America doesn't border on Muslim countries. European countries do and that seems to be a fundamental difference.

Thus, biologically speaking the American people are literally only half an immigrant people.

Fascism and communism have not entirely disappeared but have been sidelined certainly, and liberal democracy has come to be accepted, in theory at least, around the world, if not always in practice.

Hispanics speak Spanish or Portuguese, which are languages we Americans are familiar with, so it doesn't seem to pose the same types of problems as Arabic-speaking Muslims do in Europe.

Obviously there are divisions within the West and divisions within Islam - there are different sects, different communities, different countries. So neither one is homogenous at all. But they do have things in common.

Every civilization sees itself as the center of the world and writes its history as the central drama of human history.

Certainly there are various trans-Islamic political movements, which try to appeal to Muslims in all societies.