The failure of secular nationalists and populists to effectively resolve the socioeconomic and political crises of the Muslim world has led to an unalterable popular momentum for a restructuring of society on the basis of Islamic law and morality (Salem, 1996).
Islamic political movements have managed to outmaneuver nationalists and leftist secularists using a platform of equality, social justice, and cultural autonomy in the Middle East and North Africa.
Radical Islam is a distinct form of revivalism and Islamism. Failure to distinguish between radical Islam and sociopolitical Islam does a disservice to the latter’s commitment to political reform and democracy (Sayeed, 1995).
Today’s challenge, Esposito remarks, is “to better understand the history and realities of the Muslim world and to recognize the diversity and many faces of Islam. This approach lessens the risk of creating self-fulfilling prophecies that augur the battle of the West against a radical Islam or a clash of civilizations (Esposito, 1995).” However attractive or influential Islamic movements may be, Esposito stresses, no individual or state has enjoyed any kind of unitary leadership in the Muslim world: “There are religious extremist leaders and organizations, but there is no global Islamic threat.” (The New York Times, 1996)
Although Esposito argues that political Islam threatens more the established, authoritarian order in the Muslim world than the Western world, his appraisal of the nature of political Islam and of its challenge leaves us with a more general question as to whether it is political Islam or radical Islam that poses the principal challenge for the West. This lack of clarity is understandable in view of the fact that the U.S. government has supported and continues to staunchly support many of the region’s authoritarian regimes, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, and Tunisia–regimes, which clearly face an Islamic challenge.
The Term Paper on Islam And Women Islamic Culture
... may seem to outsiders, the Muslim family system has resulted in stable and productive Islamic communities throughout the world. Fernea Guest, pg 165 ... in order to cement a political alliance. This is the reason why polygamy is allowed in Islam. The Shariah. Limits the number ... the women of the tribal villages where they are not challenge the authority, that fantasy lady could demand for more freedom. ...
Critical of U.S. policy toward Algeria and Egypt, one observer points to an inconsistent pattern: both countries are focal points of political Islam, but American policy is different in each case. The Clinton administration, which finds itself intimately bound to the Mubarak regime in Egypt, shows far greater latitude toward Algeria. Its disparate approaches to these countries demonstrate the lack of a cohesive understanding of whether Islamism or extremism is the primary challenge. (Zachary, 1995; Gordon, 1996)
The countries of the Middle East have found terrorism advantageous for many reasons. First, terrorism is an economical substitute to fighting a war, while still scattering their ideology and moving forward their supporting agenda. However, shielding against terrorism is very costly; the United States spends about five billion dollars yearly to safeguard against terrorism (Wilcox 1996: NP).
Different terrorist acts cause a huge quantity of psychological harm to the aimed region. Even though terrorism destroys quite few people, the accidental way by which innocent residents are killed bring to mind a full of meaning fright and uncertainty upon the people. This type of terrorism was effectively used to aim tourism and the financial system of Egypt in 1997.
Nevertheless, Halliday (1996) asserts, Islamist policies that deny gender and religious equality remain unacceptable to the West. These policies can be neither tolerated nor condoned on the grounds of relativism, pragmatism, and anti-imperialism. Halliday proposes a two-sided, balanced policy towards the Muslim world: (1) greater awareness of the racism and prejudice that is directed against Muslims in the West, and (2) the framing of a long-term policy of economic interaction with these societies designed to assist them on the path of development.
The Homework on Challenges Faced by a Country for Economic Development
An economy is flourishing and is shown to be beneficial and fruitful for the people living in it only when the growth of the economy goes up continuously. It is essential for a country to not only develop politically or socially but it also needs to demonstrate economic development in order to sustain in the international market and in order to come ahead of other countries. But it is not very ...
Absent such a balanced policy, economic exclusion and political isolation will most likely fuel radical Islamic rhetoric and antagonism (Dekmejian, 1995).
If continued, the Clinton administration’s strategy of “dual containment,” which is designed to contain both Iran and Iraq, could drive Iranian moderates out of power and bring radicals back to the forefront of the country’s politics.
U.S. Middle East course of action is one of the few themes of foreign policy in which domestic crowd plays a vital role. It is a well-known fact that, from the perspective of ethnic politics in America, these groups lie at the two extremes of a continuum of power and influence. The pro-Israel groups are regarded as some of the most cohesive, articulate, influential, and powerful groups in America.
Their power or influence quotient, an aggregate term that refers to the preceding characteristics, is measured by their ability to sustain in America a posture of strong support for Israel. American support for Israel is a matter of public record, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the forms of strong political support and economic and military assistance since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
