The Clash within Islam:

Although radical Islam suffered numerous political defeats in the 1990s, it is still socially and culturally vigorous throughout the Middle East. The retreat of the welfare state in many cash-strapped Arab countries has opened the way for Islamic social organisations to fill the void, creating a new outlet for those critical of secularist elites and frustrated by their lack of political voice. The alternative of liberal Islam, meanwhile, has failed to draw disciples beyond a small minority from the educated classes. The struggle that counts, therefore, is between Islamic radicalism and the authoritarian powers that be.