Well, I will try an answer, although I am not Insaf. Historians would find 10 or 15 years to be an extremely short time. The real question might be why was the Islamic world so lacking in conflict during the great slaughters - such as the 30 years war in Europe, and the First and Second World Wars. Indeed, during the whole of the Cold War, Islamic countries had a good relationship with the West, and kept out of savage, prolonged conflicts like the Vietnam war. Really, the Islamic world was out of the military history picture for much of the 20th century. The violent events which did take place in Islamic countries - such as the massacres in 1966 in Indonesia - seem to have been based on Cold War struggles rather than religion. Question is, why has this changed since 1989, and the first Gulf War? Probably, because of the fall of the Soviet Union, and the mega expansion of US power.
