MUSLIM ANIMOSITY TOWARD THE USA.   Term Paper ID:30640 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines anti-American hatred and contempt by many Islamic States of the world.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines anti-American hatred of many Islamic States of the world. Offers various explanations as to why anti-American animosity has developed. The threat of modernity and secularization posed by the U.S. to Muslims. The Persian Gulf War. American support for Israel. View of Islamic fundamentalists and extremists that the U.S. is "Satan." Paper Introduction: An Exploration of Muslim Animosity Toward the U.S. The events of September 11, 2001, served to confirm what American government officials and many private citizens have long recognized: within the Islamic States of the world, there are many, many Muslims whose feelings toward the United States can only be described as hatred, contempt, and disgust. The question to be considered in this report is why this anti-American animosity has developed. Various explanations have been offered, among which are the belief that America has unfairly supported Israel and ignored the interests of the Palestinians (Sheler, 2001). Other explanations of this phenomenon have been discussed by Sultan Shahin (1995) who argues that Islam views the West as an excessively secular civilization in which genuine religious feeling Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Kenneth Woodward (2 1) suggests that Islamic radicals also see theUnited States as a failed Christian nation. 318 (7692),19 -2 . A 'fatwa' by the faithless. Mubarak gives interview to UPI.Available at www.presidency.gov.eg/html/17-Sept2 1_press.html. Other causes for concern in the Muslim world include Pakistan's sensethat until very recently, the U.S. President Hosni Mubarak recently told United Press's ArnaudBorchgrave (2 1) that much of the hatred directed toward the United Statesby Muslims is inextricably linked to America's support for Israel. Attitudes vary sharply from one countryto another. Since Partition in 1948, the United States' foreign policyin the Middle East has been largely supportive of Israel - which has ledmany Muslim countries to conclude that American cannot be their friend ifAmerica is not willing to offer support for the cause of the Palestinians.Additionally, America's participation in the "Peace Process" appears tothese same groups as biased in favor of Israel's interests and as havingfailed to force Israel into adopting a more proactive posture regardingPalestinian rights. Never the twain shall peacefully meet? A peaceful faith, a fanatic few. (2 1). Other explanations of this phenomenon have been discussed by SultanShahin (1995) who argues that Islam views the West as an excessivelysecular civilization in which genuine religious feeling is increasinglystifled by materialism, consumerism, and greed. Bitterness Rules. As noted above, a major cause of Islamic dislike and suspicion of theUnited States must be linked to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Stokes (2 1) has indicated that from the perspective of many Muslims,America's favoritism toward Israel during the Palestinian struggle forstatehood has caused the growth of anti-American feeling in many disparateMuslim states. Shahin, S. L. World PressReview, 42 (11), 48. Throughout the Levant, the actions of the Crusaders,though several centuries in the past, still constitute living memories. Thesubliminal message of groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda isthat Muslims, who were once (in the 8th and 1 th centuries) the mostflourishing states and peoples in the world, should not tolerate Westernimperialism which may no longer exist in its literal sense but which isstills aid to persist in the form of political, cultural and economicinfluence. Nevertheless, Stokes (2 1) cited a 1999 survey of Islamiccountries by the U.S. References Borchgrave, A. America does not appear,from this perspective, to place any conditions on the arms it gives (orsells) to Israel, and Muslims see the American media taking the side ofIsrael, no matter what that nation does. As Stokes (2 1) notes, many in theIslamic world perceive America as acting without constraints, andexhibiting arrogance, and as determined on an American hegemony since thecollapse of its own near rival, the former Soviet Union. All of these factors, including historical animosity toward theChristian world, and the global mission of Islam, combine to foster hatredof the United States. The Economist (2 1). As the most powerful country in the world, the UnitedStates was singled out as a target for much Muslim animosity. Sheler, J. Many Islamic states arechallenged by the process of globalization because this process isperceived as undermining the traditions and values of Islamic society andimposing secularization under the guise of open markets and economicdevelopment. Shahin (1995) contends that the growingIslamic fervor was itself a response to the perceived threat of modernityand secularization. Some Muslims see the United States and her foreign policy in theMiddle East as propping up states they regard as Muslim in name only(Woodward, 2 1). Stokes, B. Vol.328, 27 - 32. The question to be considered in this report is whythis anti-American animosity has developed. Some Muslims see this asrepresentative of hypocrisy on the part of a nation that depicts itself asdemocratic, liberal, and determined to ensure the freedom of others. (2 1). National Journal, 33 (39),2974 - 298 . Support forIsrael provides a rallying point around which even moderate Muslims cangather. Stokes (2 1) has pointed out that Islamic anti-secularism appears tobe equated with Islamic anti-Americanism. Bloodied and baffled. During the Persian Gulf War, many Islamic states and even moremembers of Islamic fundamentalist movements deeply resented the involvementof the United States. The most salient concern among Orthodox Muslims is thatthis cultural