Colonial Stains on Muslims’ Imagination of the Umma

Description

The Umma historically provided a framework of unity for Muslims, transcending geographical, linguistic, and ethnic divisions. However, colonial interventions and the rise of modern nation-states severely disrupted traditional Islamic thought and institutions, fracturing trans-regional ties and reshaping collective identities.

This session explores how colonial and modern influences transformed the Umma’s theological, intellectual, and political dimensions. It highlights the erosion of classical religious authorities, the reshaping of Islamic knowledge, and the emergence of nationalist ideologies that undermined traditional concepts of unity. Colonial strategies intentionally sought to erase the idea of the Umma as a sacred trust, generating competing visions of what the Umma could and should embody today. Contemporary neocolonial realities, notably the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the neglect of Islam’s sacred geography, exemplify these dynamics. Critically analyzing these historical disruptions provides an opportunity to reconceptualize the Umma—not merely as an ideal aspiration, but as an actively evolving lived reality.

Dr. Ovamir Anjum (presenter) is the founder and Chief Research Officer at the Ummatics Institute. He is Professor and endowed chair of Islamic studies in the department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Toledo and co-editor of the American Journal of Islam and Society. Dr. Anjum’s areas of research include Islamic history, theology, political thought, and history broadly.

Dr. Farah El-Sharif is a researcher and scholar of Islamic intellectual history and contemporary thought. In 2022, she received her PhD from Harvard University’s Near Eastern Languages and Civilization Department where she focused on the Islamic scholarship of 19th century West Africa. Her academic interests lie in Islam in West and North Africa, the nation-state and the intersection of Islamic law and Sufism, and Islam and colonialism. She has completed research in various countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Senegal.

The discussion and subsequent Q&A session was moderated by Dr. Ovamir Anjum.

Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 1 PM ET.

Summary

Prof. Ovamir Anjum’s Introductory Remarks

Three Abrahamic Rocks at the Abraham Accords

Introduction

What is the Umma today?
In the wake of Gaza, we face two realities:
- The courage, faith, and sacrifice of Gazans, reflective of the Prophetic spirit.
- The indifference and betrayal of Arab and Muslim regimes, even those claiming connection to Islam, reflecting treachery, hypocrisy, and collusion.
The Umma is real, comprising every soul addressed in the Qurʾan by, “O you who believe.”
In the context of Gaza, skeptics understandably cast doubt on “the Umma” as anything more than a slogan.
This is one among several satanic whispers that must be confronted, just as Ibrahim—upon him be peace—confronted Satan.

Contemporary Satanic Whispers, at which we must throw stones

The Umma never existed: that we should accept the nation-state, not Islam, as the sole unifying and civilizing force; that the “Umma” be redefined along territorial, nationalistic, or linguistic lines, or in generic terms as humanity—anything but the Qurʾanic / Muḥammadan Umma.

The “Abraham Accords”: far from a new proposal, these are a repackaged version of “peace for peace,” originally authored by Netanyahu during his first term as Prime Minister (1996–99). In response to compromised post-1967 Arab proposals for “land for peace,” Netanyahu proposed that Arabs and Muslims get nothing, must accept total defeat, and should beg their occupiers for the privilege of humiliation. Most centrally, they must forget Palestine and, in exchange for assuring the security of their regimes, must agree to become wardens for the open-air prisons their countries would become.

Muslims must turn against each other: Shia against Sunni, Sufi against Salafi, etc. This sort of division is a dagger at the heart of the Umma.

The people of Gaza have already thrown their stones at each of these three satanic plots, which have already begun to unravel.
The slowness of the Umma’s response may be explained by likening the Umma to a great ship, not a boat: changing course fully will take time and patience.
May Allah guide our hearts, strengthen our arms, and make us among those who throw the stones when it matters most.

Dr. Farah El-Sharif’s Reflections

Introduction

As per Gazan author Thaer Abuwardah, the Umma has never in its history undergone an onslaught so violent, nor a siege so complete, nor a betrayal so total as what it currently undergoes in Gaza. This is no longer merely about Gaza or Palestine, but rather the entire Umma and all of Islam.
The people of Palestine—seeing things as they are, including the continued coloniality of the “post-”colonial—invite us to awaken to our living faith, distinct from the sedated “Islam” that benefits the powers that be.

The Meaning of the Umma

In the ḥadīth corpus, the Prophet ﷺ refers to the Umma in the possessive form, “my Umma,” implying a deep and inextricable connection.
Other nouns referenced using the possessive form include: “my household,” “my Sunna,” “my family,” and “my companions,” i.e. only those things closest and dearest to his heart ﷺ. By far, the most recurrent noun is “my Umma.” Thus, turning our backs on the Umma is tantamount to turning our backs on the Prophet ﷺ.
The Qurʾan ascribes possession collectively: “your Umma,” cultivating a sense of ownership and belonging.
When discussing the Umma, the bond with the Prophet ﷺ should be the focal point: one cannot claim to love and follow the Prophet ﷺ and not care for his people.
Prophetic love as a marker of active faith that defends people contrasts with the centering of “Prophetic love” by some contemporary groups that acquiesce to state power and promote political quietism.

