In what way is there a civilisation conflict between Islam and the West?

Introduction
The conflict between the west (Christians) and Islam has been on going for centuries. However it is only in the last 100 years or so that it has come to boiling point. It can be argued that the starting point was in 1922 when the ottoman empire unified. This then meaning that the colonial powers occupied much of the Muslim lands. The presence of these new rulers led to the formation of Arab nationalism. Then in 1928 in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood was formed by Hasan al-Banna. This brotherhood holds to a radical ideological view of Islam that rejects the modern world that the colonial powers represented and instead want to see a government based on Shariah Law. For example Al-Qaeda's second in command and ideological mentor to bin laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian with a Muslim brotherhood background.

What is the Issue?
The major issue is that both of these cultures/ideologies think that their way is the best and only way and everyone else in the world should follow their ideas and policies. For example the USA believes in Neo-Liberal economic policies meaning that there is minimal control from the government and nearly all businesses are privately run. Where as in Saudi Arabia it is mainly a government run economy with the government controlling its Oil exports (largest in the world). This is shown by the fact that in terms of economic freedom Saudi Arabia is ranked 77th in the world which shows the level of government control in one of the worlds richest nations. Not only do there economies differ but so do there views on humanity. For example the west promotes freedom of speech and freedom of women in particular. Where as Islam is all about government control and women are constrained with what they can do. For example they are not allowed to participate in sports. Although we may believe that we as the west are correct we may actually not be. It is just the way we have been grown up and the values that we have been told to respect throughout our lives. Were as in the Islamic states they have been taught differently and they cannot accept their being a different way to go about human life. This is therefore the major problem as neither ideology will accept the other and both want to gain world dominance with their views as they claim them to be correct.

The picture above highlights the extent of the problem. As people have grown up being told a way to live their lives and that the way they are doing it is the correct way. Women in the west where bikinis because most other women do. Where as Islamic women cover themselves one way or another including Burkas as most women do if they have Islamic beliefs. Your beliefs and what you think is right and wrong are directly effected by what you are taught when you are younger as you are not able to make your own decisions. So we as the west may moan and try to prevent propaganda aimed at children but we also do it ourselves? I know that this is a weak example but every child is taught about London being bombed during WW2 and the devastation that this bought to the city and millions of people. However what they do not tell you is that the British where doing exactly the same to German cities and the death toll was even higher. This again shows that with even just simply missing out little bits of information you are able to influence what people believe and think about other cultures.

Is the civilization conflict taking place? 
In my mind their is no doubting that the civilization conflict is taking place and will continue to take place until both sides can find some sort of middle ground and accept that they will not be able to change each other. For example Islam cannot rule the world and there can never be a complete westernization of the world either. This is because the current generation and future generations will be told that their way of life is wrong and if they do not comply then they will have a life of hardship. This however can then create extremism as both ideologies try to press their beliefs against a nation with the opposite views people will therefore come forward and try to protect their ideology. This then highlighting the reasons for 9/11 and the many other terrorist attacks in the west over  the last 15 years. Not only this but the western armed forces constant bombing of the middle east in retaliation or to prevent these nations from having something they should not have i.e WMD.

What is the Nature of the EU as a political entity?

Background of the EU

The European Union was formed in 1993 following on from a process that began just after the end of World War 2 which began with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. When the Steel and Coal Community was created there where six original members. By the time it came to 1993 there was 12 members. This then show the advance in which the European community made in such a short time frame. However even bigger steps have been made since the European Union was created. One reason is the fact that there are now 28 members of the EU with the biggest influx coming in 2004 when 10 more nations joined. It also now has many different institutions and a say in nearly all of Europe's actions. Examples of the various institutions include the European Council, European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. Future of the European Union? There is no doubt that the EU will continue to expand. There are currently 5 candidate states (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). Not only this but there are potential candidates along with states who have withdrawn from the EU or have frozen there application (Iceland) and then there are states that have signed and EU association agreement such as Ukraine which means they are recognized by the EU as having a European policy and may apply for membership. What about future policy's and decision making? Many euro skeptics accuse the EU of being undemocratic as the Presidents are not voted in and the citizens of the EU have no real say other than when voting for MEP's. Not only this but nations such as the UK find it unfair how many migrants come into the country due to it being one of the more developed nations within the EU. So the biggest change that may actually take place in the next couple of years is for the United Kingdom to leave the EU as there is a referendum set to take place before the end of 2017.

EU as a Political Entity
The EU is seen as a Supranational body as it reduces some of the nations states sovereignty. For example things such as fishing regulations are controlled by the EU, as Spanish vessels are allowed to fish in British waters. Not only this but the EU laws are followed throughout the nations within the membership. Also if they anyone is to break these laws they have to then appear in the European Court of Justice. Since Winston Churchill's post war speech which stated the a 'United States of Europe' needs to be created this idea has been in the back of many figure heads minds. As they continue there quest to bring the EU closer together. Although the EU is still a way off this target the single currency and the idea of an EU constitution have certainly increased the possibility. However some nations who where part of the EU did not become a part of the Eurozone, such as the UK. Also the idea of an EU constitution was vetoed by France and a couple of other members. So although the EU continues to grow in size and power. The idea of it being a United States of Europe and a Superstate in particular are along way off at this moment in time. As fractions continue to grow between the EU and the UK. Not only this but many nations are afraid that the EU is becoming or may already be a German dominated body. This was only highlighted by the amount of money that Germany put towards the EU bailout plans compared to other nations and the fact that it has more MEP's 96 than any other member.