What the West is Getting Wrong about the Middle East: Why Islam is Not the Problem

by Ömer Taşpınar

The West's actions in the Middle East are based on a fundamental political Islam is repeatedly assumed to be the main cause of conflict and unrest in the region. The idea that we can decipher Jihadist radicalization or problems in the Middle East simply by reading the Qur'an has now become symptomatic of our age. This dangerous over-simplification and the West's obsession with Islam dominates media and policy analysis, ultimately skewing intervention and preventing long-term solutions and stability in the region. Ömer Taspinar, who has 20 years' research and policymaking experience, explains here what is really going on in the Middle East. The book is based on three of the most pressing cases currently under the the role of Erdogan and the unrest in Turkey; the sectarian clashes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon; and the existence of the so-called Islamic State. Islam is often seen as the root cause of the challenge associated with these cases. But by unpacking the real issues, such as entrenched authoritarianism, vast energy resources, excessive defense spending, and the youth bulge, the book demystifies what is happening and cites governance and nationalism as the main drivers of conflict. The book shows the importance of treating the causes – which are economic, social and institutional – rather than the symptom – the continued and growing success of Islamist parties and jihadist movements in assessing the Middle East. In revealing exactly how Islamism is activated and by analyzing the structural challenges of the region, this unique insider's account provides a map to understanding Middle Eastern wars and conflicts and the prospects for the future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East, Politics

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2020

Reviews

[Çağrı · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pertinent and valuable piece of work. Taspinar argues that the West’s overemphasis on Islam as a major cause of problems in the Middle East today is not only a simplistic and flawed analysis based on cultural determinism, but such an approach to dealing with the Middle East exacerbates the divide between the region and the West; the notion of a ‘clash of civilisations’ becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Taspinar does not contribute to a theological debate about the meaning and essence of Islam nor does he deny its relevance and potential to be utilised for good or bad like any religion or ideology. Instead, his thesis is that the underlying issues plaguing the Middle East can be better explained via political, social and economic factors such as bad governance – which he defines as an inability to provide security, (economic) capacity / prosperity and legitimacy (via political inclusivity and transparency with citizens) – and nationalism. Such an argument is supported by focusing on the cases of Turkey’s recent political history, sectarian conflict in the region (commonly perceived to be caused by a Sunni-Shia divide dating back millennia) and the rise of ISIS. He argues that the factors highlighted are in fact not alien to the West and also provide more opportunity for solutions to be found in the future, rather than the unrealistic fantasy of ‘reforming’ Islam in ways similar to the Christian reformation in the 16th Century, to make it more 'moderate' and 'modern'.

In his final chapter, he also provides suggestions for potential solutions, albeit optimistic ones. Namely, he argues for a united Western alliance between US, EU and Japan providing economic assistance to encourage foreign investment and economic growth, and political encouragement to masses on the ground, to work towards inclusive governments – to establish constitutional liberalism that guarantees the rule of law and individual rights against autocratic regimes. Such regimes, he argues, will support such developments as long as they are incremental and don’t risk revolutionary ideas in populations, and the eventual benefit for their country and government is highlighted. As for completely failed states like Libya, Syria and Yemen – paralysed by civil war – he argues Saudi Arabia and Iran must be brought to a table with the help of the 3 identified powers, to settle the sectarian conflicts that plague these countries and their wars.

Whilst the ‘prescription’ / solution he suggests seemed too optimistic for me at the moment, not least because it requires too many states to have too good intentions to be realistic, Taspinar’s identification of the problem in the Middle East is sound and helpful. My main criticism of the book was that his writing felt quite verbose, but more importantly, that he did not go beyond explaining that bad governance, instead of Islam, was an underlying cause of larger issues in the region; yes nationalism, or a lack of one or all of legitimacy, security and capacity is the issue but does Islam impact one of these realms in some way? This final question was seldom considered. This took away some credibility from his overarching argument, I thought.

[Abdalla Nasef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important read.

Tahrir Podcast episode with author: https://youtu.be/65iN-AUEwWw

[Ahmed Hamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

العالم كالعادة يتغير من حولنا ونحن دون ان ندري او لطغيان المديكورية في حياتنا اصبحنا لا نتابع التغير .. في احد الموضوعات التي مست حياتنا بصورة عميقة وهي تحكم الاسلاموية في حياتنا لمدة سنة وعدة اشهر مازلنا في مرحلة الرعب من الفكرة ونعيش تبعات إقصاء السياسة بالمرحعية الاسلامية ..ونعيش اسلاموفوبيا دون ان نعي او نحاول فهم تصرفاتنا ..في نفس الوقت على الضفة الأخرى من المحيط الاسلاموفبيا تهاجم وتتضمحل والعالم يستعد للتعامل بموضوعية مع السياسة بمرجعية اسلامية .. وللتأكيد ظهرت الكتب المفندة للظاهرة وشارحة بدون مواربة بان الاسلام يعامل وكانه المحرك الاول والاخير للمجتمعات المسلمة .. ويتم نقد فكرة ان كل مصائب الشرق الاوسط منبعها الأساسي شريعة الاسلام ..ليس من باب الدفاع عن الاسلام..ولكن من باب الموضوعية والنقاش النقدي للفكرة .. كتاب OVEREATING ISLAM للكاتب التركي المقيم في واشنطن عمر تسبينار يشرح باستفاضة ويناقش الفكرة تلو الفكرة عن المبالغة في دور الاسلام في الشرق الأوسط من ثلاث ملفات رئيسية تركيا / الخلاف الشيعي السني / داعش... ويناقش الكتاب ان الاسلام ليس محور القضايا الخلافية لكن مكون من المكونات تعمل كمحفز او وسيلة ليست غاية .. الكتاب دقيق ويتواكب مع مجتمع الافكار فالغرب.. فاين نحن من هذا العالم ...

[Michael DeBusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taşpinar argues that Islam and Islamism is not at the center of problems in the Middle East, but authoritarianism and nationalism. Reductionist explanations concerning a Sunni-Shia divide and Islamist intentions lead to misguided interpretations of the headlines.