Resistance to globalization is not at all uncommon in the modern context, and Muslim states have emphatically expressed concerns over the prospect of integration with Western culture.
And surely, these concerns are not unfounded. Globalization ultimately means the spread of free-market capitalism to nations all over the world. The international market, dominated by American business and technology, bears a typically Western style, and globalization in these early years has been little more than Americanization on a global scale. For Muslim states, this means that Western ideas concerning democracy, human rights, women's rights, secularism, and technology may be expected to inundate local populations- a cultural colonization that is, in many cases, unwelcome.
Essentially, the new globalization signifies a clashing of ideologies; on the one hand, the free-market Western capitalist model utilizes economics as the governing principle which ultimately binds together all people. On the other hand, Muslim states cling to an Islamic doctrine which does not provide for a separation of religion and politics. Each philosophy of leadership commits to a force that is all-encompassing. Within the Western construct, the "invisible hand" of the free-market can only do it's duty when economies are open: it is an ideally flexible system, compatible with the dictates of business. Within the Muslim construct, some feel the Islamic state can only fulfill its obligation to Allah if attempts to modernize are stifled and Westernization is controlled: it is an ideally rigid system, compatible with the dictates of the Koran.
Political author and foreign affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman, in his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, highlights the struggle of Muslims in an increasingly globalized(and increasingly Americanized) world. The backlash among Muslims against globalization is multilateral: "in the Middle East," writes Friedman, "a...