More than a century ago, Allama Iqbal issued a timeless call: for Muslims to rise above rhetoric and embrace real work grounded in knowledge, science and self-discipline. His poetry, pulsating with spiritual urgency and civilisational insight, did not glorify past empires but urged a reconstruction of thought and society. That call has never been more relevant than it is today.

The post-WWI world order fundamentally altered the trajectory of Muslim societies. With disintegration of the Ottoman Caliphate and the subsequent colonisation of the Arab heartlands, political agency of Muslims was replaced by fragmentation, subservience and ideological confusion. In the century that followed, many Muslim-majority nations failed to develop strong institutions or meaningful influence in global affairs. While pockets of wealth and modernity emerged — often due to oil or strategic alliances — the deeper foundations of progress remained weak or absent.

The 21st century has laid bare this civilisational lag. The Middle East is mired in conflict,........

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