Why has middle eastern muslim society failed whey they have all the oil?

Question

Most western european countries have gone through dark times and colapsed societies, wars,invasions,futile systems etc. Where have the Arabs gone wrong that they have some of the highest illiteracy rates in the world, poverty and zero respect for human life even there own.

Please focus on the Middle eastern society it self and not the rest of the world when you answer this Thanks.

Answer 1

Maybe because in a few Arab states the oil money is squandered on a select group who live in sheer luxury. Could one imagine what the oil money could be spent for in infastructure instead of bombs and gold toilets? How poverty and sickness in the African region could nearly be eliminated? I think their religion fails to instruct followers to share their wealth for the betterment of mankind. There's no 'check and balance' system' in their religion to keep fanatics out of the mainstream. I just read a report about the high illiteracy rates among Muslim men in that country. Many of the teenage Muslim me in that country are turning to fanatic Islam. The Muslim youth claim the lack of jobs for young men after graduation. Many Muslims live in extreme poverty, unable to find a job. On the flip side, the Eygyptian government are at odds as what to do. The teen Muslims are home schooled, and read the Koran all day. They don't develop basic acedemic skills to hold a good-paying job. So, who is at fault? Why aren't the boys receiving a full education? why are they only reading the Koran? why are the Muslim leaders allowing this? why aren't the Muslim leaders accepting of today's new modern technologies? that is why their region is a mess today. too much religious fanaticism mixed with a failure to accept change for the betterment of their people.

Answer 2

If you really want a serious answer and not just a reiteration of anti-Islamic themes...

Because most of the Middle East was occupied, exploited, and dominated by Europeans during the era when they SHOULD have been experiencing their greatest progress, the time when they first developed wealth, largely in the form of petroleum.

Prior to the twentieth century only the Turks and the early Christian crusaders took much interest in this desolate region of few natural resources and extreme conditions. They had no coal, no iron, no good agricultural areas, no minerals of consequence, and little that could be used to develop wealth on par with much of Europe and Asia. Islamic regions developed in linguistic, musical, mathematical, and other realms of the mind, but such an impoverished area was unable to produce sufficient wealth to grow an educated and informed middle class. The Turks, a very sophisticated Islamic nation, ruled over much of the region under the feudal and repressive regimes of the sultans.

With the defeat of the Turks in WWI the British, French, Germans, Italians, and Americans moved quickly to dominate the Near and Middle East (as well as Northeast Africa) and to exploit the newly important petroleum resource. This brought wealth to the area for the first time in history.

The boundaries of the newly formed post-war countries were those set by the Western Powers and even the nominally independent countries were controlled from London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, and Washington. Britain held mandates over present-day Iraq, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, and controlled Oman, the UAE, Egypt, Yemen, and Aden as outright colonies or protectorates. France had mandatory power over Syria and the Lebanon. Boundaries in the area were determined in accordance with Western policies and priorities, so peoples like the Kurds, Shiites, Druse, and Sunnis were split up across borders to lessen their influence. The Russians and later Soviets used the same tactics on their side of the iron curtain, with Armenians, Chechens, Georgians, and other subject peoples, so there was really no part of the region where ethnically similar people had a chance to "grow" a democracy.

Only Iran / Persia and Afghanistan escaped foreign occupation or mandate, and Persia was dominated by the British and Russians (they actually had separate zones of influence demarcated on the map) until after WWI.

This period was the time when newfound prosperity should have led to the development of a middle class and the growth of democratic ideas and institutions. But instead, the slow development of many of the nations of the world the countries of the Near East, Middle East, and Africa were forced to go from the feudal age to the nuclear age virtually overnight.

The reformation of the Christian churches and societies took several centuries of development from the days of the Inquisition and the Crusades to a more enlightened and modern outlook. It will likely take less time for Islamic societies to develop, but still longer than the fifty years of independence and near-zero years of democratic and freedom-oriented institutions that they've had so far.

Answer 3

The Arabs also have some of the wealthiest societies (Kuwait, Qatr, UAE), although wealth is hardly a factor indicating quality.

I have wondered for some time how the Arabs could be in the situation they are now. It may be because for 1400 years, many Arabs have been trying to destroy/corrupt Islam.

Since the Arabs were unable to establish a modern Islamic state, it was left to the Persians to do so.

It is a shame that the Arabs were given so much yet have performed so poorly. Fortunately, some courageous Arabs in Palestine and Lebanon are setting an example for the rest of them.

Answer 4

People of the Middle East have never lived with a democracy, their lives have always been directed by those in power. The Middle East will need time to sort out how to set up a system that will allow them to live in a democracy and have the lives like we in the Western worlds enjoy but without compromising their religious beliefs and teachings.

Answer 5

How nice to have the Arabs being illiterate, otherwise their government would be democratic, and democracy in the Arab world is not the same as democracy in the West, it can mean no oil flowing to the West.
That is why it is important for the US(and its ally) to support the Arab rulers rather than promote democracy.

Answer 6

Well its complicated. Notice that the top oil countries in the mideast are the most troubled ones(Iraq, Iran, Suadia Arabia). This is because because they have all this oil people are dependent on them so they can be asses and do whatever they want. When you build a economy on normal things like making products and knowledge it makes the people want to better themselves and give people normal jobs and just builds a better economy. It makes you form better trading relationships with other countries and makes the people more educated so they can get those jobs. When your economy is just based on oil it leads to problems. Extracting billions of dollars of oil doesnt give the mass population jobs.

Answer 7

Who says they failed?

Societies go through cycles. Muslim society was golden when Western Europe was in the Dark Ages.

Answer 8

look at the middle eastern governments, they are all muslim dictatorships where all the money is with the leader. with sharia (muslim law) enforced, if anyone says something questioning islam or attempts to leave islam they will be shunned by their entire society or killed for their apostasy. they live in a society where what they believe is force-fed and if they try to believe in something else society will cast them out. it is hard to imagine any advancements in lifestyle while living in such fear and struggle

Answer 9

The Arab people are not the only race in the part of the world....so your question "conclusion/judgement" is not true and too simplistic.

Answer 10

America has oil also, the reason Arab's are illiterate has nothing to do with oil