The Lines Between Us

Lines Between Us: A Critical Examination of Nationalism in the Muslim-majority World critically examines the imposition and adoption of the Westphalian nation-state system on the Muslim world, demonstrating that nationalism – on both the structural and ideological levels – is fundamentally incompatible with the historical, theological, spatial, and anthropological fabric of Muslim-majority societies. The work offers a multidisciplinary analysis that challenges the widespread assumption that nationalism is the natural or inevitable form of political organization in the Muslim world or the Global South at large. Through historical case studies, the manuscript traces how European imperialism (via colonial governance and the Mandate System) supplanted centuries of localized Islamic governance with rigid, often ill-fitting Western political institutions.

The manuscript further explores nationalism’s ideological dimensions, positioning it as a secular quasi-religion that competes with Islam in defining moral authority, identity, and belonging. Chapter 3 utilizes numerous examples of excerpts from textbooks, constitutions, and national anthems to reveal state efforts to “sacralise the nation” and elevate it to a status above all else. Chapter 4 assesses the spatial dimension by revealing how the nation-state system fragments and imposes borders on previously vast civilizational space that was once defined by open trade routes, free movement, and interdependent ecological space.

Part 1 concludes by tracing the legacies of Prophets Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, illuminating their enduring influence on the region’s collective irreverent identity and distrust toward man-made institutions. In order to demonstrate that the nation-state model is neither necessary nor inevitable, Part 2 of the manuscript provides and discusses more than half a dozen potential alternatives, including federations, confederations, local models, and regional integration schemes - some of which are inspired by the region’s own pre-colonial styles of governance.