--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A common error of western commentators…" description: "\"“A common error of western commentators who seek to interpret Islamism sympathetically is to view it as a form of localised resistance to globalisation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg" --- # A common error of western commentators who seek to… ![“A common error of western commentators who seek to interpret Islamism sympathetically is to view it as a form of localised resistance to globalisation. In fact, Islamism is also a universalist political project. Along with Neoliberals and Marxists, Islamists are participants in a dispute about how…” quote by John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg) > ““A common error of western commentators who seek to interpret Islamism sympathetically is to view it as a form of localised resistance to globalisation. In fact, Islamism is also a universalist political project. Along with Neoliberals and Marxists, Islamists are participants in a dispute about how the world as whole is to be governed. None is ready to entertain the possibility that it should always contain a diversity of regimes. On this point, they differ from non-western traditions of thinking in India, China and Japan, which are much more restrained in making universal claims. In their unshakeable faith that one way of living is best for all humankind, the chief protagonists in the dispute about political Islam belong to a way of thinking that is quintessentially western. As in Cold War times, we are led to believe we are locked in a clash of civilisations: the West against the rest. In truth, the ideologues of political Islam are western voices, no less than Marx or Hayek. The struggle with radical Islam is yet another western family quarrel.”” [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Islamism is presented as a universal political ideology, not merely a local resistance, aligning it with Western universalist traditions and global governance debates. **In simple terms:** Islamism is a global political project, not just local resistance. Key Takeaway Recognize the universalist nature of political ideologies. Themes politics ideology globalization civilization clash Mood critical analytical Type theoretical political When to use this quote - academic analysis - policy making - media commentary - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts universalism political theory Western thought Questions to Reflect On - How does framing Islamism as universal affect policy? - What alternative frameworks exist for understanding political Islam? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify diverse Islamic perspectives into a single narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Family quarrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-quarrel/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Islamism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamism/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [War time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-time/) [Way of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-living/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“We may be of the same family, but that is the very reason why we are not friends, for we are rivals for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/we-may-be-of-the-same-family-but-that-is-the-very-reason-why-we-are/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [Classical and romantic: private language of a family quarrel, a dead dispute over the distribution of emphasis between man and nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/classical-and-romantic-private-language-of-a-family-quarrel-a-dead/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/family-quarrels-have-a-total-bitterness-unmatched-by-others-yet-it/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Not a single thought managed to take shape in her mind: for the likeness of this day to the last seemed to her the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-kadar/not-a-single-thought-managed-to-take-shape-in-her-mind-for-the/) [Ismail Kadaré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-kadar/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They dont go according to any rules. Theyre not like aches or wounds; theyre more like splits in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-dont-go-according-to-any-rules/) [F SCOTT FITZGERALD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I think all of us are agreed that war is probably man's greatest stupidity and I think peace is the dream that lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-think-all-of-us-are-agreed-that-war-is-probably-man-s-greatest/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [How many serious family quarrels, marriages out of spite, and alterations of wills, might have been prevented by a gentle dose of blue pill!-What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/how-many-serious-family-quarrels-marriages-out-of-spite-and/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“People spoke to foreigners with an averted gaze, and everybody seemed to know somebody who had just vanished. The rumors of what had happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/people-spoke-to-foreigners-with-an-averted-gaze-and-everybody-seemed/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Tell me something. Do you believe in God?' Snow darted an apprehensive glance in my direction. 'What? Who still believes nowadays?' 'It isn't that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-lem/tell-me-something-do-you-believe-in-god-snow-darted-an-apprehensive/) [Stanisław Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-lem/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-don-t-go-by-any-rules-they-re/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go according to any rules. They're not like aches or wounds, they're more like splits in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-don-t-go-according-to-any/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Remember our story. You’re going to visit a cousin who has just started to farm in North Carolina. You’re taking gifts.” “Even though we’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/remember-our-story-you-re-going-to-visit-a-cousin-who-has-just/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [“shoes: that putting them on a bed invited death into the family, that a quarrel would follow if one put on the left shoe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/shoes-that-putting-them-on-a-bed-invited-death-into-the-family-that-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The Western world needs to ally themselves against the evil that is political Islam. To unite with its practitioners would be to unite with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-crowder/the-western-world-needs-to-ally-themselves-against-the-evil-that-is/) [Steven Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-crowder/) > [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) ## More by John Gray > [“The success of a relationship is solely dependent on two factors: a man's ability to listen lovingly and respectfully to a woman's feelings, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/the-success-of-a-relationship-is-solely-dependent-on-two-factors-a/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“Men and women arguing in this way hurt not only their feelings but also their relationship. Just as communication is the most important element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/men-and-women-arguing-in-this-way-hurt-not-only-their-feelings-but/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [Just as a man is fulfilled through working out the intricate details of solving a problem, a woman is fulfilled through talking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/just-as-a-man-is-fulfilled-through-working-out-the-intricate-details/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“The calls of birds and the traces left by wolves to mark off their territories are no less forms of language than the sings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/the-calls-of-birds-and-the-traces-left-by-wolves-to-mark-off-their/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“The good life is not found in dreams of progress,but in coping with tragic contingencies.We have been reared on religions and philosophies that deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/the-good-life-is-not-found-in-dreams-of-progress-but-in-coping-with/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [To offer a man unsolicited advice is to presume that he doesn't know what to do or that he can't do it on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/to-offer-a-man-unsolicited-advice-is-to-presume-that-he-doesn-t-know/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [We mistakenly assume that if our partners love us they will react and behave in certain ways - the ways we react and behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/we-mistakenly-assume-that-if-our-partners-love-us-they-will-react-and/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“We think our actions express our decisions. But in nearly all of our life, willing decides nothing. We cannot wake up or fall asleep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/we-think-our-actions-express-our-decisions-but-in-nearly-all-of-our/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“Life was indeed cruel; but it was better to glorify the Will than deny it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/life-was-indeed-cruel-but-it-was-better-to-glorify-the-will-than-deny/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [That love motivates you to cooperate, respect, appreciate, cherish, and admire that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/that-love-motivates-you-to-cooperate-respect-appreciate-cherish-and/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“Although feelings of attraction are automatic, in order to sustain attraction in a personal relationship we must also be skillful in presenting ourselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/although-feelings-of-attraction-are-automatic-in-order-to-sustain/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/when-men-and-women-are-able-to-respect-and-accept-their-differences/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“If there is anything unique about the human animal, it is that it has the ability to grow knowledge at an accelerating rate while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/if-there-is-anything-unique-about-the-human-animal-it-is-that-it-has/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [To love someone is to acknowledge the goodness of who they are. Through loving a person we awaken their awareness of their own innate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/to-love-someone-is-to-acknowledge-the-goodness-of-who-they-are/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“Today we have made a fetish of choice; but a chosen death is forbidden. Perhaps what distinguishes humans from other animals is that humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/today-we-have-made-a-fetish-of-choice-but-a-chosen-death-is-forbidden/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) [Explore all 104 John Gray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) ## More Cold war quotes > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“The low point occurred in July, during Romney’s junior week abroad, in which the press became increasingly frustrated over Romney’s refusal to talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/the-low-point-occurred-in-july-during-romney-s-junior-week-abroad-in/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [We have won an armistice on a single battlefield, not peace in our world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-won-an-armistice-on-a-single-battlefield-not-peace-in-our/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [We do not have the right to forget that reactionary imperialism exists and its forces actively operate in the world, that they encourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-grechko/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-forget-that-reactionary-imperialism/) Andrei Grechko > [If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations and don't invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-don-t-like-us-don-t-accept-our-invitations-and-don-t-invite-us/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [Ever since the end of the Cold War, it has been our paramount interest in Europe to strengthen NATO and to extend it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/ever-since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-it-has-been-our-paramount-interest/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [“And so this is where the post Cold War has brought us: to the recognition that the very totalitarism that we fought against in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/and-so-this-is-where-the-post-cold-war-has-brought-us-to-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/and-so-the-greatest-of-american-triumphs-became-a-peculiarly-joyless/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [Socialism would gather all power to the supreme party and party leaders, rising like stately pinnacles above their vast bureaucracies of civil servants no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/socialism-would-gather-all-power-to-the-supreme-party-and-party/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Stellar Wind resurrected Cold War tactics with twenty-first-century technology. It let the FBI work with the NSA outside of the limits of the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/stellar-wind-resurrected-cold-war-tactics-with-twenty-first-century/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [TICAD is a conference Japan launched in 1993 to assist self-supporting development in Africa against the backdrop of the declining international interest in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/ticad-is-a-conference-japan-launched-in-1993-to-assist-self/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [I have seen the rise and fall of Nazi tyranny, the subsequent cold war and the nuclear nightmare that for fifty years haunted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-have-seen-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-tyranny-the-subsequent-cold-war/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The Cold War philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), which prevented the former Soviet Union and the United States from using the nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/the-cold-war-philosophy-of-mutual-assured-destruction-mad-which/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) [Browse all 906 Cold war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A common error of western commentators who seek to interpret Islamism sympathetically is to view it as a form of localised resistance to globalisation. In fact, Islamism is also a universalist political project. Along with Neoliberals and Marxists, Islamists are participants in a dispute about how the world as whole is to be governed. None is ready to entertain the possibility that it should always contain a diversity of regimes. On this point, they differ from non-western traditions of thinking in India, China and Japan, which are much more restrained in making universal claims. In their unshakeable faith that one way of living is best for all humankind, the chief protagonists in the dispute about political Islam belong to a way of thinking that is quintessentially western. As in Cold War times, we are led to believe we are locked in a clash of civilisations: the West against the rest. In truth, the ideologues of political Islam are western voices, no less than Marx or Hayek. The struggle with radical Islam is yet another western family quarrel.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/a-common-error-of-western-commentators-who-seek-to-interpret-islamism/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/a-common-error-of-western-commentators-who-seek-to-interpret-islamism/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/john-gray-4628_cold-war_a-common-error-of-western-commentators-w_3191498.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A common error of western commentators who seek to interpret Islamism sympathetically is to view it as a…” — John Gray", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Gray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A common error of western commentators...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/a-common-error-of-western-commentators-who-seek-to-interpret-islamism/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/a-common-error-of-western-commentators-who-seek-to-interpret-islamism/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```