The recent 12-day war dealt a crippling blow to Iran, which in turn has a direct bearing on Qatar’s regional standing, and serves to underscore the profound ideological unity among contemporary Islamist movements of all stripes.

The intellectual wellsprings of modern Shia political ideology, particularly as articulated by Iran’s revolutionary architects like Ayatollah Khomeini and Ali Shariati, find deep resonance in the works of seminal Sunni thinkers. These include the influential Indian philosopher Abul A’la Mawdudi and the formidable Egyptian ideologues Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Collectively, these figures envisioned Islam not merely as a religion, but as a transformative, comprehensive force destined to challenge and ultimately overcome modern secular societies, especially those originating from the West.

Mawdudi’s potent concepts, particularly his emphasis on the inevitable supremacy of an Islamic order, were meticulously adopted by Qutb and al-Banna. Their prolific writings in turn exerted a profound influence on Shia revolutionaries in Iran, effectively bridging what might otherwise appear as an insurmountable sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia Islam. This compelling ideological convergence shows why, despite centuries of........

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