Next to the word Deen, no other word in the Islamic tradition brings warmer feelings to our hearts than the word Ummah. The notion that one belongs to a nation that surpasses time and space, that is not bound by geographical boundaries, language or ethnicity, where people are unified by their worldview and sense of mission. But do we really know what the Ummah is? What it represents? And how far it expands? What does the concept of Ummah mean for us Western Muslims today as we pledge allegiance to Western flags? What instructive value does the “Ummah” bring to our modern struggles for equality and social justice?