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Pan-Islamism (اتّحاد الاسلام) is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state or a Caliphate.^[1] While Pan-Arabism advocates the unity and independence of Arabs regardless of religion, pan-Islamism advocates the unity and independence of Muslims regardless of race.

The model of pan-Islamism can be described as the early years of Islam when the Muslim world was united and strong in one state.

In the modern era, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani promoted unity among Muslims to resist colonial occupation of Muslim lands. Al-Afghani's policies were highly progressive according to grad student Danielle Costa:

Afghani believed that to live in the modern world demanded changes in Muslim ways of organizing society, and that it must try to make those changes while remaining true to itself. Islam, Afghani believed, was not only compatible with reason, progress and social solidarity, the bases of modern civilization, but if properly interpreted it positively enjoined them.^[2]

While Afghani's interest in theology was scant,^[3] later the Pan-Islamism of the post-colonial world became strongly associated with Islamism. Leading Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, and Ayatollah Khomeini stressed the importance of a return to traditional Sharia law which they believed would make Islam united and strong again.

Throughout the post-war period, nationalism rather than Islamism led in popular support. In the Arab world secular pan-Arab parties - Baath and Nasserist parties - had offshoots in almost every Arab country, and took power in Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Syria. Islamists suffered severe repression; it's major thinker Syed Qutb, was imprisoned and tortured.

Following the stunning defeat of Arab armies in the Six-Day War, Islamism began to reverse its position with nationalism and pan-Arabism. In 1979 the Iranian Revolution ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from power and in 1989 Muslim mujahideen successfully forced the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan, which galvanised Islamists all over the world into renewed efforts, and increased their popularity. The various branches of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the Middle-East and in particular Egypt have since been a significant challenge to the secular nationalist or monarchical governments in the region. In Pakistan and Bangladesh the Jamaat-e-Islami enjoyed popular support especially since the formation of the MMA, and in Algeria the FIS was expected to win the cancelled elections in 1992. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has emerged as a strong force in Central Asia and in the last five years has re-emerged with significant strength in the Arab world.^[4]

• Caliphate
• Khilafat movement
• Ummah
• Historical Shi'a-Sunni relations
• Muslim Unity
• Muslim Brotherhood
• Hizb ut-Tahrir

• Azmi Özcan. Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (1877-1924), Brill Academic Publishers, 1997, ISBN 9-004-10180-2.
• Nazir Ahmad Khan Chaudri. Commonwealth of Muslim States: a plea for Pan-Islamism, al-Ahibba (Friends of the Muslim World Muhibban-e-Alam-e-Islami), 1972.
• M. Naeem Qureshi. Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918-1924, Brill Academic Publishers, 1999, ISBN 9-004-10214-0.

• al-Afghani's Vision of a Pan-Islamic Civilization
• al-Afghani Bibliography