During the Ottoman era, Muslims lived in peace and security for hundreds of years. Sometimes, there were those who tried to create discord, but they did not succeed much. Those who wanted to attack Muslims rarely dared to do so.

Especially in the 19th century, the rhythm of our minds and hearts began to change. The polished slogans of the French Revolution dazzled our eyes. We entered various searches. The currents of “nationalism” triggered feelings of “racism” that Islam does not approve. “The right of nations to self-determination” sounded very appealing.

Everyone became concerned with building their own “nation-state.” We began to lose the awareness of being the “Ummah.” Eventually, we tore apart the Ottoman Empire, which represented the unity and sultanate of the Ummah, both from outside through the tricks, schemes, and attacks of Islam’s enemies, and from within by our own hands.

Those who helped divide Muslim communities and separate them from the Ottomans did not recognize any “right to self-determination” for the people living in the lands they separated. The practice of “I decide your fate” began.

On the vast Ottoman lands that spread across three continents, dozens of “nation-states” began to raise their own flags, but none of them were truly “free” or “independent.” They could never cross the borders set by the “masters” who separated them from the Ottomans. Leaders who tried to do so paid with their lives. Slanders, executions, assassinations, and coups continued one after another.

Those who tore apart our geography and Ummah consciousness during World War I entered into a huge war within themselves during World War II. They killed 60–80 million people.

A few years after the end of World War II, a very different process began. Some European countries formed the “Coal and Steel Community” among themselves. Later, this structure, with the addition of new states, became the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Community (EC), and eventually the European Union (EU), managed under a single constitution, with the same flag, currency, and laws—a kind of “single state.”

When the European Union was formed, it made Europe one of the world’s leading power centers. Smaller........

© Stratejik Düşünce Enstitüsü