Lewis framed Muslim rage as a civilizational reaction, not a policy dispute.

Evidence

It should now be clear that we are facing a mood and a movement far transcending the level of issues and policies and the governments that pursue them. This is no less than a clash of civilizations—that perhaps irrational but surely historic reaction of an ancient rival against our Judeo-Christian heritage, our secular present, and the worldwide expansion of both. It is crucially important that we on our side should not be provoked into an equally historic but also equally irrational reaction against that rival. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 572

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is the originating formulation of the ‘clash of civilizations’ phrase Huntington builds his whole thesis on — the seed text worth keeping as the definitional anchor.
• XREF: Connects forward to Huntington’s own thesis and to critiques (e.g., Edward Said’s ‘Clash of Definitions’ response to this exact Lewis passage).