Here is a novel take on the state of Islam and the Middle East. The journalist Ralph Peters paints a picture of a historically woeful region in every regard. His focus is on the region as the culprit instead of the religion.
"Beyond Israel, the region hasn't produced a single first-rate government, army, economy, university or industry. It hasn't even produced convincing second-raters."Culturally, the region is utterly noncompetitive. Societies stagnate as populations seethe. To the extent it exists, development benefits the wealthy and powerful. The common people are either ignored or miserably oppressed - and not just the women."
"The popular culprit for the mess is Islam.
"But we can't be content with a single explanation for a civilization's failure, as powerful as the answer may appear. Yes, Islamist governments fail miserably. But so do secular Arab, Persian and Pakistani governments (whose leaders belatedly play the Islamic card).
"Yes, the culture is Islamic, even in nominally secular states. But we have to ask some very politically incorrect questions that cut even deeper.
"The repeated failures we've witnessed go far beyond a religion on its sickbed. Instead of Islam being the Middle East's problem, what if Islam's problem is the Middle East?
"Were Christianity and Judaism "saved" because they escaped the Middle East? Were these other two great monotheist religions able to master the power of knowledge and human potential because they were driven from their stultifying cultural and geographic origins? Did the Diaspora and the subsequent Muslim destruction of the cradle of Christianity ultimately save these two faiths?
"The Middle East is a straitjacket that turns religions mad. We got away.
"Were Christianity and Judaism "saved" because they escaped the Middle East? Were these other two great monotheist religions able to master the power of knowledge and human potential because they were driven from their stultifying cultural and geographic origins? Did the Diaspora and the subsequent Muslim destruction of the cradle of Christianity ultimately save these two faiths?
"The Middle East is a straitjacket that turns religions mad. We got away.
"In exile, the Judeo-Christian civilization grew up on the global mean streets. MiddleEastern Islam suffered from easy wealth, luxury and a narcotic regional heritage.
"We changed, they froze."
Is Islam's problem the Middle East or is it its doctrine?
Mr. Peter's regional/cultural argument although interesting, is very difficult to embrace. To suggest that Christianity or Judaism would be in the same position that Islam finds itself in today is, in essence, doctrinal relativism. It seems only a bit more plausible than a claim that there is something in the water.
It is true however that according to the modern world's material and political standards the region is a failure. But Islam has maintained its grip on the people of the region. The religion has flourished while the West has apostacized.
Doctrine cannot be dismissed as the cause of the distressing state of the region. While the West was raising its standard of living the Middle East muslims did not "freeze" they were reading the Koran.