U.S. Policy toward Political Islam --

Zunes, Stephen, Foreign Policy in Focus

Key Points

* U.S. policy toward the Islamic world is skewed by negative stereotypes of Islam that fail to recognize its diversity.

* Radical Islamic movements often arise out of the legitimate needs and grievances of oppressed sectors of the population who see the U.S. as partly responsible for their suffering.

* Washington has encouraged the rise of extremist Islamic politics both through shortsighted support for such movements or governments and through its support of repressive regimes, which often trigger extremist backlash responses.

Key Problems

* The U.S. has supported hard-line Islamic movements and governments, such as the Saudi Arabia regime, which have encouraged extremist movements elsewhere.

* U.S. support for repressive governments makes democratic and nonviolent options for the Islamic opposition extremely difficult.

* Neoliberal economic development …

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Publication information: Article title: U.S. Policy toward Political Islam --. Contributors: Zunes, Stephen - Author. Magazine title: Foreign Policy in Focus. Volume: 6. Issue: 24 Publication date: June 18, 2001. Page number: 1. © 1999 International Relations Center. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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