3.3 The National and International Circumstances of the Islamic Countries

Islam was always considered as a threat by the West. In medieval terms it was the conqueror of Spain, Constantinople and the Balkans. This feeling was reciprocated by the trail of cruelty and plunder left by the Roman Catholic Crusades.

Today, the threat has taken a new shape; it is represented in the intolerance, extremism which the west attempts to attach to Islam and Muslims. The West up to this point does not give any clear-cut definition to the term terrorism. It is unfair to attach this horrendous accusation to the Divine teachings of Islam or even to attach it to those who defends their lands against the invaders. The Muslim countries are unstable as they have not been able successfully to evolve any effective and acceptable political system. All experiments with parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship and single-party state system seem to have failed. There is a tendency towards centralization, state centralism and even despotism. The internal structure of almost all the Muslim states is fragile, weak lacking institutional framework and is at best in transition.

Practically all the Muslim countries have a dependent status with an external alien power . The Muslim world has not been able to stand up to external threats from non-Muslim countries such as Israel, India, the Soviet Union, Ethiopia, etc.

Governments in Muslim states are largely unrepresentative and unresponsive to public sentiment. Ruling cliques, in league with vested interests, exercise power without accountability, with the result that people generally feel left out and neglected. Unless these basic difficulties are removed, ...

3.3 The National and International Circumstances of the Islamic Countries

...we cannot even begin to lay the foundations of a modern progressive Muslim world, able to hold its own in fiercely competitive world of today.

Turning towards the Islamic faith has provided the Muslim world with the answers that their national governments proved incapable of producing. Western values, such as materialism, mass culture and all aspects of a liberal way of life, which were exported to the whole world as the means to reach democracy, free speech, human rights and tolerance was considered offensive for many Muslims due to the fact that the moral values of Islam is more superior and more suitable to solve world problems than these imported values of the West.

Western culture is subversive and godless, meaning that the difference between the "West" and Islam entails an obvious political rift. The above-mentioned antagonism has led Islam to be considered as the enemy of the West and its great contribution to the history of humanity and our present civilization is sadly being ignored.

For it is the wisdom of learned Islamic scholars that allowed for the preservation of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations thought the Dark Ages. The expansion achieved in many fields greatly contributed to the evolution science, philosophy and literature, which served to the benefit of Europe for centuries afterwards. Islam preserved and transmitted the quest of learning.

We are now witnessing the revival of the territorial and political confrontations of the past, regardless of the positive influence of Arab and Islamic civilizations on Western culture.

3.3 The National and International Circumstances of the Islamic Countries

History flows in cycles; this is the very nature of our society and our system of life. Each cycle is dominated by a typical and unique interaction between culture and civilizations. When the West was dormant in the Dark Ages, the Arab civilization made a great contribution to the human society.

It is becoming imperative to act now and to do so quickly. We have to promote a better understanding of Islam by the West and vice-versa. The aim is to bridge the gap dividing both civilizations.

Experience is telling us that the only way forward to modernize Islam is to investigate ways to develop platforms to renew the political framework of Islamic behavior and attitude within our global world. Failing to act decisively on this issue will have dire consequences in the future and will lead to regular confrontations between the Islamic and non- Islamic world.

The Islamic World is a geopolitical reality. It stretches from North Africa to Indonesia, from the heights of Central Asia to the pacific. This is a fact, which should not be ignored. Therefore the Islamic political movement is not monolithic. It is the reflection of different ideologies and schools of thought that can refuse explain or justify extremism, tolerance and moderation. It would be unreasonable for the West to ignore the very existence of extremism in the Arabo-Islamic society, which is equally the result of distorted teaching of Islamic doctrine and political realities stemming from the policy of the West towards Islamic nations.

3.3 The National and International Circumstances of the Islamic Countries

As mentioned earlier, history flows in cycles, each cycle is dominated by a typical and unique interaction between culture and civilization. The great contribution to society made by Islam during their long history of nationhood and civilization. This should be taken into consideration when attempting to apply solution to the current issues.