Colonialism is a nice, convenient way of blaming anyone and everyone but oneself. Furthermore, it doesn't explain a damn thing with respect to the absolute barbarism we see in many parts of the Islamic world with respect to women, with respect to "apostasy" and free thought, with respect to religious tolerance or with respect to the casual violence that seems to be eating away at that part of the world like a cancer. Let's look at the colonial histories of Muslim nations:
Saudi Arabia - an Ottoman (Muslim) colony only
Yemen - only Aden was ever colonized
Turkey - never colonized
Iran - never colonized (Shah did come to power with Western help, but that was it)
Afghanistan - failed attempts at control on the part of the British
Yes, Pakistan was a colony, but its aberrant nature today is far more of a result of its post-colonial "ethnic cleansing" of anyone who thought differently (Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains).
Yes, Syria was a colony, but it is being torn apart along sectarian lines, just like neighboring Iraq, and it is sectarian conflict that tore apart Lebanon in the past and threatens to again now, not some "colonial past".
In fact, it's clear that in almost every case, the nature of present disruptions have to do with Salafist or Wahhabi movements or religious disputes between Shia and Sunni.
Where do these apologetics stop? Seriously, the problem is not one of our making, by and large. It may be aggravated by certain policies that we've had, from support of Israel to the invasion of Iraq, but the problems would be there even without those points because the simple fact is that most Muslims are intolerant, and a significant number of them are violently so. They find direct support for this stance in the Salafist reading of the Qur'an.
You are absolutely right, of course, but so long as ANY Western state has ANY involvement with those nations their religious militants will always scapegoat us for each and every one of their largely self-created problems. At the risk of invoking a party line I generally consider GREATLY overused, it is a time honored way to avoid personal responsibility in favor of easy self-aggrandizing answers.
I live in a bombed out hovel because the Evil Westerners make me, not because I blew the SOB up murdering Westerners and their "infidel" allies. If I just murder enough of them of them I will enjoy all the same opulent decadence I claim to despise in Westerners (if Qutb knew how many Islamic "martyrs" enjoy rock, booze and sex before heading out to blow themselves up he would probably be twisting in his grave more than he did when Nasser hung him.)
The only way that will ever change is if we wash our hands of them in the hope that, eventually, they will look around their bloody squalor and realize that, maybe—just possibly maybe—it has more to do with the violent backward religious tyrants calling them to prayer at gunpoint every day than it does the Westerners they have not seen one of in decades. Far more importantly though, whether or it not it solved their problem, it would certainly solve OURS.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.