In spite of this fact, the Western powers have never given sufficient importance to the Muslim world. They have always been inclined to treat it as a big backward and lethargic child.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Much of the misgiving that Muslims feel for the West stems from our strong emphasis on freedom, always a risky enterprise. I've heard some say they would rather rear their children in a closely guarded Islamic society than in the United States, where freedom so often leads to decadence.
The Muslim leaders swallow the advice of the Western powers and bodies like the IMF and World Bank, even when it is bad for their countries and they know this.
Today, the Muslim world is the poorest of the global powers.
It is said that the West had a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid. There isn't a global Islam.
Western countries in particular can today no longer be separated from Muslim societies, because they have them within themselves. They are themselves internally globalized.
Islam is in principle egalitarian, and has always had problems with power.
The West wanted to avoid an Islamic state in Europe.
The hatred Muslim extremists feel against the West feeds on certain conflicts in the world.
Dissensions between Muslim nations run at least as deep, if not deeper, than those nations' resentment of the West.
The Muslim world is threatened by religious fanaticism. The Western world is threatened by secular fanaticism.