The Crux of the Conflict

I'd like to address the misrepresentation of the real problem we face in the Middle East. There seems to be a mainstream belief that the cause of Muslim violence against the west are for political grievances. The culprit, many say, is an oppressive American occupation in the region. This is an idea that seems to be conventional wisdom among the left, and even subscribed to by some on the right (see: Ron Paul).

First of all, say what you will about American foreign policy in the Middle East. It is important to notice that violence against the west would be accepted here whether the United States was involved in the Middle East or not. To believe that American foreign policy is the issue is to believe that malcontent in the Middle East is driven by civic complaints. The problem with this idea is that it would require people in this part of the world to organize themselves around a nationalistic attitude. We can see very quickly, however, that this is not the case. Just who are we fighting? Saudi Arabia? Syria? Afghanistan? No. We are fighting Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. Notice that these groups do not organize themselves around political grievances. They have theological issues against Israel and the west. Do they want to push Israel into the Mediterranean because they covet their land? No. They want to push Israel into the sea because it is populated by infidels that threaten the holy sanctity of their religion.

In the final analysis, there is nothing that explains Muslim terrorism better than the tenets of Islam. We should not be afraid to consult Occam's razor here. The Muslim world has a religious identity, not a nationalist one, so we should characterize their intentions accordingly. If we can recognize that we are dealing with a region that adheres to the tenets of Islam, how can we ignore the words of the Qur'an when we evaluate reasons for Muslim violence? "Kill disbelievers wherever you find them" (Qur'an 2:191). Why isn't drivel such as this recognized in the west as the root cause of the problem? It would be good for the Middle East to arrange itself in a national identity that fought for sovereignty, but it is important to realize that as of now this is not what they fight for.

This conflict is not based on American misadventures in the Middle East, or western colonialism, or western foreign policy in general. It is based on the fact that the Muslim world has more than its fair share of bad ideas. It is an ideological struggle, and the Muslim world recognizes this. Americans refuse to. We are losing ground in this struggle every second we fail to admit this. Our credulity is costing us precious time in meeting bad ideas with the might of liberty and democracy before they spread beyond our control.