In November 1979, the image of an angry mob burning the US Embassy in Islamabad in response to the capture of the Grand Mosque receives significant global attention (Lewis 4). Although the capture of the Grand Mosque in Mecca had nothing to do with the United States (a group of Islamic fanatics was responsible), many Muslims still felt the need to channel their anger towards Western society. Since 1979, it also appears that some Muslims' hatred of the West has only exacerbated in recent decades. As this latest issue of Muslim anger becomes increasingly prevalent in the Western world, the question arises as to what exactly the “roots of Muslim anger” are and how they affect the West. Although some believe that the “root of Muslim anger” is directly related to political motivations, it is actually related to jealousy toward civilization, Westernization, and the failure of Middle Eastern states. In this article, I argue that jealousy towards civilization, the once great Muslim civilization deemed inferior after Western progress, Westernization, pressure to conform to Western ideologies and failing Middle Eastern states, perpetual poverty and lack of sovereign power, are the “roots” of Muslim anger” against the West. To begin looking for the rudiments of civilizational jealousy, which led to Muslim anger towards the West, it is necessary to go back to the 8th century. Eastern Muslims had fought Western European Christians for supremacy and control over the Levant, North Africa, and Europe for several centuries. Islam and Islamic rule began in Saudi Arabia and expanded into myriad regions, reaching as far as France, Vienna, and southern Italy. Between the 11th century and the middle of the paper, Westernization and the failure of Middle Eastern states can lead to acts of hatred and sentiment against Western nations. Civilization's jealousy has created a bitter feeling 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 caused many Muslims to resent Western institutions and ideologies, as they have created poverty and devastation in Muslim-majority states. Failing states in the Middle East have breathed new life into terrorist organizations, allowing them to welcome those for whom the state has failed to provide and to convince them that their toils and hardships are somehow the work of the West. These “roots of Muslim anger” may well be issues that the West can no longer address and that Muslims themselves must remedy within their own communities, states and nations..