AhlulBayt News Agency: The Islamic world’s long‑standing geopolitical fragmentation and the absence of a unified strategic framework have significantly weakened its ability to respond effectively to the crisis in Palestine, according to Malik Motasim Khan, National Vice President of Jamaat‑e‑Islami Hind and a prominent Muslim intellectual from India.
Khan emphasized that the lack of a cohesive political identity among Muslim‑majority states, along with their entanglement in external power structures, has left the Ummah unable to assert collective influence on global affairs.
He explained that the current international order was shaped largely by colonial boundaries imposed after World War II rather than by any organic civilizational consensus.
Khan noted that these colonial borders forced diverse communities into nation‑states without regard for cultural, ethnic, or religious cohesion, creating ongoing internal conflicts and tensions across the Muslim world.
As a result, many Muslim‑majority countries developed governance systems rooted in ethnic nationalism, autocracy, or elite dominance instead of representative institutions capable of collective action.
Within this context, he argued, attempts to build unity around shared civilizational values—especially concerning Palestine—have been undermined by competing interests, sectarian divides, and external strategic influence.
“While faith binds the Ummah, politics has divided it into rival blocs shaped more by foreign alliances than shared principles,” Khan said.
He added that even states with strong religious identities, such as Saudi Arabia, function primarily as dynastic monarchies with differing geopolitical priorities, limiting their ability to coordinate on issues like Palestinian self‑determination.
Khan’s analysis aligns with longstanding scholarly critiques that post‑colonial state structures in Muslim regions often lack the institutional coherence needed to shape global norms or unite behind urgent moral causes.
He argued that global power structures remain dominated by Western alliances and norms, and that no alternative system has emerged capable of mobilizing the Muslim world economically, diplomatically, or ideologically.
The crisis in Palestine, he said, “is a devastating example of this power vacuum,” as Muslim states have been unable to take decisive collective action regionally or internationally.
Khan stressed that genuine unity requires rethinking political legitimacy in Muslim societies, grounding it in faith‑based accountability and collective welfare.
He also highlighted the Palestinian cause as a potential catalyst for broad consensus across sectarian and national divides, though he warned that passion alone cannot replace strategic institutional planning.
He called for long‑term creative strategies, including regional economic unions, independent security mechanisms, and strong platforms to counter adversarial influence at political and informational levels.
Khan’s remarks reflect growing calls among scholars and civil society leaders for deeper cooperation and integration among Muslim nations to confront not only the Palestinian issue but also broader geopolitical and socio‑economic challenges facing the Ummah.
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