Seminar Held on Prophethood and Strategy: Thinking Ethics and Power Together

On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, the İLKE Foundation hosted Wadah Khanfar, President of the Al Sharq Forum. The seminar, titled “Prophethood and Strategy: Thinking Ethics and Power Together,” focused on Khanfar’s book Prophethood and Strategy, recently published in Turkish. Drawing on the book, the discussion addressed the changing world order and the strategic position of the Muslim world.

Khanfar argued that current developments represent more than the end of a particular world order. In his view, Western civilization has reached the end of its natural cycle. He described the great civilizations of history that considered politics and ethics together as “civilizations of mīzān (balance),” and emphasized that the West was the first civilization to separate politics from ethics. Khanfar interpreted the global transformation as part of the retreat of Western civilization. He noted that military power, the economy, technology, and social forces outside the system each operate according to distinct dynamics, and said that the emerging order will be shaped by the interaction among these domains.

Recalling that, throughout history, the Ummah constituted a sphere of belonging above the state, Khanfar observed that this bond has weakened under the nation-state model. He remarked that societies severed from their history suffer from a kind of “strategic dementia.” Stressing that the Prophet Muhammad did not separate politics from ethics, he maintained that strategic thinking should not be confined to security and material interests alone.

During the question-and-answer session, Khanfar underlined the need for layered integration rather than the abolition of nation-states. The program concluded with a book signing session for Risalet ve Strateji.