The Myth of Muslim Solidarity: Why the Middle East Watches in Silence as Iran Burns
As Israeli fighter jets pierced through Iranian skies and missiles found their targets in key Iranian installations, a disturbing pattern resurfaced in the political theatre of the Middle East&mdash;loud condemnations, symbolic gestures, and strategic silence. While Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq issued pro forma statements of solidarity with Iran and decried Israeli aggression, none moved a muscle to genuinely challenge the military escalation, let alone confront the coalition enabling it. The truth is brutal but must be confronted: the Muslim world is united more by appearances than action, more by rhetoric than resistance. When it comes to Iran, the silence of fellow Muslim nations is deafening&mdash;and telling.
<h3 data-start="834" data-end="877">A Fractured Ummah: The Divide Runs Deep</h3>
The notion of a unified Islamic world standing together against external aggression is a myth that has long worn thin. In the context of the Iran-Israel conflict, sectarian divisions&mdash;particularly the age-old schism between Sunni and Shia Islam&mdash;are the unspoken tectonic plates shifting beneath the region&rsquo;s diplomatic facades.
Iran, a predominantly Shia nation governed by a theocratic regime rooted in Shia clerical authority, has historically stood at odds with Sunni monarchies and governments across the Arab world. The ruling elites of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE adhere to varying degrees of Sunni Islam, with Saudi Arabia being the birthplace and epicentre of Wahhabism, a hardline Sunni doctrine that views Shia theology as heretical. This doctrinal antagonism has bred not only theological disdain but also deep-rooted mistrust at the state level.
Behind closed doors, the Iran-Israel war is not merely seen as an act of foreign aggression&mdash;it is perceived as a distant fire engulfing an ideological adversary. The solidarity expressed in official statements is thinly veiled hypocrisy, meant to pacify domestic audiences while avoiding any actual commitment to Iran's defence. Iran&rsquo;s isolation within the Muslim world is not an accident&mdash;it is the outcome of decades of rivalry, mistrust, and sectarian friction.
<h3 data-start="2208" data-end="2249">The Western Purse and the Arab Collar</h3>
Another pillar propping up the Arab world&rsquo;s silence is its economic dependency on the West. While Iran has been a pariah state under relentless Western sanctions, Gulf nations have built prosperous, globally integrated economies that hinge upon continued cooperation with the United States and Europe.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have transformed themselves into financial and logistical hubs for the global economy. Qatar is home to one of the world&rsquo;s largest American military bases. Egypt is heavily reliant on American military aid and IMF loans. These countries&rsquo; strategic calculus is simple: standing up for Iran against Israel or the West would threaten critical trade routes, arms deals, and diplomatic alliances that keep their economies afloat and their regimes secure.
Furthermore, most of these governments have, in recent years, edged closer to Israel itself. The Abraham Accords normalised relations between Israel and several Gulf countries, marking a formal end to decades of official hostility. For nations like the UAE and Bahrain, engaging with Israel presents economic and security opportunities too valuable to be jeopardised by an abstract commitment to pan-Islamic unity.
<h3 data-start="3446" data-end="3501">If Iran Falls, Others Rise: The Geopolitical Payoff</h3>
Beyond ideological and economic rationales, a cold, calculated logic governs Arab indifference: a weakened Iran creates opportunities. Iran&rsquo;s oil sector, largely state-controlled and insulated from Western companies due to sanctions and nationalist policies, has long frustrated global energy players and their Gulf rivals. Should Western forces manage to cripple Iran&rsquo;s infrastructure and unseat its current leadership, the gates would open for Western capital and control over Iranian oilfields.
This would upend the existing energy balance in the region. Paradoxically, Gulf nations stand to benefit even more. A destroyed Iran would temporarily drive oil prices upwards due to supply disruptions, filling Arab coffers overnight. In the long term, if Iran&rsquo;s vast reserves fall into Western-friendly hands, the Gulf monarchies may find themselves part of a consolidated bloc of U.S.-aligned oil producers with even greater leverage over global energy markets. The economic rivalry Iran represents today could be turned into a joint venture of Western interests tomorrow&mdash;with Saudi and Emirati participation, not opposition.
This is the unspoken prize behind the passive stances: Iran&rsquo;s collapse could be profitable.
<h3 data-start="4724" data-end="4766">The Hollow Shell of Muslim Brotherhood</h3>
Time and again, the Middle East has exposed the fragility and superficiality of the idea of Muslim unity. From the Syrian civil war to the Yemeni catastrophe, and now to the Iran-Israel war, Islamic solidarity has remained little more than a slogan waved by leaders to justify inaction or virtue-signal to their domestic populations.
The hard truth is that &ldquo;Muslim brotherhood&rdquo; is invoked selectively, often to advance geopolitical interests or maintain domestic legitimacy. When Palestinians are bombed, the outrage is loud but brief; when Uyghur Muslims are oppressed, many Muslim-majority countries look away to preserve trade relations with China. And now, as Iran bleeds, its neighbours perform the same charade&mdash;statements of concern, emergency summits with no resolution, and, most ironically, continued permissions for American and Western military operations via their airspace and territories.
These regimes are less concerned with the fate of fellow Muslims and more preoccupied with preserving their rule, enriching their economies, and currying favour with the global powers that shield them from instability.
<h3 data-start="5893" data-end="5928">The Death of a Myth</h3>
The Iran-Israel conflict is not merely a regional flare-up&mdash;it is a mirror reflecting the fractured, self-serving reality of the Middle East. The silence of Arab states is not just political&mdash;it is ideological, economic, and opportunistic. Iran&rsquo;s Shia identity isolates it from its Sunni neighbours; its defiance of the West isolates it economically; and its collapse promises too many rewards for those watching in silence.
The Muslim world, as imagined in idealistic visions of unity and brotherhood, is long dead&mdash;if it ever truly existed. What remains is a set of states with conflicting sects, divergent interests, and transactional foreign policies. The war in Iran exposes more than just the fault lines between Tehran and Tel Aviv&mdash;it lays bare the moral vacuum at the heart of Middle Eastern diplomacy.
In this theatre of silence, the world watches as Muslim nations nod in sympathy, whisper in condemnation, but ultimately stand aside&mdash;awaiting their share of the aftermath.
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OIC members in 2023 summit and Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenie

Muslim nations condemn Israel but won't act—sectarian, economic interests override unity.

Arab Silence as Iran Burns Exposes Deep Regional Rifts

Muslim nations condemn Israel but won't act—sectarian, economic interests override unity.

June 17, 2025 | 12:06 IST