invasion has the potential of diminishing the faith ofMuslims everywhere, leading the Faithful to abandon their faith in order toachieve success as it is defined in the United States. K. and replaced a generally neutralperspective with a largely negative one. Newsweek,September 24, 66 - 67. In the "modern" Persian Gulf States, including Jordan andSaudi Arabia and Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, it is this understanding ofAmerica's role in the Middle East peace process that predominates publicthinking (Borchgrave, 2 1). The entire thrust of American foreign policy is perceivedas working solely to further American interests, whether those interestscenter on maintaining the flow of cheap oil or securing a physical presencefor American military bases in the region. Stokes (2 1) cautions that it would be wrong to assume that all, oreven most, Muslims share a deep-seated hatred toward the United States andher people, culture, and worldview. Exploitation of the poor by the "ugly American" is a constanttheme in many of the overseas publications centered in Islamic countries(Stokes, 2 1). acted in a manner unfavorable to itsinterests and the long-standing belief in Iran and Iraq and Syria that thisis the case more often than not (Stokes, 2 1). Mubarak also stated that public opinion in the Muslim world isseething against America because of continued support for Israel,irrespective of that government's policies - policies believed by themajority of Muslims as designed to prevent the Palestinians from havingtheir own state. Vol. In large parts of the world, "economic development" and"globalization" are equated with America. There is, in the end, no single or simple explanation for the factthat anti-Americanism, anti-globalism, and anti-secularism are predominantin most Islamic countries. State Department that revealed that when ordinarycitizens in many Islamic states are questioned, they are favorably disposedtoward America or at least not possessed of any excessive or fanatic hatredfor the U.S. (1991). The Economist. Various explanations have beenoffered, among which are the belief that America has unfairly supportedIsrael and ignored the interests of the Palestinians (Sheler, 2 1). Anti-Americanism in Islamic societies tends toincrease during times of crisis, such as the Persian Gulf War and thevarious Arab-Israeli conflicts. America's wealth itself leads many in the mostpoor strata of Islamic societies to feel anger toward this country.America's apparent ability to impose her will through military or economicmeans further angers many across the globe (Stokes, 2 1). (1995). Passions directed negatively against the United States dofluctuate, tending to coincide in their highs and lows with immediatecrises. 'Alive in the presence of their Lord.' U.S.News & World Report, October 1, 38. (2 1). This attitude creates a "them against us" mentality in which theWest, led by the United States, is envisioned as a hegemonic power intentupon bringing the Islamic world under its control and, ultimately,subjecting Islam itself to external cultural control and domination (TheEconomist, 2 1). The West represents adirect threat to the traditional cultural and religious values of manyconservative Islamic states. Two-thirds of Egyptians and four-fifths of Jordanians consider globalization and the movement of American-based multinational businesses into the Third World to be a culturalinvasion. It has been suggested that many inIslam, who see no reason to separate God from State, would have greaterrespect for the United States if this country did not insist on keepingreligion and governance in separate spheres (Woodward, 2 1). Many fundamentalist orextremist groups in Islam, including Osama bin Laden's terror network, seethe U.S. as "Satan" and as little more than a continuation of the ChristianCrusaders who sought control over the Middle East during the Middle Ages(The Economist, 2 1). Woodward, K. Even though the United States intervened onbehalf of these moderate Muslim States in the Persian Gulf War, continuedsupport for Israel is a major source of Muslim antagonism toward the UnitedStates. An Exploration of Muslim Animosity Toward the U.S.The events of September 11, 2 1, served to confirm what Americangovernment officials and many private citizens have long recognized:within the Islamic States of the world, there are many, many Muslims whosefeelings toward the United States can only be described as hatred,contempt, and disgust. Inother words, America has been perceived for many, many decades assupporting only those Muslim states that agree in turn to accept Americanmodernity; the case of Iran, in which American support for the Shah wasdeeply resented, is an excellent example of how American policy has angeredand distanced many Muslims from the U.S. More recently, Stokes(2 1) argues that at the core of Islamic animosity towards the UnitedStates is the perception that a cultural onslaught is underway in which theUnited States wishes to bring the entire world under the domination of itown cultural ethos. Some of these groups found the presence of anAmerican-led coalition in the Middle East to be inappropriate at best andto be unacceptable at worst (The Economist, 1991). Nevertheless, anti-Americanism and closely related backlashesagainst globalization, modernization and secularism threaten to bedevilAmerican interests for some time. Muslimseverywhere, according to Mubarak, see the United States as giving arms tothe Israelis that are then used to kill Muslims. Islamic radicals are intent ondestroying this country, in part, because of a belief that the UnitedStates is an "imperialist acid" eating away at Muslim virtue and values.Islamists reject secular modernity, and point to the proliferation ofpornography, materialism, drug dependency and a high divorce rate asevidence of the West's moral decline. (2 1). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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