Palestine is part of it, and of course I can't speak for everyone, but for me and most others in my age group (mid 20s) it was really growing up in a post 9/11 western country that set me on this path. You try to figure out why you're so hated for the actions of terrorists you have nothing to do with, then you realise that terrorism was a direct consequence of US Imperialism. And then once you accept that Imperialism is the highest stage of Capitalism things start to become a lot clearer.
As for the relgious texts themselves, some people might try to tell you that Islam has fairly Social Democratic principles and in some ways it does, but I think it's more of a mixed bag, and people tend to project their own views, be it left wing or right wing, onto the texts. It's not too difficult to do so in either case as the text does not have strict and clearly outlined political ideology and there are contradictions in the text which begin to make more sense when you understand the context in which the faith emerged.
The most important people need to understand, especially a lot of Muslims who I think are in denial about this, is that there is no such thing as one true primitive Islam, it has literally never existed from a historical point of view and has been under a constant state of change and reform, sometimes even influenced by outside western factors (a spicy take that would land me in a lot of trouble at parties lmao). I choose to take that as on opportunity to explore how the religion can be used to aid and be included in a Communist vision of the future.
then you realise that terrorism was a direct consequence of US Imperialism.
I wonder how that will be different for the next generation since Osama bin Laden was an anti-imperialist, but ISIS was rooted more in religious fundamentalism.
That step from reading 9/11 as caused by religious fundamentalism versus anti-imperialism is still much easier to make in the context of Israel–Palestine.
There is something to be said for hypercapitalism destroying Arab culture, but these oil states were still made rich from it, and not to mention complicit.
It is just that without Israel–Palestine, I would imagine people becoming either anarchist, or more reactionary instead, rather than anti-imperialist and eventually communist.
What concerns me honestly is that Arab states have shifted dramatically their tactics in untangling the Israel–Palestine situation; normalizing relations with Israel, but also setting up embassies in Palestinian territories.
To what extent might the elites in these Arab states be realizing that having such an obvious case study of imperialism exist nearby is radicalizing their populations against their own governments.
The thing most unclear to me in current global politics is the elites in Arab states, because I cannot tell if they are neoliberal, or have started shifting in a China direction.
Nice thing about autocracies is they can be fixed so easily. The way China is working to stabilize governments in Africa for example, by selling military drones and such, and helping even autocrats consolidate power, I wonder if they are just trying to get an interface to negotiate with and eventually control the situation via diplomacy.
My point is, I can see it going both ways: either Arab states have gone totally nihilistic, or they are finally trying to solve Israel–Palestine diplomatically for humanitarian reasons.
Anyway, admittedly this comment was rather out there; but I really would like to know what others think about all this.
Palestine is part of it, and of course I can't speak for everyone, but for me and most others in my age group (mid 20s) it was really growing up in a post 9/11 western country that set me on this path. You try to figure out why you're so hated for the actions of terrorists you have nothing to do with, then you realise that terrorism was a direct consequence of US Imperialism. And then once you accept that Imperialism is the highest stage of Capitalism things start to become a lot clearer.
As for the relgious texts themselves, some people might try to tell you that Islam has fairly Social Democratic principles and in some ways it does, but I think it's more of a mixed bag, and people tend to project their own views, be it left wing or right wing, onto the texts. It's not too difficult to do so in either case as the text does not have strict and clearly outlined political ideology and there are contradictions in the text which begin to make more sense when you understand the context in which the faith emerged.
The most important people need to understand, especially a lot of Muslims who I think are in denial about this, is that there is no such thing as one true primitive Islam, it has literally never existed from a historical point of view and has been under a constant state of change and reform, sometimes even influenced by outside western factors (a spicy take that would land me in a lot of trouble at parties lmao). I choose to take that as on opportunity to explore how the religion can be used to aid and be included in a Communist vision of the future.
I wonder how that will be different for the next generation since Osama bin Laden was an anti-imperialist, but ISIS was rooted more in religious fundamentalism.
That step from reading 9/11 as caused by religious fundamentalism versus anti-imperialism is still much easier to make in the context of Israel–Palestine.
There is something to be said for hypercapitalism destroying Arab culture, but these oil states were still made rich from it, and not to mention complicit.
It is just that without Israel–Palestine, I would imagine people becoming either anarchist, or more reactionary instead, rather than anti-imperialist and eventually communist.
What concerns me honestly is that Arab states have shifted dramatically their tactics in untangling the Israel–Palestine situation; normalizing relations with Israel, but also setting up embassies in Palestinian territories.
To what extent might the elites in these Arab states be realizing that having such an obvious case study of imperialism exist nearby is radicalizing their populations against their own governments.
The thing most unclear to me in current global politics is the elites in Arab states, because I cannot tell if they are neoliberal, or have started shifting in a China direction.
Nice thing about autocracies is they can be fixed so easily. The way China is working to stabilize governments in Africa for example, by selling military drones and such, and helping even autocrats consolidate power, I wonder if they are just trying to get an interface to negotiate with and eventually control the situation via diplomacy.
My point is, I can see it going both ways: either Arab states have gone totally nihilistic, or they are finally trying to solve Israel–Palestine diplomatically for humanitarian reasons.
Anyway, admittedly this comment was rather out there; but I really would like to know what others think about all this.