Why weren't Middle Eastern countries imperialistic?

Answer 1

This question is based on an underlying assumption which is not entirely true, namely that Middle Eastern countries were not imperialistic. During the Rise of Islam period all the way through the Caliphates, Middle Eastern countries did expand their empires. The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest Empires in the Old World. (The European Empires were larger because of American territories which were vast and much less resistive.)

However, Middle Eastern countries did not conquer any part of the Americas and were themselves colonized, so these facts need to be explained. The Middle East did not colonize America because in the late 1400s, 1500s, and early 1600s when this process was occurring, empires like the Ottoman Empire did not have ocean-going vessels that were strong enough to cross the waves. They also lacked a strong position on the Atlantic. Finally Spain and Portugal had numerous defensive ports around the Strait of Gibraltar at that time and would have ambushed Ottoman ships had they tried to colonize the New World. The Ottoman Empire was more focused on their land empire at the time. The Safavids of Iran were also more focused on controlling Central Asia and West India then sending boats all around the tip of Africa to get to the Americas.

As for the colonization of the Arab World, European weaponry in the 1800s and 1900s greatly outclassed their Middle Eastern equivalents. This led to massacres of those Arabs and Turks who resisted European advances.