Let me be very honest – I am tired of hearing Muslims complain about disunity. It pains me greatly to see so many members of my community exude a sense of hopelessness and despondency due to a false belief that the Ummah is divided, and thus we are all “losers”.

I know this negativity stems primarily from having to bear witness to the violence and injustices being inflicted on our brothers and sisters in faith across a number of Muslim-majority countries, with perceived impunity, in the context of different geopolitical conflicts.

As Muslims, however, we have a responsibility not to despair. Our religion encourages us to engage in introspection, and to adhere to the Islamic ideal of “al-amr bil ma’rouf and al-nahy anil munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil)”.  This requires careful analysis and – if necessary – criticism of the status quo. But never dejection.

After the loss of the Khilafa with the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1922, a considerable majority of Muslims focussed all their attention and energy on finding a way to “reunite” the Ummah. Without a Khilafa, they assumed, Muslims of the world would struggle to remain on the same page on important issues and suffer the consequences. This led to seemingly endless infighting – primarily between those who sought to maintain old religious practices and understandings and those who wanted to make foundational reforms to the faith in the name of reuniting the Ummah. Where did all this bickering and screaming get us? What did all this achieve? It has been a whole century since we had a Khilafa, and many of us are still crying about Muslims being disunited.

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Those who became obsessed with Ummah’s loss of “unity” in the absence of a shared political structure lost sight of things that continue to keep us united – things that can actually help our community collectively achieve justice, peace and prosperity.

True unity cannot be found in the enforcement of political or cultural uniformity under a Utopian empire stretching from Morocco to Malaysia. It is already present in our collective adherence to Islam’s core principles, which are inherently universal. The Quranic message, delivered by Prophet Muhammad, underscores this universality. Islam’s origins as an oral, lived tradition made it uniquely accessible to diverse societies, from nomadic tribes to advanced civilisations. This accessibility created a unity that is incredibly difficult to break.

Today, despite not having a Khilafa or a shared political structure, Muslims of the world are much more united than we ever give ourselves credit for. We are united in our principles, our practices, our values. For us Muslims, recognising this unity, and harnessing its power, is a theological imperative. Equally importantly, embracing and cherishing this unity, and not giving in to misguided narratives of division, is a political act of resistance against the enduring legacy of colonial and imperial tyranny.

This is because our ongoing infighting and pessimism over our perceived lack of unity is not entirely of our community’s own making. The false narrative of “disunity” is pushed on us by outsiders, by tyrannical powers, who have been working to subjugate us for many centuries. They want us to believe that since there is no pan-Islamic political unity, we are not united in anything. They want us to get lost in despair, and become truly divided, so that they can maintain dominance over our people.

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Indeed, the disunity narrative prevalent in the Muslim community today cannot be disentangled from the scars of Western colonialism and imperialism. For more than two centuries, the Muslim world was subjected to political, economic, and social subjugation under Western imperial powers. The artificial borders drawn by colonial administrators were designed to fracture Muslim-majority regions, sowing division among our people and allowing us to continue to be controlled by them. Today, these imposed boundaries continue to fuel conflicts and strife.

Yet the Ummah’s unity persists in ways that these “invaders” could not erase. The continuity of Islamic practices – from prayer to pilgrimage – across 1,400 years attests to an unbroken metaphysical bond. This unity, rooted in faith, has outlived countless empires and regimes. Recognising it is not about ignoring very real political challenges, but reframing the narrative to highlight resilience.

A key to understanding this lies in embracing the diversity of the global Muslim community. The early Muslim community was multicultural, multilingual, and multiracial. Differences in governance and political approaches among the first four caliphs did not undermine unity; instead, they showcased the flexibility and inclusivity of Islamic principles. Similarly, the evolution of multiple Islamic politics across continents – from the Abbasids to the Ottomans – demonstrates that political differences do not equate to disunity.

In the backdrop of this rich history, it is a very harmful mistake to conflate unity with uniformity, and view diversity as a weakness and a sign of division. The ability to accommodate differing opinions, schools of thought, and cultural expressions is a strength that has historically enriched the Ummah. Differences in prayer practices among Islamic schools of thought, for instance, are not signs of division but reflections of a robust tradition that values diversity within a shared framework.

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When our people face oppression, violence, and injustice or experience defeat against a tyrannic outside force – as we have tragically seen many examples of in recent years – our response must not be decrying “disunity” and falling into despair, but demonstrating resilience and focusing on all the things that unite us.

The Indian mutiny of 1857 against British colonial rule is a poignant example of showing resilience in the face of defeat. After the failed uprising, which resulted in the slaughter of thousands of Indian Muslim scholars, the ulema of Deoband did not succumb to despair. Despite the devastating psychological impact of the losses experienced, they accepted their failure, owned up to it, and immediately began work to rise from their ashes. They did not panic, or whine about the disunity and weakness of the Ummah. They did not become despondent. They decided to move forward by protecting Islamic knowledge in British India, knowing too well that oppressors can defeat individual Muslims, but can never defeat sacred knowledge that unites us in something greater than ourselves.

Their proactive response turned a moment of defeat into a foundation for renewal, leading to the founding of educational institutions like Darul Uloom Deoband, whose output served and strengthened the Muslims of the entire subcontinent, if not the world. It was a positive reaction to failure, a true lesson on the kind of leadership Muslims should crave today.

Indeed, at this juncture in time marked with conflict, inequality and widespread injustice, rather than fixating on narratives of failure, our focus as Muslims should be on the achievements and enduring bonds that connect the Ummah across time and space. The unity of the Muslim world is not an unattainable ideal but a living reality that requires recognition and celebration.

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Of course, acknowledging the Ummah’s theological unity should not lead to complacency either. The challenges of the modern world – from political instability to economic inequities and systemic violations of human rights – demand innovative solutions. These solutions, however, must build on the existing foundation of unity, not undermine it with pessimistic narratives.

By reframing the narrative and celebrating what unites us, Muslims can move forward with confidence, transforming unity into a force for renewal and resistance in a world still grappling with the remnants of colonialism.

This is not the time for despondency. It is time for us to use our belief in the Eternal powers of Allah and engage in proactive efforts to reform and refine our Muslim endeavors!

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.