You’ve got to wonder what was being said behind closed doors earlier this week by the Canadian delegation that attended a meeting of the world’s largest group of Islamic countries.

Did everyone find common ground on the top issues of the day? Did we stand up for the progressive views Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is known and loved for around the world?

Who was doing the lobbying and who got lobbied?

It would have been something to be a fly on the wall at the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, held in Cote d’Ivoire July 10 and 11.

The group bills itself as “the collective voice of the Muslim world”, representing 57 countries.

Canadians might scratch their heads and wonder why we even sent a representative, in this case Liberal parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs Omar Alghabra, since we are not one of those countries.

We've actually been there before and the previous government even appointed a special envoy to the OIC.

Social media pictures posted by Alghabra show the Canadian delegation sitting among other attendees, appearing to be an equal participant.

Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra attended Council of Foreign Ministers meeting focusing on #Youth & #Peace at the #OIC#Abidjanpic.twitter.com/SsWeE4E1s9 — Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) July 11, 2017



“The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretariat invited Canada to attend the OIC Foreign Ministers Meeting as a guest and as such Canada will not be making official remarks,” Jocelyn Sweet, a media relations spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, explained to me in an email before the meetings got underway.

“However, the [parliamentary secretary] will be articulating a position in line with our foreign policy which includes the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls around the world,” Sweet continued.

If they say so. But some may find this hard to believe.

Working session of the 44th #OIC Council of Foreign Ministers underway in Abidjan Ivory Coast #OICCFM44pic.twitter.com/3sIiChvpFV — OIC (@OIC_OCI) July 10, 2017

After all, when Trudeau speaks about women’s rights he typically does it in front of Western audiences that are guaranteed to eat it up and generate extensive replay on social media.

The same excitement certainly hasn’t followed whatever it was Alghabra said to this bloc that includes countries with aggressively sexist laws and cultural practices.

Watch video highlights of day 1 of #OICCFM44 holding in Abidjan Ivory Coast. Theme: "Youth, Peace and Development in a World of Solidarity". pic.twitter.com/f8jDLqpjme — OIC (@OIC_OCI) July 11, 2017

Likewise, the OIC doesn’t get strong marks for their commitment to free speech.

Back in 2011, they “strongly condemned” Charlie Hebdo for printing Muhammad cartoons, calling them an “outrageous act of incitement and hatred and abuse of freedom of expression.”

There are many people worried that the upcoming heritage committee hearings in Canada into, among other issues, Islamophobia will hear from witnesses who consider things like cartoons and criticism as worthy of condemnation and even legal response.

Some within the OIC would no doubt encourage this. But will our government stand up to this perspective?

The original press release announcing Alghabra’s trip made no mention of Islamophobia, saying the meetings “will offer Canada a distinct opportunity to raise and advance our core values, including human rights, freedom, democratic governance and the rule of law.”

I asked the department if Alghabra would be discussing Islamophobia. They responded that he’d address “ways to promote diversity and counter anti-Muslim discrimination”.

During the M103 debates, anti-Muslim discrimination was suggested as a compromise phrase to make it clear that parliamentarians did not back the very broad definition of Islamophobia that some OIC countries use to criminalize things like blasphemy and religious cartoons.

However that’s not the phrase the department used on one of its twitter accounts.

Showcasing a picture of Alghabra meeting with ambassadors from Djibouti -- a largely sharia-compliant country — the tweet said they discussed “Canada’s efforts on countering Islamophobia”.

It's unclear whose definition of Islamophobia they used.

It all makes you wonder: Was Canada leading or following?