These conservatives are, in the authors' estimation, anti-Western, even though they perceive themselves to be upholding Western values.

But is this really a useful or complete understanding of the complexities of the religious and cultural debates that exist within the Middle East, America, or the larger world? Although the use of the term Occidentalism helpful to some extent in examining why 'they' hate 'us' in the Islamic vs. Western world's culture wars, ultimately the term is so broad its value is somewhat limited, especially if their construct is applied to Nazi Germany vs. The West. Further confusing the issue is that the authors note that many Western critics come from within the system itself, from the ultimate critic of Western bourgeois values Karl Marx to Western-educated fundamentalist terrorists. This makes the definition of 'the Occident' even slipperier, especially as Marx was pro-urban, pro-science, in contrast to religious fundamentalists.

This blurry...
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