yea you can make those arguments to an extent. you can blame western imperialism in the middle east for propping up the mosques as the only true cultural symbol of power where their traditions reign. and you can say they probably resent western imperialism in general and are salty about losing their caliphate however many years ago which pushes them toward islam as their last bastion of hope for reigning supreme once again.
but at the end of the day a lot of the islamic extremists are wealthy well educated men who really do hate western values and believe every word that they say with regard to representing islam. so there's an irrational religious element that isn't quite as prevalent with the christians for the most part. not to say we don't have nutty ones like that but the ones with political power are more the type to cynically exploit those irrational sentiments in the masses all the while pursuing a real and logical (and selfish) goal.
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