Haseeb Ahmed’s work "Ummah HQ" considers the concept of the Ummah – the global community of Muslims that supposedly once existed and remains present, but has never actually been real. The Ummah is, in fact, a modern construction, part of the long history of opportunistic invocation by imperialist forces, such as the former Ottoman and British Empires, to create allies and particularly to enforce relatiosnhips towards states that emerged after colonisation. It projects the existence of a unified Islam and a collective Muslim people going back through history. Many Muslims across the world take solace in the idea of the Ummah when confronted with poverty and war endemic in the Middle East and other Muslim majority regions. Similar to many theocratic states and fascist ideologies, the fictional origin of this ideal community often serves as a call to recover its lost unity, as evidenced in the rhetoric of the Islamic State. "Ummah HQ" gives place to this imaginary in all its ambivalence.

The dome, made with modern construction materials such as aluminium, foam and 3D printing, is fragmented with blocks missing, giving the sense that it is either under construction or a ruin. This installation is based on the Muqarnas, thought to be one of the most original of forms of Islamic architecture. Also known as stalactite vaults, Muqarnas are used as an analogy, with each block likened to an individual contributing to a community. Muqarnas exist as an ideal 2D geometric plan from above, while creating a 3D space to be occupied at the same time. Some speculate that it is the realisation of the influence of Aristotle’s concept of atomism, where every block is a keystone held together with a unifying force. 

Arabic inscriptions posed on the base are written in transliterated English or Dutch. They address the actual state of the Ummah. Most Muslims around the world are taught how to read the Quran but not how to speak Arabic. While these Muslims are seen as aberrations they are in fact the majority. The moment of surprise for those who are able to read Arabic phonetically is the recognition that one belongs to a ‘group’ that is not normally addressed. This group, which is reluctant to identify as such, is more like the contemporary Ummah than the one which is addressed in political discourse, both historical and present.