Abstract: | World War II brought a great upsurge in Middle Eastern communism, which recruits its followers mainly among the intelligentia. The West cannot quickly provide what is needed most: a competent native elite with a high degree of political maturity. The religious elements in Communism and its ethics have been of far greater importance than the attraction of rapid economic development. For the masses Islam continues to be of importance, but the authoritarian character of Islamic society, in disintegration even more than in its early stages makes an easy transition to the communist ideology a possibility and in some cases a probability. |