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The Muslim world has long aspired to collective security, but history reveals repeated failures. The Arab League (founded 1945) was designed to unify Arab states, yet when tested, from Palestine in 1948 and 1967 to Iraq in 2003, it often resorted to rhetorical condemnations, with national rivalries eroding collective action (Barnett, Dialogues in Arab Politics, 1998). Similarly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC, 1969) sought to project the “voice of the Muslim world,” but its record is one of symbolic resolutions over tangible enforcement. On Kashmir and Palestine, statements were made, yet no military or diplomatic weight followed (Shahi, OIC and the Politics of Collective Identity, 2013).
The Baghdad Pact (1955), meant as a Muslim defense bloc, quickly collapsed under the perception of being a Western Cold War tool rather than an independent Islamic initiative (Sayigh, Arab Military Politics, 1997). The more recent Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (2015), while ambitious, was weakened by accusations of sectarian bias and a lack of clear mandate, making it Riyadh-centered rather than universally Muslim.
These failures stem from a recurring cycle of illusions of independence, ritual condemnations, selective actions, and external dependency. Muslim institutions projected unity while ceding autonomy to great powers which weakened legitimacy and trust.
This time, however, is different. The defense pact (SMDA) between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is not another donor-driven coalition or Cold War alignment. For the first time, Pakistan, a nuclear state with established military credibility, is positioned to anchor a truly independent and enforceable Muslim security architecture. Unlike the OIC or Arab League, this vision goes beyond rhetoric and unlike the Baghdad Pact, it is not externally imposed. It is the foundation of what could be a Muslim Union with real defense commitments, indigenous capacity, and global agency. Where past attempts faltered, Pakistan has the chance to make this Union real. A global ‘Muslim Union’.
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