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| The Hindu Phenomenon |
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RETREAT AND RAGE |
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counting non-Muslim Israel, the area does not yet have a single
working democracy. "Worse, it does have an ideology. Now
that Marxism has been lowered into its grave, Islam is the 20th
century's last surviving example of an idea that claims universal
relevance....Not all Muslims are ideologues; probably most are not.
Enough are to make Islam an uncomfortable neighbour."
Barry Buzan dwelt on the same ideological theme in New Patterns of Global Security in the 21st Century: "The collapse of communism as the leading anti-Western ideology seems to propel Islam into this role...and many exponents of Islam will embrace this task with relish. The anti-Western credentials of Islam are well established and speak to a large and mobilised political constituency" 11 In an article entitled Defending
Western Culture, that was written before the collapse of the
Soviet Union, William Lind drew attention to another aspect of the
threat to the West: "If the Soviet Union dissolves, the
West's great right flank, stretching from the Black Sea to
Vladivostok, will almost certainly be endangered as the Islamic
republics seek to joint their Muslim brethren" 12 |
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