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Note:
An updated and revised version of this
essay is online
here.
(Part 7 of 7)
CONCLUSION
Religious fundamentalisms arose in the twentieth
century and have spilled over into the
twenty-first century. By nature, religious
fundamentalisms oppose modernity as expressed in
contemporary Western morals and social
values. Of the various faith groups which
contain fundamentalist elements, Islam has
provided the most vibrant and politically active
expressions.
Although originating in the twentieth century, the
groundwork for Islamic fundamentalism was
established during the course of the previous
centuries. The Prophet Muhammad, upon
receiving revelations from God which were compiled
in the Quran, provided an authoritative perfect
text. In the centuries immediately following
Muhammad’s death, Muhammad’s teachings and actions
(as compiled in the hadith) provided
authoritative guidance for daily living, while
Islamic legal schools established a tradition of
strict interpretation of Islamic law. By the
19th century, in the face of pressures
from Western civilization and recognized internal
weaknesses within Islam, revivalist movements were
calling Muslims to return to a pure faith based on
strict interpretation and application of Islamic
law. The revivalist movements, in turn, led
to a focus on the utilization of political force
in the twentieth century in ongoing efforts to
establish Islamic law at the state level
throughout the Middle East, South Asia and North
Africa.
Islamic fundamentalism’s response to
Westernization finds form in a number of
expressions. Modernization is embraced even
as the West is vilified. Modern science is
placed within the context of and subjugated to the
Quran. The results of modern science
(technology and weapons, for example) are utilized
despite their Western origins. Islamic
fundamentalists denounce and reject Western
society and culture, while simultaneously seeking
to purify Muslim society through the forceful
implementation of Islamic (sharia)
law. Women are the primary targets in
fundamentalist’s vision of Islamic law, and are
subjugated and persecuted in a variety of ways
from clothing to appearances in public to roles in
public life. In terms of secular states, the
ultimate goal of fundamentalist movements is the
overthrowing of secular governments and the
implementation of theocratic government. The
twentieth century to the present has witnessed
rising tensions between secularized states and
growing fundamentalist movements, as well as
varied instances of compromise. In general,
tensions continue to increase as the number and
intensity of fundamentalist movements has risen
sharply in recent decades.
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