A Historical Mistake on Part of the US
Now that the US is a waning super power of the world we can take stock of some of its actions.
In the history of the world US might be the one global power that made most mistakes in their dominating role.
One of the gravest of their mistakes has been their attitude towards the Muslim world.
They simply continued from where the Europe, mainly the British and the French, left. US simply adopted the crusading mantle.
This need not have been the case. It is all the more surprising because the west had shunted Christianity out of her life owing to the grip of materialism. In that context the last nail in the coffin was hit by Hitler. Christianity has simply surrendered to the shame ensuing from Nazi actions.
Be that as it may the fact remains that Christianity is not at the fore in western affairs. Hence crusading mentality too should have taken a back seat. It did not.
The US has been pursuing the crusading agenda by reflex, almost in a Pavlovian manner. It is most ironic.
In his infamous book, The Clash of Civilisations and the Coming World Order, Samuel P. Huntington admits that as a super power the US is in a state of decline. Such a state is precisely the one in which one must be careful before creating new enemies.
The US still has the opportunity to adopt a less abrasive posture towards the Muslim world. They are not the inheritors of the crusaders and they should not behave in that manner.
Of course a Muslim saying such things, particularly when the Muslim world is at the receiving end at the global level, does not carry that much weight as it normally would. But abnormal times are the most crucial ones to take sane decisions.
US adopting a positive attitude towards the Muslim world will not only be beneficial for the latter but the former too. Some things in life are obvious and this one is one of them.