‘Brotherhood’ Is Dead? Why Muslim Nations Won’t Unite Against Israel Despite Rising Tensions With Iran | World News

New Delhi: The last appeals that called for Islamic solidarity in Palestine and Iran’s defense of Pakistani leaders gained little traction in West Asia. Despite dramatic discourses, historical statements and religious identity, the real political unity continues to overcome the Muslim world. Deep internal divisions, regional competitions and rival alliances have broken the Islamic block-especially the Israeli-Iranian conflict brought the region closer to a wider conflict.
During the second summit of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) held in Lahore in 1974, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared Pakistan’s commitment to Islam and supporting the Muslim, even if it means intra -blood. At that time, most Arab countries did not recognize Israel, Iran had not gone through the Islamic revolution, and regional alignments looked very different.
Until 2025, the situation has changed to a great extent. Many Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, have normalized ties with Israel. Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have long been regional competitors, are still looking carefully despite the latest diplomatic breakthroughs. When it was once foreseen as a force for collective action, it is now greatly symbolic in conflicts containing Israel.
The current war between Israel and Iran is now entering its second week, revealing the limitations of any pan-Islamic reaction. While Iran continued to initiate missiles and drone strikes for retaliation against Israel’s nuclear and military infrastructure, most of the Muslim majority countries have responded carefully.
Pakistani Defense Minister recently called on Muslim nations to unite against Israeli aggression. However, the answer was warm. Inner fractures remain. For example, the Gulf nations are afraid of both Iran’s regional ambitions and the increasing influence of Israel. He hosts some American military bases and rely on the US for defense support. This clearly limits his ability and willingness to oppose Tel Aviv.
Türkiye, a vocal critic of Israel, maintains diplomatic ties with it and cooperated with the US in the past. Even President Erdoğan, who condemned Israel’s latest actions and warned about disaster consequences, walked a rope wandering between nationalist discourse and Realpolitik.
Experts say that religious identity alone is not enough to increase the geopolitical union. Speaking to the BBC, the former Ambassador of India Talmiz Ahmad said that the competition between Iran and Israel is based on strategic competition, not belief. He said that the alignments in West Asia are based on national interests rather than any religious solidarity.
Authorized, Pakistan’s renewed Islamic troops partially caused by geopolitical repositioning, he added. After years of strategic harmony with the United States, Pakistan is now trying to strengthen its ties with Türkiye and Iran. Nevertheless, it limits that these alliances may face military, political and economic restrictions, Israel or the United States.
In the meantime, the Palestinian issue, which is usually shown as a unifying reason, no longer serves this purpose. The realities of the place in Gaza and the West Bank changed. The Arab states, who are busy with internal difficulties and carefully carefully against regional instability, have changed their priorities.
With the increasing insulation of Iran and Israel’s military campaign to slow down, there are concerns about what a weakened Tehran may mean for the regional balance of regional power. Analysts argue that if Iran is exposed to a strategic defeat, it can mark a turning point in West Asia, strengthen Israel even further and strengthen its impact on the Gulf.
Russian and Chinese interests will also be affected. After the release of Bashar al -Assad, Moscow, which has already lost the influence in Syria, is at risk of pushing completely from West Asia. Beijing, which was largely dependent on the Gulf oil, could see that he was looking at the American allies in the region.
In this context, the Islamic Union continues to be a difficult target that has been weakened by changing long -term competitions, complex alliances and strategic interests. The war between Israel and Iran can be accused of religiously in the rhetoric, but it is a geopolitical competition in which common faith is shadowed by national interests.



