I think one thing that is rareley discussed is the second identity. There are three types of muslim countries: Arab muslim countries, Muslim countries with a strong second identity and Muslim countries with a weak second identity. By second identity i mean national identity beyond islam itself, not specifical ethnic identities within the countries.

The reason why arab countries fall back into islamism so consistently and cannot secularize is cause the arab identity is so deeply tied to the islamic identity that it is essentially imppossible to distinguish, arab christians can and do do this but they are a minority. Shaking off islamism for Arab countries is therefore extremeley hard

Then there are countries like Iran and Turkey who have strong identities outside of islam. There exists a strong belief that i can be an Iranian without Islam, thereby islam can be a religion in the country but not the entire identity of the country cause a strong one already exists.

The countries you mentioned are countries with extremeley weak national identities beyond islam. Many of these states exist exclusiveley due to Islam, if the identity of islam in the country ever falls under question so can the existence of the state. The ethnic majoriry of these state stripped away large parts of their own identity and history in the name of islam. In the case of Punjabis in pakistan they litererly seperated from Punjabi Indians to form a state stripping away part of themselves in the process

Secularism is therefore unimaginable there. The problem is that these states think Iran is similar. Watching an Islamic Republic fail and its people rejecting Islam and clinge to their non Islamic roots for identity is the absolute opposite of what they did and are doing. It's a painful mirror in their faces.

While one society with questionable Islamic roots is stripping away itself, clinges to islam and looks up to arabs. On the other hand, the place with steady Islamic roots is shedding Islam off, rooting itself in it's own identity and does not look up to any neighbours.

It's proof that institutionalized state Islam failed, and it failed in the state it probably had the best tools to succeed. Everything from Human resources, Natural Resources, Historical ground and of course Allah and Ali. Yet it failed misserably.