Reasons for Muslim Extremism

bq. Abdelwahed Belkeziz – Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) – made the stinging attack at meeting in Turkey. He blamed the rise of Muslim extremism on the feeling of “powerlessness” felt by members of the Islamic world.
bq. Mr Belkeziz told the foreign ministers from the 57-member states that their countries had a poor record on issues ranging from education and health to economic development. “The aggregate gross domestic product of all our member states remains lower than that of one single advanced country such as France or Britain,” he said. Mr Belkeziz concentrated on the failures of the Islamic umma or community. There was, he said, a sharp contrast between its present and past. Today, he said, the community was dispersed, divided, diminished and debased, overwhelmed by a debilitating feeling of impotence. “The powerlessness that the Muslim world is experiencing today and the difficulty of finding solutions to our just causes have been the reason behind the rise of extremism,” he said [“BBC”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3805649.stm]
Finally, an analysis without blaming America.