RP - Check out this book

Submitted by Pat (United States), Apr 3, 2006 at 16:17

An excellent summary of the Arab Islamic world view (less so the Asian Islamic countries) can be found in "Hating America: A History", by Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin. The chapter titled "The Great Satan" goes into great detail on what motivates Arab and Iranian attitudes toward the US.

From what they say, Islam is only a part of it. The ruling classes and elites, even in nominally friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia, see America as a rival for the loyalties of their people and so it is in their interest to discount anything America does or else twist it so that even earthquake aid becomes part of a plot to take over the Arab world. It's the only way they can retain their legitimacy. This holds true for both Islamic and nationalistic (secular) leaders. American elites in press and government used to tell us Iraq was not as dangerous as Iran because Saddam was a secular leader, but it wasn't true.

Also, the Arab Muslim world under the Ottoman Empire began to lose its influence while the US was still just a string of British colonies. They had no meaningful contact with the US before it became a world power. The prism through which they view the US tells them we are a threat to their existence.

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