By The South Asia Times

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has thrown down the gauntlet to Hamas, threatening the group will be "harshly met, very harshly met" if it fails to disarm, while simultaneously announcing a $10 billion US contribution to rebuild Gaza.

The ultimatum, delivered Thursday at the inaugural "Board of Peace" summit in Washington, has sent shockwaves across the Muslim world, where governments now face a potentially explosive dilemma: deploy troops to enforce Hamas's disarmament or defy Washington's ambitious plan.

"Hamas has been, I think they're going to give up their weapons, which is what they promised," Trump told representatives from 47 nations gathered at the US Institute of Peace. "If they don't, it'll be, you know, they'll be harshly met, very harshly met."

Nine nations -- Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait -- have collectively pledged more than $7 billion toward Gaza reconstruction, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs raising an additional $2 billion.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stood beside Trump and pledged at least 8,000 peacekeeping troops to join the International Stabilization Force (ISF), with deployment expected within one to two months. Indonesia has even been entrusted with a deputy commander role.

"We fully agree with this plan and are fully committed to it. That is why we joined the Board of Peace," Prabowo declared.

But back home in the world's largest Muslim nation, the president's commitment is landing like a bombshell.

Muslims across the country, observing the first days of Ramadan, are expressing outrage at the prospect of Indonesian troops potentially being used to disarm a fellow Muslim resistance movement.

Social media has erupted with hashtags calling on Prabowo to withdraw the pledge, with many accusing the government of betraying the Palestinian cause.

"This is Ramadan, the month of solidarity, and our president is offering soldiers to fight against those who have resisted occupation for decades," said a prominent Indonesian cleric who spoke on condition of anonymity. "The people will not accept their brothers in faith being disarmed by Muslim soldiers."

Political analysts warn that Trump's hardline stance has handed Prabowo's domestic opponents a powerful weapon. "Prabowo returned from Washington with a leadership role on the international stage but potentially a crisis at home," said a Jakarta-based political commentator. "Indonesian nationalism has always been intertwined with support for Palestine. Asking Indonesians to participate in disarming Hamas crosses a red line for millions."

The Indonesian government has emphasized its troops would serve under a peacekeeping mandate, but Trump's explicit threat against Hamas has blurred those distinctions in the public mind.

- Pakistan red line

Across South Asia, Pakistan has drawn the clearest line in the sand.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi reiterated Thursday that while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the Board of Peace meeting in Washington, Pakistan's participation has strict limits.

"Pakistan will play its role for the establishment of peace in Gaza; however, we will not be involved in disarming Hamas," Andrabi stated emphatically. "We have identified our red lines quite explicitly. Pakistan can be part of a peacekeeping mandate, but we would not be part of any disarming/demilitarization mandates."

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has made the position clear: Pakistan will contribute to reconstruction and humanitarian efforts but will not join any initiative targeting a specific group or organization.

But Trump's threat now places Sharif in an extraordinarily difficult position. Pakistan's military and intelligence establishments have historically maintained relationships with Palestinian factions, and public support for the Palestinian cause cuts across every demographic and political division.

"Pakistanis will never allow their army to fight against Hamas," said Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Pakistan's largest religious-political parties.

He, along with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of JUI (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam), another major religious-political party, announced that the Pakistani nation will not allow the government to send troops to Palestine.

Sharif, already navigating a fragile economic recovery and political instability, now finds himself caught between Washington's expectations and Islamabad's red lines.

Andrabi acknowledged the delicate position, noting that Pakistan has "joined the Board of Peace with a particular focus, i.e., the reconstruction in Gaza, long-term settlement of the Palestinian issues," and will "not be bothered by participation of one country or another."

While Trump celebrated the pledges, the numbers tell a sobering story. The $7 billion from nine nations and $10 billion from the US represent a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble after more than two years of Israel's genocidal war, killing over 73,000 innocent Palestinian women, children, and men.

Last week, Hamas's political leader abroad, Khaled Meshaal, rejected calls to disarm Palestinian factions in Gaza, arguing that stripping weapons from an occupied people would turn them into "an easy victim to be eliminated."

Speaking on the second day of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Meshaal described the discussion around Hamas handing over its weapons as a continuation of a century-long effort to neutralize Palestinian armed resistance.

Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania have committed troops to the stabilization force, while Egypt and Jordan will provide training and support for a Palestinian police force. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and other Gulf states have opened their checkbooks.

However, across the Muslim world, from the streets of Karachi to the mosques of Jakarta, ordinary citizens are watching with growing concern.

In Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan -- whose country has committed to contributing troops -- cautioned that "the humanitarian situation remains fragile and ceasefire violations continue to occur." Ankara has maintained close relations with Hamas.

The International Stabilization Force is set to be led by a US general, raising uncomfortable questions for Muslim nations: How would their troops serve under a US commander who has consistently labeled Hamas fighters as "terrorists," while millions of Muslims across the world view them as legitimate resistance fighters against occupation?

This fundamental contradiction lies at the heart of the growing backlash. Muslim soldiers would potentially find themselves in a chain of command headed by officers who have spent decades conducting military operations against groups like Hamas -- groups that much of the Muslim world regards as mujahideen defending their land.

- What could happen now?

Trump's timeline remains unclear. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted "there will be no reconstruction" before demilitarization, US officials acknowledge the process will take time.

Netanyahu has reportedly pushed Trump to pressure Muslim countries into contributing troops against Hamas, and the US president appears to have obliged. But Muslim leaders now face the prospect of popular revolts at home if their soldiers are seen as fighting against fellow Muslims.

As Muslims around the world begin observing Ramadan -- a month of reflection, sacrifice, and solidarity -- Trump's ultimatum has landed with particular weight.

For leaders like Indonesia's Prabowo and Pakistan's Sharif, the coming weeks will test whether they can balance Washington's expectations with the sentiments of their own people. For millions of Muslims watching from afar, the question is simpler: Will Muslim troops be asked to fight Muslims in the holy month?

*Reporting by The South Asia Times correspondents in Washington, Islamabad, Jakarta, and Istanbul