A central pillar of the Islamic faith is its expectation that Muslims will come to the aid of their fellow believers. This informs an understanding that the Islamic community (or “umma”) will sustain even amid significant external pressures. It is one of Islam’s most beautiful qualities.

At the political level, this pillar helps explain why, for example, Article 12 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates declares that the “foreign policy of the Union shall be directed towards support for Arab and Islamic causes and interests.” It also helps underline why successive Pakistani governments have (their flexible application of constitutional law aside) taken great public pains to offer their absolute commitment to Islamic values and law.