Throughout its history, the Islamic world has experienced constant conflict. Across its various civilisations and empires, recurring patterns of victories and calamities offer valuable lessons.

When reflecting on the past, Muslims often view military victories as standalone moments rather than part of a cause-and-effect sequence, overlooking the broader context. While we proudly recall Salahuddin’s liberation of Palestine, we often overlook the preceding decades of fractured Seljuk power which led to the loss of Jerusalem.

We’re living in a world full of conflict. Muslims being brutalised in Palestine, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and beyond. For our brothers and sisters in Palestine, we have seen the invasion and occupation of cities, settler violence, starvation and journalists being killed.  

We watch aghast from our screens, our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and across the Muslim world succumbing to the butchery of the Western imperial order. We turn to our Muslim leaders, who sit in gilded thrones, posing with the enemies of Allah who killed them.

In Western classrooms, textbooks often omit Islamic history. Most people are unaware of Islam’s historical context, including its leaders, the rise and fall of its empires, and its eventual spread. Despite this lack of understanding, Islam remains a frequent subject of debate in mainstream discourse.