The first war of its kind the world had ever seen, was started by states based on the creed of capitalism. World War 1 was called the ‘Great Game’. A Game in which a plan was meticulously put forth to achieve what the imperial West had tried in vain for centuries to do, that is, to put an end to the Caliphate.

In 1916 the French and the British Governments colluded together in secret to form the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This agreement divided the lands of the Ottoman Caliphate into respective spheres of influence that were to be controlled by Western states.

The 3rd of March, 1924, was the tragic day on which centuries of Islamic rule came to a fatal end, as the Caliphate was abolished in Turkey.

The impact and significance of this was such that Lord Curzon stated, “The situation now is that Turkey is dead and... because we have destroyed its moral strength, the Caliphate and Islam.”

Today, 88 years later his words still resonate. Turkey was once the seat of the Caliphate, and ruled with honor and dignity. Today it finds itself squabbling with issues, from an offshore gas dispute, to losses suffered on the ‘Peace Flotilla’. It may boast about its infrastructure and relatively stable economy, but it’s far from being near to the historical status it once had due to the Caliphate.

The nation state model, enforced upon Muslim lands has kept Muslims weak. They are gripped with conflict and dependent on the West, while their resources are exploited. Today, we find Turkey in conflict with the Kurds, and turmoil in Pakistan as a result of 'the war on terror’. Afghanistan and Iraq are occupied. US Drones continue to cause civilian carnage in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

In the recent Muslim awakening, termed as the Arab Spring, we find that the same imperial capitalist countries which for decades stood with tyrants, cunningly pretend to be with the masses once the fall of the tyrant is found to be inevitable, as we saw in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The irony today is that while Muslim armies of various countries have served countless missions for the United Nations, they are not being mobilized for the protection of Muslims from occupiers or from their implanted dictators. This irony is not coincidental, but a result of the nation state model which has kept the giant called the Muslim Ummah shackled.

Today, as we witness the fall of long standing dictators that were installed to enforce a nation state model, it is only natural to expect that the political landscape of the North African states and the Middle East will revert to the political construct that existed before these nation states were crafted, i.e the Caliphate.