Islamic fundamentalism is not a product or by-product of poverty. Several studies have shown that a substantial majority of Islamists and their supporters come from the middle and upper socio-economic strata … [this] refutes the widely held assumption that Islamist popularity thrives on economic misery. –Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh
A common refrain in the MSM is that Islamists are reacting to extreme poverty against the rich west. This 1995 Daniel Pipes article demolishes that position. If you don’t have his site bookmarked, you should.
As to the real root cause, why won’t the media take them at their word?
Carrying out terrorism…is one of the tenets of our religion and Shari’ah…This war is fundamentally religious…Under no circumstances should we forget this enmity between us and the infidels. For the enmity is based on creed. — Osama Bin Laden
But...