Fundamentalism as Ideology

1
Fundamentalism as Ideology

• Revivalism and Activism in the Islamic World
• Lecture, 30.11.05

2
Origins

• Originally, fundamentalism refers to the
  conservative movement in American Protestantism
  arising out of the millenarian movement of the
  19th century and emphasizing as fundamental to
  Christianity the literal interpretation and
  absolute inerrancy of the Scriptures, the
  imminent and physical Second Coming of Jesus
  Christ, the Virgin Birth, Resurrection, and
  Atonement. Fundamentalism came into its own in
  the early 20th century in opposition to modernist
  tendencies in American religious and secular
  life. In the late 20th century the movement was
  represented by numerous church bodies,
  educational institutions, and special-interest
  organizations.

3
Islamic Fundamentalism

• From the Iranian revolution of 1978-79 to the
  bombing of the New York World Trade Center in
  1993, Islamic fundamentalism has become an issue
  of international attention and concern. It is a
  broad-based but diverse religious movement that
  has swept across much of the Muslim world, from
  North Africa to Southeast Asia, during the past
  two decades.
• Contemporary Islamic fundamentalism has
  manifested itself in personal and political life,
  from greater emphasis on religious observances
  such as prayer, fasting, Islamic dress, and
  family values to the reassertion of Islam in
  politics.
• The term Islamic fundamentalism, while commonly
  used, is regarded by many as misleading. The term
  fundamentalism is laden with Christian
  presuppositions and Western stereotypes, and it
  implies a monolithic threat. More useful terms
  are Islamic revivalism and Islamic activism,
  which are less value-laden and have roots within
  a tradition of political reform and social
  activism.

4
Meaning

• Fundamentalism is the affirmation of religious
  authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of
  neither criticism nor reduction it is expressed
  through the collective demand that specific
  creedal and ethical dictates derived from
  scripture be publicly recognized and legally
  enforced ."
• Bruce Lawrence, Defenders of God The
  Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age
• Compare Conservativism

5
History

• Muslim belief and history have provided the
  sources for the worldview of Islamic activists.
• During the 18th and 19th centuries,
  religio-political movements occurred across the
  Islamic world in response to political
  fragmentation and economic, social, and moral
  decline.

6
History II

• A common theme was the need to purify Islam
  through the suppression of foreign (un-Islamic)
  practices and to return to the fundamentals of
  Islam--the Quran and model of Muhammad and the
  early Muslim community .
• In the first half of the 20th century, there
  emerged the Muslim Brotherhood (Al-ikhwan
  Al-muslimun), which became the prototype of
  today's Islamic movements.
• This religio-political organization was founded
  in 1928 at Isma'iliyah, Egypt, by Hasan
  al-Banna'. It advocated a return to the Qur'an
  and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy,
  modern Islamic Islamic. The brotherhood spread
  rapidly throughout Egypt, the Sudan, Syria,
  Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa.

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History III

• During the 1970s contemporary Islamic revivalism
  emerged.
• At the same time, Islam dramatically reemerged in
  public life. Throughout the Muslim world Islamic
  symbols, slogans, ideology, and actors became
  prominent fixtures in politics.

8
Reasons

• Muslims experienced a sense of impotence and loss
  of self-esteem, as well as disillusionment with
  the West and with governments that failed to
  respond to the needs of their societies.
• The negative effects of Globalization are equally
  important in understanding the Islamic
  resurgence.
• the resurgence of Islam is a reassertion of
  cultural identity, formal religious observance,
  family values, and morality.

9
Extremism

• In 1980s a minority of radical extremists
  emerged with names like Islamic Jihad, the Party
  of God, the Islamic Liberation Front, and the
  al-Jamaa al-Islamiya (Islamic Group).
• They have continued to exist in many parts of the
  Muslim world.