If you were scrolling through social media during the World Cup games tournament in Qatar, the existence of a Palestinian team and perhaps even a Palestinian victory would visually be almost factual. There were barely any games in which a PLO flag was not seen, and pro-Palestinian Instagram and TikTok accounts celebrated the victories of Morocco and Saudi Arabia as if it was Palestine who had defeated Portugal and Argentina. 

Despite the fact, Qatar, which is a major financier of terrorist entities like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, was literally giving Palestinian flags away and by some accounts, incentivizing ordinary attendees to wave them with free tickets and other merchandise, there is one thing Pallywood has gotten very good at; tampering with the Arab psyche to extract every bit of sympathy for the Palestinian Authority. In Islam and Arab culture in general, there is a term known as “Ummah." 

We keep seeing images conveniently captured by professional photographers of "pro Palestinians" at the world cup in Qatar. Now it is emerging that Qatari football fans are paid imports (tatoos are a dead giveaway) and as is so obvious, so are the 'pro-Palestinians' #Pallywood pic.twitter.com/XCzS6HqSid

— ISRAELRADIOGUY🇮🇱 (@israelradioguy) November 29, 2022

The Arab term literally translates into “The nation” and generally refers to the traditional Muslim world, stretching from the Mugrhab to Mesopotamia and Persia. It has also been used to describe the general Muslim public, an ethnoreligious idea in which all followers of Mohammad are seen as part of a larger nation of believers who have joint customs and duties. 

The philosophy behind the Ummah is in a sense the religious and historical prelude for the modern Pan-Arabism movement. All Arab-identifying individuals along with many Muslims around the world have an obligation to remain committed to the joint causes of all brothers and sisters part of the Ummah. For example, when the largely French-speaking Moroccan team wins a match against Portugal, the entire Muslim world, specifically the Arab-speaking one, will celebrate. 

Why does the entire "Muslim Ummah" scream so loudly for Palestine but can barely say 5 words for Afghanistan or Iran?

What's the difference?

Lw seems like the Palestine movement is just an excuse for Anti-semitism since y'all can't give the same energy to muslim extremists

— Shabnam (@shab_nzad) December 11, 2022

From a physical geographic standpoint, the Ummah also has importance. The continuous multi-continental strip of Arab and Muslim land is seen by the Ummah’s philosophy as one large unified portion of land similar to the former Ottoman Empirical Caliphate which many in the Arab world want to revive, albeit under Arab, not Turkish rule. The idea of this utopian Arab unity is backed by religious teachings in Islam, adding to its sentimental value and importance in Islam. Since the Arab conquering of the Levant in the 7th century, Jerusalem and the entirety of Israel are seen as part of the geographical embodiment of the Ummah. 

The secularization of Arab society in the 20th century brought Pan-Arabism, which was essentially the same as the Ummah but without the religious aspect. The unified mentality, which is dying down in the 21st century, was the driving ideology behind Arab resistance to Israel and eventually the founding of the PLO. However, an apparent Palestinian-driven attempt to revive the Pan-Arab philosophy has resurrected the trendiness of the term “Ummah” and connected it directly to the Leading Palestinian Fatah and Hamas parties. 

Lateef is inventing history. Fact is, the first time they recognized themselves as Palestinians was in 1964. And even then they insisted they were part of ARAB Ummah, working for pan-Arab unity, were careful not to step on Jordan or Egypt's toes. /1 pic.twitter.com/Hk06jjZPFW

— Spinoza's rose (@Spinozasrose) September 15, 2021

Throughout the Qatari World Cup which ended with a spectacular and historic Argentinian victory, Palestinian activists who were present along with media personnel ensured that each picture of an Arab team or celebrity taken included a statement about freeing Palestine or at least a PLO flag. When Saudi Arabia surprisingly beat Argentina, Pallywood headlines called it a “victory for Palestine”, and when Morocco almost made it to the finals the same Palestinian propaganda machine claimed rights over the entire tournament’s games. 

To clarify, no Palestinian national team has qualified for the World Cup; on that note, Israel’s national team is not much better. Yet somehow miraculously through guilt-tripping Arabs all over, Palestinians received more attention than most countries who actually participated. Which Arab would not support the Palestinian Authority if they were told their entire identity counts on it? The manipulation of a religious term into convincing Arabs they have a historic duty to protect Palestine helped in portraying a zero-tolerance policy for Israel in the Arab world, but as most things 'Pallywood', it was and is all fantasy. 

Palestine still control their own destiny despite a heavy loss to Morocco but if they are to chart a path to the knockout stage they need to go back to the game plan that qualified them for the tournament finals. #FIFAArabCup https://t.co/XI3filmadi

— FootballPalestine.com (@FutbolPalestine) December 2, 2021

Morocco is one of the countries that has been largely benefiting from the Abraham Accords, and Saudi Arabia is openly contemplating joining as well. Arab countries and Muslim leaders recognize the financial benefits along with security stabilization peace with Israel is delivering. The problem with the Ummah ideology is that pan-nationalism tends not to work. If in former Yugoslavia, Croatians refused to be identified with Bosnians, Moroccans largely wouldn’t agree to be lumped into a category with Iraqis, Saudis, or Palestinians. This is especially true for the Palestinian's case, who don’t offer anything tangible to a unified Arab world.

The way Pallywood has exploited the term Ummah overlooks genuine cultural and historic differences between the many followers of Islam, which are not sinful in Muhammad’s religion that accepts diversity. Palestine was not the victor of the World Cup, Argentina was. The PLO didn’t defeat Portugal, Morocco did. Outside of imagination-land, hard work and skill are the determining factors for victory, while inside Pallywood all that counts is looking pretty.