The Muslim countries were part of the Ottoman empire. The Ottomans could not modernize for complex reasons, and could not compete with western expansion.
When the empire fell, the westerners attempted to establish order in the conquered territories, by creating small states. And they promoted leaders in those states.
Oil has been a strategic necessity in the 20th century and Muslim countries are sitting on it.
The west was concerned about the expansion of world communism into the Muslim countries and thereby an alliance between those oil producers and Russia and china. This would have dramatically endangered the west.
The west attempted successfully to suppress the world communist movement in the Muslim countries by supporting leaders who could hold the popular communist movements at bay, while permitting oil to trade on the market.
Dictatorship is a natural and common form of government and the idea that it is not is a modern contrivance. Democracy as we understand it is a luxury that is the product of our technological development. Not the other way around It is an intellectual mistake to think of it otherwise. The rest of the world has decided that western democracy is for westerners. THe reason the west is different, and less corrupt, is that we managed to break family bonds of loyalty that are the very reason for existence in the rest of the world. The rest of the world may not achieve our form of democracy because corruption is endemic because they retain the primacy of tribal and familial bonds over that of the collective.
The USA’s strategy since the second world war has been to prevent the rise of communist and socialist governments until the middle classes in each country can become developed enough to desire capitalism and democratic government, at which point they believe that most countries will become peaceful and predictable members of the world system of trade.
The USA pays for and administers the world system of trade. In exchange we are able to print money and sell it, while deflating it. The rest of the world then uses these dollars to buy oil. I this way we tax the rest of the world for paying for our military program that defends the system of trade. This is coming to an end. The USA is seeking to prolong the need for the dollar for the average American will experience a dramatic decline in his standard of living if the dollar is no longer in demand for oil purchases.
Iran and Russia are attempting to create alternative oil exchanges not using dollars in order to undermine the ability of the USA to economically finance it’s military and therefore control oil prices.
Muslim people understand this and it is what is driving their desire to oust dictators and restore their ’empire’ to its former prominence. They are stifled by corruption, ignorance and poverty.
The USA does not care who emerges as the leader of that civilization but it would prefer that it was Turkey and not Iran. Iran sees it as its destiny. And if successful iran will unite syria, iraq, iran and pakistan into a political and military block that will control world oil prices. Russia believes that it will have control over this region, and so are allies. But they are likely mistaken that they will have anything other than a militant neighbor on their southern borders.
If you can understand this you will understand the world we live in.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-many-Muslim-countries-run-by-dictators