Deals Over Deen: Muslim Governments, Israel, and the Silent Betrayal of the Ummah (2025)

So called map of Greater Israel

Introduction: When the Ummah Bleeds and Leaders Trade

The year 2025 will be remembered not only for Israel’s record-breaking global deals, but also for a far more painful reality: the widening gap between Muslim governments and Muslim peoples.

While Gaza burned, civilians were starved, and Al-Aqsa remained under constant threat, several Muslim-majority states either openly deepened relations with Israel or quietly expanded covert cooperation—often in direct contradiction to public sentiment, religious obligation, and historic commitments to Palestine.

This article examines which Muslim countries engaged with Israel in 2025, how they did so openly or secretly, who the responsible leaders were, and why these actions are increasingly viewed across the Muslim world as a betrayal of the Ummah.

This is not a call for chaos or hatred.

It is a call for truth, accountability, and historical clarity.

1. Egypt: From Camp David to Energy Dependence

The $35 Billion Gas Deal That Shook the Arab Street

In 2025, Egypt signed the largest commercial agreement in Israel’s history—a $35 billion gas deal sourcing energy from Israel’s Leviathan gas field through 2040.

Key facts:

• Israel becomes a long-term energy lifeline for Egypt

• Gas flows while Gaza faces electricity blackouts and fuel blockades

• The deal deepens Egypt’s strategic dependence on Israel

Leadership Responsibility

• President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

• Egyptian military-economic establishment

Public vs State

Egyptian officials described the deal as “purely commercial”.

But for the Egyptian public—and much of the Muslim Ummah—there is nothing neutral about funding an occupying power while Palestinians are buried under rubble.

Egypt, the historic guardian of Arab nationalism and a frontline Gaza neighbor, chose energy security over moral leadership.

2. United Arab Emirates: Normalization Turned Militarization

From Abraham Accords to Defense and Surveillance

The UAE has moved beyond normalization into deep strategic alignment.

In 2025:

• Israeli defense firms expanded operations in the Gulf

• Joint cyber, surveillance, and AI projects accelerated

• Reports emerged of multi-billion-dollar defense purchases, largely undisclosed

Leadership Responsibility

• President Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ)

The Ummah’s View

The UAE does not merely trade—it markets normalization as “progress”, while:

• Palestinian resistance is criminalized

• Israeli military technology—tested on Palestinians—is quietly imported

• Islamic solidarity is replaced with “regional pragmatism”

For many Muslims, this represents a shift from neutrality to active complicity.

3. Morocco: Recognition for Territory

Palestine Traded for Western Sahara

Morocco’s relationship with Israel is rooted in a political bargain:

• Israel recognizes Moroccan claims over Western Sahara

• Morocco normalizes relations and expands security cooperation

2025 Developments

• Increased intelligence coordination

• Arms and surveillance technology transfers

• Growing tourism and economic ties

Leadership Responsibility

• King Mohammed VI

Despite Morocco’s long history of pro-Palestinian rhetoric, state policy has moved sharply in the opposite direction—placing territorial ambition above Ummah consensus.

4. Turkey: Loud Words, Quiet Trade

Rhetoric vs Reality

Turkey presents one of the most complex contradictions.

On one hand:

• Strong speeches defending Gaza

• Diplomatic clashes with Israeli officials

On the other:

• Trade volumes with Israel continued

• Energy discussions resurfaced

• Commercial shipping and exports remained active

Leadership Responsibility

• President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Many Muslims admire Turkey’s rhetoric—but increasingly ask:

“If words are strong, why do ships still sail?”

This dual approach has damaged credibility across the Ummah.

5. Azerbaijan: A Muslim Ally in Arms Trade

Though not Arab, Azerbaijan is a Muslim-majority state whose relationship with Israel is deeply military.

Key Points

• Israel supplies a significant portion of Azerbaijan’s advanced weaponry

• Cooperation continued uninterrupted in 2025

• Oil and intelligence ties remain strong

Leadership Responsibility

• President Ilham Aliyev

While Azerbaijan frames this as national security, many Muslims see a troubling precedent: a Muslim state arming itself through a power actively oppressing fellow Muslims.

6. Silent Partners: Covert and Under-the-Table Engagement

Several Muslim countries did not announce deals—but evidence suggests quiet cooperation:

Patterns Include

• Intelligence sharing

• Cybersecurity outsourcing

• Third-party defense procurement

• Trade routed through Europe or Asia to mask origins

These governments rely on silence and deniability, betting that:

• Their populations will not notice

• The Ummah will remain fragmented

History suggests this is a dangerous miscalculation.

7. What the Muslim Ummah Actually Wants

Across surveys, protests, and public discourse, the Muslim street is remarkably consistent:

• End occupation

• End normalization without justice

• No military or economic support to oppression

• Accountability for leaders

The divide today is not between Muslims and non-Muslims.

It is between Muslim peoples and their ruling elites.

8. Economic Arguments vs Moral Reality

Leaders often justify engagement by citing:

• Energy needs

• Technology transfer

• National security

• Global pressure

But the Ummah asks a harder question:

“What is the value of development if it is built on the blood of the oppressed?”

Islamic history is clear:

Material gain never justifies injustice.

Conclusion: History Is Recording Everything

The deals of 2025 will one day be footnotes.

But who stood with Palestine—and who traded during its destruction—will be remembered far longer.

This article does not claim that politics is simple.

But it insists on one truth:

The Ummah knows the difference between necessity and betrayal.

And in 2025, too many Muslim governments crossed that line.