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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (142338)	8/2/2004 4:14:48 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

>> can you explain why the Muslim world "lost it" around 1800? Virtually every nation has been dominant within their region at some point in history. Typical age of dominance is between 100-200 years. The fall is typically the results of complacency and poor leadership, and this was no different in Muslim world. But I think there were two other factors this time around that increased the gap beyond the typical rising and falling of nations. Firstly communication advancements, be it the printing press or telegraph had a multiplier effect on scientific advancements in the West. Secondly (and not unrelated to the 1st), the industrial revolution not only brought advances to Europe, but allowed the Europeans to colonize lands far away from their own and redirect their wealths to themselves. Just to emphasize the importance of communications, one of the reasons the Muslim societies prospered while Europe was sound asleep is the practice of Haj. Mecca served as a focal point for news of achievements in different Muslim lands. Haj was more than just a religious duty, but a massive conference as well. This becomes even more significant when you realize for most of history Haj was primarily limited to the wealthy and the upper middle class. Clearly this advantage is not present anymore.

To: Neocon who wrote (142338)	8/2/2004 5:31:20 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

>> can you explain why the Muslim world "lost it" around 1800? I should have perhaps elaborated that from around 1600s the gap between Islamic worlds and European ones decreased, until Europe surpassed them sometime in late 1700s to early 1800s. So it was not as if a switch was turned on and suddenly everything flipped. As for reasons of demise, an example of complacency would be that unlike Europe they never felt the need to explore new worlds and say run into America.