Doubtlessly, this threat is somewhat reasonable with regards to the future; the expansion of western economies is going to bring along with it technological changes that will drastically alter how people in the Middle East live their lives. Still, these changes are primarily economic in their nature: capitalism does not reorganize the social classes, only where they live and what jobs they carry out. The philosophical underpinnings of Western society are so similar to those of Islam such that objections to east/west cooperation -- on both sides -- on the basis of religion are almost ridiculous. Nevertheless, these objections still exist.

This difficulty is emphasized by the apparent contrast between many Middle Eastern governments and those of their Western counterparts. Much of the contrast, according to Lewis, stems from the history of the Islamic state, and the way in which religion itself is at the root of many policies. This has, historically, generated a point-of-view for Muslims that the non-converted portions of the world merely represent untilled locations to seed faith: "These various infidels, the civilized as well as the barbarous, were seen as teachable, as potential recruits to the Islamic world, and this was indeed the fate of great numbers of them." (Lewis, 273). Centuries ago, however, this expansion was much easier because there was no truly cohesive religious force for Islam to contend...

Yet today, Islam itself is being assailed by Western technologies, philosophies, and religions.
As the colonial powers took hold in the Middle East, they had the effect of consolidating peoples who were continuing the contentions rooted in the ancient empires' conflicts. With the end of the Second World War and the Cold War, nations in the Middle East increasingly found that the Western powers were less willing to take part in cross-cultural and cross-religious battles: "In the last decade of the twentieth century, it became increasingly clear that in facing these problems, the governments and peoples of the Middle East were substantially on their own." (Lewis, 385). Accordingly, the only recent militaristic impact of the West upon the Middle East has been motivated by consolidation of natural resources. As a result, Lewis sees the future of the Middle East as being dominated less by the imperialistic powers directly, and more by the economic changes that their interests will bring about. In turn, these will lead to more cultural and social changes. Grappling with the associated problems, it would seem will be an almost wholly internal task.

Works Cited:

1. Husain, S. Abid. "Modern Trends in Islam." Enhancing the Understanding of Islam for the Media. Jalan Ragum: Malindo Printers, 2002.

2. Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East. New York: Scribner,…