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Nothing new
Anyone can talk about repeating patterns and formulaic music but until I hear music written today that begins to approach the quality and depth of music by Mozart and Beethoven these theories don't really amount to much.
One of our modern day experts on classical music (as both a teacher and performer), Robert Levin, attempted to recreate some parts of the Mozart Requiem that had murky origins and the results were utterly horrendous. The end result demonstrates (rather painfully) that the degree of knowledge and analytical skill is not positively correlated with creative genius.
Was there a middle-eastern influence on western music from that period? Of course. In fact, Europe was going through one musical fad after another and they all played a role in shaping the music we hear today. Did the influence run deeper? Quite possible. The dominant religion of the time was of middle-eastern origin so how difficult is it to believe that some of the musical sensibilities were transferred as well. Having said that, the influence is not easily heard or proven since there are some patterns and rythms which are quite likely universal.
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