-like vision of development and sound fiscal clout to bankroll it.

For the Muslim world this is a pivotal time after the Arab Spring that brought down some governments and continues to challenge some others. All signs suggest the United States and its allies are winding down the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, although NATO intervention in Libya raises more questions about relations with the West.

The Palestinian issue is poised to go before the United Nations where the recognition of Palestine could move that decades-long conflict closer to resolution.

Everyone wants to hear what representatives from the countries where Arab Spring had the greatest impact have to say. It is quite possible that there will be a new discourse at the deliberations here. It will be interesting to hear the views of the new leaders from Egypt and Tunisia and what they have in mind for the future.

It has been repeatedly suggested that OIC is merely a talking shop, but recent events have demonstrated that the Western nations and the United States in particular have courted this bloc to better understand the complex issues facing the region.

A number of Pakistani journalists want to get the perspective of other Muslim nations of the future in this post-Bin Laden world. Pakistan surely will try to muster support for protecting its sovereignty, but other Muslim nations may well wonder what is going on there as the nation seems divided on many issues.

To be certain, much information will be revealed during the summit and statements issued regarding matters gaining consensus, but the possibility remains that both the OIC and the Muslim World could move closer to positions of unity and strength.