138. Karen Armstrongevitable end. In the pre-modern period, Western and Chris-
tian empires had also experienced decline and fall. Islamic
states had collapsed before; on each occasion, Muslims had
been able to rise phoenix-like from the ruins and had gone on
to still greater achievements. But this time, it was different.
The Muslim weakness at the end of the eighteenth century
coincided with the rise of an entirely different type of civi-
lization in the West, and this time the Muslim world would
find it far more difficult to meet the challenge.