The History of Islamic Fundamentalism - 684 Words

Explain the history of Islamic fundamentalism. Is it similar in nature to the fundamentalist movements of the early twentieth century? The term fundamentalism today is used as a descriptive term, referring to any reactionary religious group (Ethridge Feagin, 1979). But at its core, fundamentalism means attempting to return to fundamentalist roots, by embracing dualistic views of the world and carrying out a series of radical reforms to return to the imaginary past. Islamic fundamentalism is largely a reaction to modernity, its adherents viewing modern science, philosophy, and secularism as Western concepts, intruding into the fabric of Muslim societies and weakening traditional values (Hashemi, 2006). Muslim fundamentalists hold that they have exclusive access to the only true knowledge, condemning all forms of non-Islamic beliefs and values as characteristic of infidel behaviors and as satanic (Nagata, 2001). It is hard to delineate the exact date of the beginning of Islamic fundamentalism, but most scholars agree that it is a twentieth-century phenomenon. Religious revivals, often expressed in fundamentalist terms, take place during profound political and economic transformations. When Europe was going through reforms, embracing the principles of science and secularism through turbulences and wars for hundreds of years most Muslim countries remained untouched by those developments. In late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, colonial powers broughtShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem The Yacoubian Building 1371 Words   |  6 Pagesemotional effects of Egyptian political history. Much like liberal Egypt, Nasser’s reign and the Arab Socialist movement was filled with idealism and promise, both of which gave way to corruption and greed. One can easily find economic statistics or political articles detailing the objective inadequacies of Nasser, Sadat, and their successors. Al-Aswany brings a different, equally valuable narrative. This novel fills in the gaps of objective and factual histories, allowing the reader to understand theRead MoreThe Attacks of 9/11 and the Subsequent Global War on Terror: Primordialist and Constructivist Perceptions1439 Words   |  6 Pageswere prompted by irreconcilable differences between Islamic culture and the West and that Islam felt threatened by the West. Essentially it states that ethnic groups and nationalities exist because there are traditions of belief and action towards primordial objects such as biological factors and especially territorial location. (Gryosby, 1994 p. 168).). There are a lot of grounds to the assumption that Islam has this attitude since Islamic fundamentalist leaders, such as Sayyid Qutb (1988) haveRead More Iranian Revolution Essay1635 Words   |  7 Pagesdetail why it is occurring, why it seems heavily associated with Egypt, and why it may well pose a threat to the Western world, in terms of Islamic fundamentalism. 1.Why is Iran leading a worldwide Islamic revolution In order to understand what is happening now, we must first go back in history. And, in examining this we should understand how history repeats itself in many ways. For example, we can look at the 1960s of this country and see a small illustration of a cultural revolution. NowRead MoreIranian Revolution1648 Words   |  7 Pagesdetail why it is occurring, why it seems heavily associated with Egypt, and why it may well pose a threat to the Western world, in terms of Islamic fundamentalism. 1.Why is Iran leading a worldwide Islamic revolution In order to understand what is happening now, we must first go back in history. And, in examining this we should understand how history repeats itself in many ways. For example, we can look at the 1960s of this country and see a small illustration of a cultural revolution. NowRead MoreSuicide Terrorism And Islamic Fundamentalism991 Words   |  4 Pagesthat suicide terrorism is rising around the world (Pape pg. 6). Since many terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by Muslim terrorist motivated by religious beliefs, it makes people think that Islamic fundamentalism is the central cause. The connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism is incorrect, and encourage foreign countries to harm many Muslims people that are harmless. The author has assembled a database that accounts â€Å"every suicide bombing and attack around the globeRead MoreIslamic Fundamentalism : The Threat Of The Long Term Hostility Involving The United States And Iran894 Words   |  4 PagesIslamic fundamentalism has been the cause of the long-term hostility involving the United States and Iran. However, there are other substantive causes of this disagreement that have existed for a long time in the history of both countries. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which is a military organization that is made up of countries from North America and a reasonable part of Europe, was established to enhance global security and peace (Cottam 1988, p.18). This has also been a great issueRead MoreThe Looming Tower By Lawrence Wright940 Words   |  4 Pagesnonfiction book that covers the decades that lead to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, and around the world. This book described the how the lives of men from different backgro unds and countries came together and organized the most fear terrorist organization in the modern history. This book goes on to show the lack of understanding that the United States intelligence community had when dealing with the Islamic community, and how all of this culminated into what most rememberRead MoreThe Genesis Of The Islam1859 Words   |  8 Pagesincreasing youth unemployment, the communalisation of culture and the education, lack of peoples the are main-stream political (democratic) leadership, external environment—all contributed of growth Islamist extremism in Bangladesh. Religious fundamentalism, to the process, has gained momentum shape organisedof Political Islam, which are intends to capture the state power by force. The religious fundamentalist forces have successfully with assimilated of religion with reality are pursuing theirRead MorePrejudice against Muslims and Islamic Fundamentalism Essay1125 Words   |  5 Pageslow tolerance for other religio ns and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat to political stability. The Islamic government contributes heavily to the threatRead MoreThe Modern Age Of Islam1179 Words   |  5 PagesThe Islamic world has tried to become strong again through both secularism and religion, with neither answer showing a complete, absolute advantage over the other. This is shown through Atta Turk completely removing Islam out of the newly formed Turkish society, the Baath Party’s secular ideology while still committing massacre, and Hezbollah using a radicalized form of religion to gain political strength. The beginning of the modern age of Islam can be marked with Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt and