Unfortunately, this analysis doesn't hold. If it did, the solution would be easy, just spread the money around. While poverty certainly plays a role in some cases of radicalization, the evidence suggests that it is a comparably small factor. Sure, Islam causes bigger problems in Somalia than it does in Singapore. But some of the most fundamentalist countries are actually quite rich, like Saudi Arabia or Iran. Most suicide bombers are fairly well-off, both in the West as in the Muslim world, and often have the benefit of education and good jobs. I have not seen any studies that show correlations between education and income on the one hand and degree of religious belief on the other.
On the other hand, there are very poor countries in Middle America for example that don't have large portions of their population exhibiting detrimental behaviour to themselves and to others.
Moreover, even if we granted that it was poverty that was driving people into a literal following of Islam, into mistreating their women, killing blasphemers and suicide bombing, that still wouldn't mean that we shouldn't criticize Islam as an ideology.
" Basically reads the same.
