Today, the ravages of imperialism and neoliberalism are plain to see. While tens of thousands have lost their lives in the US-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, millions more suffer under the daily depredations of the free market. But there is a major reconfiguration of forces taking place in the region. Secular nationalism, with its considerable mass appeal, was the main driving force of change in the area in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, the Arab regimes made a concerted effort to stabilize the region, including supporting "Islamist" forces against secular nationalists and the left.

XREF: Connects to broader patterns of states using religious movements as counterweights to secular opposition elsewhere, e.g. Cold War alliances.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 372