Militant Islamic fundamentalism packs the double whammy of being able not only to elevate mere spectator-consumers in the media-centric pageant of contemporary life to the more significant level of participants, but also to give them something of sufficiently satisfying heft to counterpose against the forces under whose influence they feel demeaned.

In this regard, Islam can be considered similar to the socialism and Marxism that so many Third-World countries turned to around the middle of the last century.

The post-colonial popularity of socialism can be seen, in retrospect, as largely a matter of its offering a ready-built substitute for the capitalist systems under which indigenous peoples felt themselves demeaned.  It was something to rally around--a handy alternative model that could be popped in, as desired, in almost any circumstances.

In the same way that socialism provided a ready-built alternative to Western colonial capitalism, Islam now offers a ready-built alternative to Western, and particularly American, media-centric cultural hegemony.

When it's difficult to articulate what's wrong with your world--much less how to fix the problem--but you feel on a gut level that somehow, it's traceable to the flood of images pouring out of your television set, it can be crucial to have something already in existence to embrace when you make the decision to resist the flow.

As a complete and comprehensive system of social order, Islam will tell you not only what to look up to and admire if you should decide to de-canonize Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also what to wear, how to groom yourself, how to conduct yourself in the company of the opposite sex, and how to handle a host of similar practical issues.  All you need to do is finally get up the gumption to adopt something other than the seductively flickering images on a screen as your primary frame of reference, and your cherished window into the transcendent.