In November 1979, the image of an angry mob burning down the American embassy in Islamabad in response to the storming of the Grand Mosque received significant global attention (Lewis 4). Even though the storming of the Grand Mosque in Mecca had nothing to do with the United States (a group of Islamic fanatics was responsible), many Muslims nonetheless feel the need to channel their anger toward Western society. Since 1979, it also seems that the hatred of some Muslims towards the West has only been exacerbated in recent decades. As this latest problem of Muslim anger becomes more and more prevalent in the Western world, the question of what exactly are the “roots of Muslim anger” and how do they relate to the West arises. Although some believe that the “root of Muslim anger” is directly linked to political motivations, it is actually linked to civilizational jealousy, Westernization and failed states in the Middle East. In this article I argue that civilizational jealousy, the great Muslim civilization deemed inferior after Western progress, Westernization, pressure to conform to Western ideologies and failed states in the Middle East, perpetual poverty and lack of sovereign power, are the “roots” of Muslim rage” against the West. In order to begin researching the rudiments of civilizational jealousy, which led to Muslim anger towards the West, one must go back to the 8th century. Eastern Muslims had been fighting Western European Christians for several centuries for supremacy and control of the Levant, North Africa, and Europe. Islam and Islamic rule began in Saudi Arabia and spread to myriad regions, reaching France, Vienna, and southern Italy. Between the 11th century and the...... middle of paper ......ousy, Westernization and failed states in the Middle East, which can lead to hateful acts and sentiment against Western nations. Civilizational jealousy created a sense of bitterness towards Western nations due to Islam's once strong status but its rapid fall, leaving only Western nations as successors. The attempt at Westernization has led many Muslims to resent Western institutions and ideologies, as these have created poverty and devastation in Muslim-majority states. The failed states of the Middle East have given new life to terrorist organizations, allowing them to take in those the state has failed to care for and convince them that their labors and difficulties are somehow the work of the West. These “roots of Muslim anger” may very well be problems that the West can no longer solve and that Muslims themselves must repair within their own communities, states and nations..