Which country is the most powerful Islamic nation?

Question

Iran or Pakistan

Answer 1

Saudi Arabia is because they control the bulk of the worlds oil supply.

Answer 2

With conventional forces I would go with Iran as they have a rather large military, bigger than Pakistan's.  However, Pakistan does have nukes so if pushed into the corner they could do some serious damage to Iran.

Saudi is only as powerful as we let them be.  Without us they wouldn't have much of a military.  

Answer 3

Neither.

Saudi Arabia is.

Though Iran has far more influence than Pakistan over the Arab world.

Answer 4

Hard to say. A powerful nation is a nation of powerful individuals. Powerful individuals are those who are in control of their own lives, free people. We usually confuse powerful nation with powerful governments. Powerful governments are the consequence of weak nations, the government gets powerful by imposing its will on the people, that makes weak individuals submitted to the power of the government and, hence, a weak nation.

Islamic nations are ruled by powerful governments, it's the only way to support a fundamentalist religious nation. That makes the individuals weak, submitted to the power of a tyrannical government, and the nation weak.

It may look like the nation is powerful because it's able to exert a certain amount of violent force on other nations or groups of people even inside that same nation. But once the power of the government is gone, the whole nation is gone with it.

On the other hand, a nation of powerful individuals doesn't vanish because the government is overthrown. You can't conquer a nation of powerful individuals, you have to kill them all.

But be aware that almost all nations in the face of Earth are turning into fundamentalist regimes. They may not be islamic or based on religion, but socialism is turning into one. The governments are taking all the power, ruling the life of the individuals, taking over each and every little detail, keeping them from making decision, concentrating the management of resources and shutting down opposition. Dissent is not allowed, thinking by oneself is seen as a sign of treachery, the government provides (badly) what one needs and demands complete submission.

Islam means submission. When the government doesn't let you voice your dissent, it's islam. When the government doesn't let you run your life in a way different than the way it established by law, it's islam. When the government doesn't let you use your resources the way you want to, it's islam.