Why Does the West Need the Islamic World to Stay Weak?

 

Why Does the West Need the Islamic World to Stay Weak?

Islamic city chained by Western powers with oil and money, Muslims look at glowing crescent breaking free symbol of why the West needs Islam weak


Introduction: A Question That Never Dies

This question "Why does the West seem to need the Islamic world to stay weak?" is not an empty accusation. It often comes up at dinner tables, academic forums, and online discussions. As a writer trying to stay neutral, I see this not merely as a conspiracy theory, but a reality that demands we reexamine power relations, history, and interests. (Said, Orientalism, 1978).

Colonial Legacy: A Never-Ending Heritage

To understand why the weakness of the Islamic world is sometimes seen as ‘needed,’ we must look back. From the 19th century to the mid-20th century, most Muslim lands were colonized by Western powers: Britain in Egypt, France in Algeria, the Dutch in Indonesia. Colonization was not just about occupying land, but also minds and identities. (Lewis, The Middle East and the West, 1964).

This legacy left many Muslim nations with fragile infrastructure, artificial borders, elite politics that benefit few, and inherited internal conflicts. I see this legacy as part of why many Muslim countries still struggle to be self-reliant.

Natural Resources: Why Energy is Key

It’s undeniable that one of the clearest factors is natural resources. The Middle East holds about 48% of the world’s oil reserves. (BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2022). Controlling oil supply means controlling global energy.

Western countries, through multinationals, military alliances, and trade deals, have an interest in keeping oil prices stable or unstable when needed. When oil-producing nations are too independent, their bargaining power increases. The 1973 oil embargo proved how nervous the West can get when OPEC unites. (Yergin, The Prize, 1990).

Arms Market: Profitable Conflicts

Many of us have heard the term military-industrial complex. The arms industry in America, Europe, and their allies never runs out of customers. Conflict zones are perpetual markets. (Stiglitz, The Three Trillion Dollar War, 2008).

Here lies the irony: conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia make Muslim countries steady buyers of Western-made weapons. The longer conflicts last, the more lucrative the arms flow. I see this as a vicious cycle where peace in the Islamic world is often hijacked by the arms industry.

Terror Narrative: Media and Politics of Fear

Another aspect is narrative. Since 9/11, the word “Islam” has almost always been linked with terrorism in Western media. (Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 2012). I don’t deny that terrorism is real. But excessive stigmatization makes it harder for the Islamic world to rise normally.

Through fear narratives, Western states can legitimize interventions, arms deals, and intelligence collaborations. Western publics, feeling “protected” from radical Islam, support trillion-dollar war budgets. (Ahmed, Postmodernism and Islam, 1992).

Divide and Rule: Old Tactics, New Shapes

The strategy of divide et impera is not new. Since colonial times, colonizers divided local powers to make them easier to control. Today, its legacy lives on in sects, schools of thought, and internal conflicts. (Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, 1991).

As a writer, I don’t want to fall for cheap conspiracy theories. But sectarian conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya often reveal foreign hands funding or facilitating certain factions. Division keeps the Islamic world busy with its own wounds, forgetting to build collective strength.

Global Economy: A Giant Consumer Market

Let’s not forget that the Islamic world is also a huge consumer market. More than 1.8 billion Muslims are fertile ground for Western products: from fast food and fashion to technology. (Kettani, Muslim Population in the World, 2019).

If Muslim-majority countries become too strong, they could create competing products, local tech, or even a shared currency. Imagine if the global Sharia economy truly united? Conventional banking would have a formidable rival. (Chapra, Islam and the Economic Challenge, 1992).

Controlled Modernization: Growth with Dependency

Interestingly, I see the West does not reject modernization of the Islamic world. In fact, they support it on their terms. Infrastructure projects, tech investments, and foreign loans are often arranged so that Muslim countries remain dependent on Western institutions. (Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest, 2011).

This is controlled modernization: there is growth, but not true independence. We see how some Muslim countries remain constant debtors to the IMF or World Bank. Economic independence stays elusive.

Does This Mean the Islamic World Cannot Rise?

As a neutral writer, I do not want to shut down optimism. In fact, seeing this pattern makes me believe that a way out exists. Some Muslim countries are cutting dependency: Turkey develops its own defense industry, Qatar invests in independent media, Malaysia and Indonesia pioneer the global halal economy. (Nasr, The Rise of Islamic Capitalism, 2010).

Young Muslim diasporas also play a key role. They bring counter-narratives through film, digital literacy, and human rights advocacy. I see these as seeds of intellectual independence slowly growing.

Conclusion: Reading the Pattern, Writing a New Direction

The question “Why does the West need the Islamic world to stay weak?” is not just criticism. It’s a reminder that weakness is often maintained by design. But history always leaves room for change. Muslims don’t have to remain pawns in the global geopolitical game.

As a writer, I believe big change is born from small steps: literacy, solidarity, technological innovation, and cross-border unity. If we understand the pattern, we can rewrite the direction. Not with hatred, but with strategy and awareness.

Lokasi: GWF7+GW Blodgett Mills, NY, Amerika Serikat

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