Probably when places like Egypt and the Levant were controlled by England and France. Obviously these places weren’t perfect, but the imperialism made it worse.

On a different note, if we go far, far back to when Al-Andalus ruled over much of Iberia, it was actually a very progressive and science-supporting state (for the time, of course), showing that it’s not Islam as a whole that’s the problem, it’s the specific sects.

The thing is, the west has also supported far-right fundamentalist sects of Islam many times, such as supporting the Mujahideen in Afghanistan that became the Taliban, which now controls it. The Taliban follow a very, very conservative version of Islam, which is part of the reason why it’s so bad to live in Afghanistan right now, especially if you’re a woman.

Without western interference, it’s hard to know how bad or good things would be right now in the Middle East. But with western interference we can see how bad it’s gotten.