Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man, has written an interesting article titled Fighting the 21st century fascists.
More than 10 years ago, I argued that we had reached the "end of history": not that historical events would stop, but that history, understood as the evolution of human societies through different forms of government, had culminated in modern liberal democracy and market-oriented capitalism. It is my view that this hypothesis remains correct, despite the events since September 11: modernity, as represented by the US and other developed democracies, will remain the dominant force in world politics, and the institutions embodying the West's underlying principles of freedom will continue to spread around the world.
The September 11 attacks represent a desperate backlash against the modern world, which appears to be a speeding freight train to those unwilling to get on board.
It provides an interesting look at Western culture vs. Islamic culture and the role of separation of church and state. It disucsses Saudi Arabia's role in creating Islamo-fascists. This ties in nicely with a recently linked article (Looking the World in the Eye) on Samuel Huntington.