It is indeed very sad state of affairs for the Muslims. The demons that face muslim nations aren't necessarily all external. Most if not all, are internal. I mean we've inherited all the evils of the world over time. You name it, Corruption, indulging in Interest, hypocracy, dictatorialism, and to some extent the most twisted form of democracy.
Hello Teggy,
if you don't mind I'd like expand this a bit. I promise you that anything I say is NOT based on any deep rotted hatred of muslims (even though I cannot be dishonest and say I am not angry at muslims for a number of reasons).
I think the very concept of a 'muslim' nation is a mistake. If you honestly look at all the 'muslim nations' you find that the turmoil is either
* religious sect vs religious sect and/or
* government vs religious groups
* religious militia vs external force, usually brought in by events
In all cases the common factor is the struggle for supremacy by religious leaders, religious bodies and religious sects in the name of faith....except there is no unified version of it and will never be.
While divisivenes among people can occur based on almost everything they do, the division by religious sect or religion per se runs such a deep rooted faith that people are compelled to throw everything else to wind and go attack.
Now such deep rooted'ness of religion is not unique to Islam but the combination of that with the compulsion to be a 'muslim nation' is unique and hence the resultant misery violence and turmoil.
The tensions created by trying to force pre-medieval values, rules and judgments onto a 20+ century population literally is recipe for disaster for such countries.
regards
Pundit Vikram