Theodore Dalrymple reviews 'Islamic Imperialism - a history' by Efraim Kersh.

The originality of Karsh’s interpretation is its underlying assumption that Islam was, from the very beginning, a pretext for personal and dynastic political ambition, from the razzias against the Meccan caravans and the expulsion of Jewish tribes from Medina, to the siege of Vienna a millennium later in 1529, and Hamas today.

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Karsh argues [..] Islam has never succeeded in eliminating political power struggles within the Muslim world, where, on the contrary, such struggles have always been murderous. Islamic regimes, many espousing in the beginning the ascetic principles of what one might call desert Islam, invariably degenerate (if it be degeneration) into luxury- and privilege-loving dynasties. Like all other political entities, Islamic regimes seek to preserve and, if possible, extend their power.

Indeed. While, the portrayal by Edward Said and others of a colonised Arabia reflects history of a recent vintage. For too long, Asia and Africa were under the yoke of Arabic imperialism. The victims of this imperialism, most notably, India, Persia and Egypt have had lasting damage done to them. The collapse of it has left a legacy of craving in much of the elite living in Arabic nations. They practice what Kanan Makiya labelled as 'the politics of rejection - reject, reject, reject'.