If you recall, Bernard Lewis suggests that it was in the 1930s that German and other European intellectuals [Rilke, Heidegger, others] made it popular in the Arab world to detest America as a country with plenty of technological prowess but no "soul" and no spiritual foundations. A wasteland, in short. Unfortunately, they picked up Nazism in response which, though secular, morphed into Baathism, leftist pan-Arab nationalism, and, eventually, in my view, into radical Islamism and even more virulent anti-Semitism than we have seen before.
All bankrupt ideologies/movements, but all of which have for some unexplainable reason have been accepted by Arabs. One would think that given their failures, adoption of any movement, cult, ideology, etc., would be done very carefully. But if you thought so, you'd b wrong.
The only thing the Arabs haven't tried, and steadfastly refuse to even experiment with, is liberal Western humanism, a way of life which is definitely not bankrupt. Has its faults, sure, but if you have a better way, let me know.
A long winded way to say that secular liberals and Islamists have nothing in common. In fact, as I appreciate it, the Islamists get into a head-hacking mood when they see them approach.
How in hell can secular liberals get together with a bunch that kills tennis players for wearing shorts? |
