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Times Analyzes Appeal of Islamic Movements To Jordanian Youth

By Howard M. Friedman

In another of its extended series of articles on the lives of youth in the Muslim world, today's New York Times profiles the increasing attractiveness of Islam to university students in Jordan. It says:

Today, the search for identity in the Middle East no longer involves tension between the secular and religious. Religion has won. The struggle, instead, is over how to define an Islamic society and government.

The Muslim Brotherhood is legal in Jordan, with a political party and a network of social services. The government permits it to operate, but the security services still control election outcomes. Some youth think the Brotherhood is too extreme while others criticize it for working within an un-Islamic political system. The article suggests that authoritarian governments see moderate Islamic movements as more of a threat than extremist ones. However, it argues:

The long-term implications of this are likely to complicate American foreign policy calculations, making it more costly to continue supporting governments that do not let secular or moderate religious political movements take root.

Other articles in the Generation Faithful series remain available online.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 24, 2008 (boomark / email).