The Iran-Israel war has brought not only missiles into the sky but also contradictions to the surface—especially within the Muslim world. Among Sunni-majority states and clerical communities, there appears to be a sudden burst of vocal “support” for Iran, a Shia theocratic republic they long criticized. But this support appears suspiciously performative—less a testament of love and more a desperate attempt to find a moral high ground in a time of regional humiliation. This is not love. It is, at best, reluctant admiration; at worst, a hollow theatre. For decades, Sunni rulers and clerics have spewed intense ideological hatred for Shia Iran. They’ve questioned its legitimacy, its jurisprudence, and even the very faith of its people. In Friday sermons, state-sponsored religious texts, and media, Iran has often been portrayed as a heretic outlier. The geopolitical divide—manifested in proxy wars from Yemen to Syria—cemented this fault line. Yet now, with Tel Aviv and Tehran exchanging direct fire, many Sunni voices are suddenly cheering for Iran. Why? Part of the answer lies in Israel’s deepening ties with Sunni regimes. The Abraham Accords, normalization with UAE and Bahrain, open coordination with Saudi Arabia, and shared fears over Iranian regional expansionism, have all tilted the traditional Arab-Israeli binary. But when Israel began targeting Iranian military personnel and nuclear scientists, particularly during this recent escalation, it triggered a moral, psychological, and theological unease among Sunni populations. Even if Iran is “the other,” it is still a Muslim nation. And when a Muslim nation is openly attacked by a Zionist one, silence becomes complicity in the eyes of the masses. So, despite years of demonization, Sunni clerics and commentators are now calling for Muslim unity. Yet unity without introspection is hypocrisy. You cannot malign a nation for decades and then suddenly claim to stand by its side only when it bleeds. This duality is not new. When Iran supports Palestine, it is accused of political opportunism. When it supports Hezbollah, it is accused of promoting sectarianism. But when Iran itself becomes a victim of Israeli aggression, the same critics morph into performative allies. The reason this support rings hollow is because it lacks continuity. It’s not grounded in a principled stance on Muslim suffering or anti-Zionism, but rather in momentary moral convenience. Had this solidarity existed earlier, the sectarian bloodbath in Syria might not have happened. Yemen wouldn’t have become a humanitarian graveyard. Bahrain’s uprising wouldn’t have been crushed with deafening silence from the same Sunni regimes that now express ‘love’ for Iran.This is not love. It’s reactionary posturing. The show of love by Sunni commentators is often framed in hashtags, prayers, and emotional speeches. But where were these expressions when Iranian scientists were assassinated with Mossad’s fingerprints all over them? Where was the outrage when Iranian flights carrying aid to Syria and Lebanon were targeted mid-air? Where was the solidarity when Western sanctions strangled Iran’s economy, even denying cancer drugs to children? And most ironically, where was this love when prominent Sunni figures were gleefully predicting the “collapse” of the Islamic Republic, hoping it would be replaced by a more Western-friendly puppet regime? The sudden U-turn exposes not a transformation of hearts, but a shift in the optics game.
“Social media is overwhelmed by the love of sunni muslims towards Iran’s shia muslims. Thissunni world’s reaction during Iran-Israel conflict explains that love has no religion, cast, creed or colour. But this time it is to be seen whether this sudden burst of love is a true love or a temporary pause to hatred.Letus unite and sustain this love both ways till this world survives. Letus convert it into pan Islamic cooperation”.
Supporting Iran when it is retaliating against Israel allows these actors to rehabilitate their tarnished images, especially after months of complicity in Gaza’s suffering. Iran, for all its political missteps and internal contradictions, has built undeniable credibility in the arena of resistance. Whether through support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, or Palestinian factions in Gaza, Iran has at least walked the walk when others only talked. It has positioned Itself as the only state in the Muslim world willing to take real risks—military, diplomatic, and economic—to challenge Israeli expansionism. This resistance posture—rooted in religious ideology as much as in geopolitical calculation—has earned Iran a moral leverage that even its ideological rivals are forced to acknowledge. The irony is rich. Sunni regimes that have invested billions in arms purchases from the West now find themselves standing silently while a besieged Shia state launches retaliatory drones at Israeli targets. It exposes who really means business, and who is merely in business. It’s particularly telling to watch the silence or awkward shifts among high-profile Sunni clerics. Many who once issued fatwas against visiting Iran or participating in Shia rituals now attempt to reinterpret unity in the face of Zionist aggression. But unity is not built on political survival; it is built on trust. True Muslim unity requires confronting uncomfortable truths. It means acknowledging the damage caused by sectarian slander, proxy warfare, and decades of misinformation. It means mourning Iranian lives not because they are useful in an anti-Israel narrative, but because they are human and Muslim. That depth of solidarity is still missing. Such performative unity, devoid of historical accountability, can backfire. It discredits sincere calls for pan-Islamic cooperation. It deepens the distrust between sects rather than heals it. If the Sunni world wants to support Iran, let it be out of principle, not temporary outrage. Let it include an apology for decades of vilification. Let it come with theological humility and political courage. Without this, even love becomes another form of soft hate—a manipulative embrace that ends when the cameras stop rolling. The Sunni world now stands at a fork. One path leads to real solidarity—where sectarian identities are respected, differences are dialogued, and resistance is a shared moral project. The other leads to further hypocrisy, where Shia Iran is hated in times of peace and loved only in times of Israeli aggression. Which is it going to be? Unity or utility?Let us sustain this love beyond wars and beyond boarders.
(The author is a teacher and a researcher based in Gowhar Pora Chadoora of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Ashraf Zainabi
