The clash within Islam

Although radical Islam suffered numerous political defeats in the 1990s,it is still socially and culturally vigorous throughout the Middle East. The retreat of the welfare state in many cash-strapped Arab countries has opened the way for Islamic social organisations to fill the void, creating a new outlet for those critical of secularist elites and frustrated by their lack of political voice. The alternative of liberal Islam, meanwhile, has failed to draw disciples beyond a small minority from the educated classes. The struggle that counts, therefore, is between Islamic radicalism and the authoritarian powers that be.