Leadership

The institution of the caliphate is linked to the Prophet ﷺ: the full title is “Khalifat Rasūl Allah (Deputy of the Messenger of Allah).
The Umma precedes the establishment of the political community; it is the depository of the Qurʾanic and Prophetic message.
The Prophet’s ﷺ greatest fear for his Umma was the rule of misguiding leaders and scholars, which he expressed in relation to a subtle form of idolatry—perhaps this idolatry manifests today in fealty to rulers and states that betray the Umma.
Muslims have internalized “War on Terror” rhetoric and CVE logics, some having devoted much time and energy to countering small-time non-state Muslim actors, but none to countering violent state actors.
Justice is a central Islamic commandment, not a mere Marxist construct, so why have some Muslim scholars abandoned it?
We must reassess our recent history and consider the consequences of who we have platformed and lauded as imāms and leaders.
Nobody respects a people which does not respect itself and its scriptural commitments.
The Umma will outlast the corrupt rulers and scholars who have betrayed us.
The Umma is not a populist movement, nor “the Arab street,” nor an exclusive club. It is a cross-temporal phenomenon comprising generations of martyrs, prophets, and truth-tellers.

Discussion

Dr. El-Sharif’s Experience Growing up in Jordan

Privileged to have grown up in a family that centered the ummatic, including Palestine, as a moral compass.
On the other hand, was exposed to an elite British colonial education, a government curriculum with a rote approach to Islamic learning, and a socioeconomic elite with an inferiority complex regarding Islam.
Jordan was ground zero for the caliphate’s demise—portrayed positively in the official government history.
Arab nationalism had the pernicious function of ambiguating the meaning of the Umma, with its talk of the “Arab Umma.”
Had relatives who bravely fought for Palestine in 1948, stances that are so starkly contrasted with Arab states who forced their populations to normalize normalization.

Researching West African taṣawwuf

Interest driven by searching for a model that did not bear hallmarks of the inferiority complex vis-à-vis the West prevalent in Arab discourses on Islam.
The first hijra was encouraged because of the justice of the Abyssinian king—justice in African kingship persists, especially when combined with Muslim scholarship.
Significant 17th–19th century Muslim polities, not enamored by the West, centered prophetic love.
Contemporary “War on Terror” discourses echo the language used by European powers to describe these West African Muslim kingdoms.

Q&A

Practical Steps to Shake Off Colonial Baggage

This is less of a problem for Western Muslims than for secularized elites in Muslim countries. Western Muslims are in a position to dispel myths, whether about Islam’s compatibility with modernity, or the supposed superiority of Westerners.
In Islamic studies and learning, one key step is to reject the secularizing tendency to silo “religious” knowledge off from other spheres, thus enabling the revival of Islam as a living tradition.
Parents, having undergone trauma, may fear for children who speak out. While respecting our parents and their fears, we need to move beyond their fear and trauma.
We must reflect on the Prophetic example—what idols did he ﷺ smash? What did he sacrifice? What bonds did he cut?

Raising Muslim Children

Storytelling is essential: narrate global ummatic struggles and victories to instill a sense of belonging to this global Umma.
Visits to the masjid to demonstrate ethnic, national, linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity, to reinforce ummatic belonging over narrower forms.

Reinvigorating Dhikr Circles

Ensuring that both contemplation and action are present in equal measure in spiritual spaces ensures the rooting out of charlatans.
Through action, spiritual transformation can be instantaneous and need not require years of spiritual training.

Perceived Tensions Between Islam and the Postcolonial Condition

Active Muslim youth often struggle between Islamic commitments and leftist discourses.
Muslim youth must be reassured of Islam’s robust framework for justice and solidarity with the oppressed.
Part of this consists in reclaiming concepts that have been vilified by Western elites, such as “jihād” and “sharīʿa.”
Islam is positioned as a lighthouse in the context of the exposure of liberalism’s hypocritical failure and the right-wing’s harshness, racism, moral bankruptcy, and idolization of power, belying its rhetoric of conservatism and “family values.”
Today, the West has chosen to burn down Western civilization in the name of rejecting the Prophet ﷺ. The day will come when they will turn to Muslims for answers.

Structures and Individuals

Much of the Muslim tradition has a difficulty dealing with concepts like injustice as a structural problem rather than as a personal moral flaw.
Modern structures (capitalism, bureaucracy, military complexes) enable mass oppression despite personal piety.
Islamic jurisprudence must evolve to reclaim its earlier heritage that did consider and respond to structural issues, compared to the late medieval tradition that focused more on individuals.

Independent Scholarship

State religious institutions manipulate Islam to suit political interests.
Genuine scholars must resist cooptation and maintain integrity.
Intellectual sovereignty and capacity for self-critique are vital for preserving Islamic authenticity.
The defining feature of this Umma is commanding good and forbidding wrong, which ensures the collective infallibility (ʿisma) of this Umma through self-critique.
Corruption is found where the possibility of free speech and self-critique is shut down.

Abraham Accords

The Palestinian cause was once genuinely held in sincere regard by otherwise imperfect elites, whether impious Gulf rulers or secular Arab nationalists.
The Abraham Accords represent betrayal—normalization of Israel at the expense of Palestinian rights.
Recent atrocities have exposed the hollowness of normalization, making the Abraham Accords difficult to publicly defend.
It is our job to ensure that rulers recognize this red line and realize that Palestine is non-negotiable for Muslims.

Dr. Farah El-Sharif and Ovamir Anjum