Economic Disparity and its impact in the Middle East
Economic disparity and perceptions of economic exploitation are ingredients contributing to political instability in the Middle East, as well as major factors adding to the growing anti-American sentiment in Muslin nations. ... The West is often accused of looking the other way at repression and economic inequality in many countries for fear of jeopardizing its heavy dependence on the region’s oil. US led wars in the region reinforce the perception for many in the region that the US and the West in general care little for the innocent Muslims who are caught in the middle. Think of a Middle Eastern resident sitting homeless in the dust, hungry and thirsty, and seeing images of American wealth on television or in newspapers, and it is easy to fathom the reasons behind the building resentment. ... The notion of economic inequality, the concept of a modernized West and a relatively deprived Islamic world is fuelling fires, so to speak, that result in fundament attitudes. ... Nourishing these grievances are extremist fundamentalists that play off the growing disparity between wealthy and poor nations.