The crisis of faith isn't new:

Submitted by Jason Pappas (United States), May 13, 2013 at 14:19

The shock at being surpassed by the West, circa 1800, has historical precedents.

Did not the failure of the Umayyad Caliphate in the West (Tours 732 AD) and the failure to take Constantinople in the East (718 AD) lead to a spiritual crisis that brought to power the Abassid Caliphate in 750 AD? Was it not the vicious and triumphant Mongol invasions that inspired ibn Taymiyyah (1263 AD) to lay the foundation of today's Salafi movement?

Perhaps the embrace of Islamism in the face of the shock and failure of Arab nationalism has precedent and not as modern as you'd have us believe. Indeed, it may be a recurring theme. To further your argument we'd have to have more evidence that moderation is also a recurring theme. We need more to ground such hopes.

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