Islam declared war on the western world 1400 years ago. They've never really stopped. It's coming and it knows no boundaries. Think it's all about certain nation's policies? If you are not a Muslim you live in the world of Dar al Harb, the "world of the sword". Infidels will die. The war is coming and it's probably coming to you. It's coming to the US, to Russia, to Canada and to Australia. It's coming with bio-weapons, nukes, and anything else they can get their hands on. Is there any doubt? The US is just the latest symbol of the west – the Great Satan. It won’t be the last.
What really slowed Islam's conquests down was the rise of western learning. Thy didn't participate in the scientific revolution. They didn't participate in the political changes that happened in the west. They stopped sending emissaries to the western nations for hundreds of years. They stopped producing technological goods and instead began to purchase them.
As a result of that, Islam is facing a severe crisis, a crisis that was exacerbated by the fall of the Ottoman Empire. One in which many of them perceive that Islamic society is way down in the pecking order. Many blame it on Israel, they blame it on the US, they blame it on Britain, they blame it on Judaism and they blame it on Christianity. There's a much longer list than that. Instead they should blame their own inwardness, their lack of desire to participate in western politics for so long and their ignoring the scientific revolution.
I don't think standard of living will solve the basic issue in the Middle East - that many want Islam to be the center of power in the world and many are willing to die for it to happen. It's not right. It's not wrong. It's just the way the world is.
One last thing. They blow stuff up, they get respect. Some of them have figured that out. The higher the death toll, the greater the respect.
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