Why a “Muslim NATO” Will Never Work

Reading Time: 2 minutes The concept of a “Muslim NATO”, a faith‑based military alliance uniting Muslim‑majority states—resurfaces occasionally among religiously inclined commentators. Yet, as defence analyst Amir Erez of BDMilitary.com notes, this idea lacks serious political backing and fails to account for geopolitical realities: “There has never been a unified Islamic military force in the modern era. And there are compelling reasons why there never will be.” A Legacy of Unrealised Unity Historically, ambitions for Islamic or Arab unity have collapsed. The Ottoman Caliphate, which once symbolised Muslim solidarity, disintegrated under nationalist and colonial pressure. Later, Nasserite pan‑Arabism in the 1950s–1960s promised Arab solidarity but dissolved amid inter‑state conflict. More recently, Saudi Arabia launched the Islamic Military Counter‑Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) in December 2015 under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s initiative. Though this brought together 43 nations nominally committed to fighting terrorism, it lacked a joint command and excluded key regional players like