Islamic Fundamentalism | Introduction
In 1993, Islamic terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in New York City, killing 7 people and injuring more than 1,000. In 1995, 19 Americans were killed and 500 were injured when Islamic terrorists blew up American barracks in Saudi Arabia. Islamic terrorists bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania simultaneously in 1998, killing 258 and wounding more than 5,000. Seventeen U.S. servicemen were killed when Islamic terrorists bombed the USS Cole at a Yemen port in 2000. In 2001, Islamic terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and rural Pennsylvania, killing more than 3,000 people.
These and other terrorist attacks contribute, not unreasonably, to the Western perception that all Muslims are anti-American terrorists. Terrorist attacks receive enormous media attention, and most Americans base their views of Muslims on the stories they hear on the news. To be sure, most Westerners are unaware of Muslim customs and ideologies, except for what they learn from the media. It is important to acknowledge that not all Muslims are fundamentalists, and not all fundamentalists are terrorists. However, fundamentalism, by its very nature, carries the threat of extremism, and extremism can easily morph into violence. Islamic fundamentalists can therefore pose a terrorist threat to their enemies. Unfortunately, many Middle Easterners perceive America as an enemy. Knowing the principles of Islam is the first step toward understanding how Islamic fundamentalism can lead to terrorism.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and is second only to Christianity in number of adherents. Muslims live in all parts of the world, but the majority of Muslims are concentrated in the Middle East and Asia. Islam has two meanings: Peace, and submission to Allah (God). Muslims believe that Islam is the only true religion and that it was revealed by the prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the seventh century. Pious Muslims adhere to the five pillars of Islam: acknowledging that there is no true god except God and that Muhammad is the prophet of God; praying five times a day toward Mecca; giving alms to the poor; fasting during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the lunar year); and for those who are financially and physically able, making an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam also requires belief in six articles of faith, which are belief in God, belief in the messengers and prophets of God, belief in the Revelations and the Koran (the Islamic holy book), belief in angels, belief in Judgment Day, and belief in the ultimate power of God or God’s decree. Other precepts of Islam are concerned with matters such as diet, clothing, personal hygiene, business ethics, responsibilities toward parents, spouses, and children, marriage, divorce, inheritance, civil and criminal law, fighting in defense of Islam, relations with non-Muslims, and much more.
All Muslims believe in the six articles of faith and adhere to the five pillars of Islam, but they differ in how they interpret the Koran and the shari’a (Islamic law). Colonel B.S. Burmeister, in his essay “The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism,” identified two major divisions within Islam, the modernists and the revivalists. He argues that modernists believe in the inerrancy of the Koran, but they interpret its strictures in a modern context. Modernists accept secular governments, religious diversity, and the emancipation of women. Most Muslim modernists condemn terrorism and advocate individual relationships with God. On the other hand, revivalists favor a literal interpretation of the Koran and a return to traditional Islamic ideas. These Muslims are extremely pious and closely follow the teachings of the Koran and Muhammad. They regularly attend mosques, and many promote a theocratic government and enforcement of the shari’a. Revivalists are frequently referred to as Islamists or Islamic fundamentalists.
The term fundamentalism as it applies to religion generally was derived from a series of essays published in the United States from 1910 to 1915 by Christian evangelists. The authors intended to promote the literal interpretation of the Bible and reject concessions that were being made to modern scientific theory and philosophy. According to Macksood Aftab, managing editor of the Islamic Herald, “The term Fundamentalist, in the Christian world, is synonymous with the ‘Bible thumpers’ and the televangelists.” Recently, the term has been used by Westerners to describe Muslims who promote strict adherence to traditional Islamic tenets. Bahman Baktiari, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo, contends that there is no word for fundamentalism in Arabic. Baktiari states that Islamic fundamentalism is a purely Western construct, “used to describe the rise of Islamic forces in the Middle East.”
Religious fundamentalists believe in the absolute inerrancy of their sacred texts and religious leaders. Their beliefs do not automatically translate into terrorism, but the passion and conviction that are inherent in fundamentalism teeter on the edge of extremism. Extremism or radicalism in any belief system often leads to violence because its adherents dogmatically adhere to their beliefs and consider conflicting beliefs threatening. For example, America has witnessed several acts of terrorism in the name of Christian fundamentalism, such as the bombings of abortion clinics and shootings of abortion providers. Islamic extremists manifest the same conviction and self-assurance as Christian extremists.
Much Islamic extremism stems from a sense of displacement and alienation from the modern world. Among the many reasons for this perception is the steady decline of Islamic civilization since the Middle Ages. During Europe’s Dark Ages, Islam flourished, recording many cultural, political, literary, educational, and artistic achievements. However, Islam has declined in strength and influence since the end of the Crusades around 1500. Today, many Muslim countries suffer in extremely impoverished, unstable, and war-torn conditions. For example, Afghanistan today has the highest infant, child, and maternal mortality rates, and the lowest literacy and life expectancy rates in the world. Afghanistan’s per capita income is estimated at about $200 for a nation of 23 million. By contrast, the per capita income in America is approximately $24,000. Many Islamic extremists blame these conditions on Western imperialism and culture.
Western presence in the Middle East planted the seeds for Islamic fundamentalism in that region during Europe’s colonial period. Beginning around the end of the eighteenth century, major European powers invaded and colonized nearly all North African and Middle Eastern countries. Europe pursued military and economic dominance over the region until the close of World War II, when a series of coups and revolutions brought nationalist governments to power in the region. Muslims resented Europe’s oppressive colonial power and the contempt that Westerners had for Middle Eastern civilization.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Arab Muslims unsuccessfully attempted to create solidarity among the Arab nations (Pan- Arabism). When this strategy failed, many people turned to a burgeoning movement in fundamentalism. The movement gained power after the establishment of the state of Israel on Palestinian land in 1948, which many Muslims refer to as the “catastrophe.” The Cold War period from 1949 to 1989 fueled anti-Western sentiment, as Muslims saw Westerners, especially Americans, fund regimes that protected their own interests. The United States, for example, supported regimes that protected its oil supply and opposed communism. In addition, many Muslims resent the continued presence of Americans on Saudi Arabian lands after the Gulf War ended. According to terrorist Osama bin Laden, “The call to wage war against America was made because America has spear-headed the crusade against the Islamic nation, sending tens of thousands of its troops to the land of the two Holy Mosques over and above its meddling in its affairs and its politics, and its support of the oppressive, corrupt and tyrannical regime that is in control.”
Along with the physical presence of the United States in the Middle East, many Muslims resent American culture. Many Islamic fundamentalists argue that their culture has been subsumed by American culture, which, as a result of technology, spread rapidly throughout the world during the second half of the twentieth century. Islamic fundamentalists see Westerners as unholy and decadent, especially the Western media. They despise American immodesty and secularism, and some Islamic fundamentalist regimes, like the Taliban in Afghanistan (which was toppled by American troops during the U.S. war against terrorism), banned televisions, radios, and music to restrict non-Muslim influence in their nations. Radical Muslims contend that the spread of Western culture into the Middle East contributes to its poverty and social problems.
According to radical Muslims, things have gone wrong in Islamic countries because they have strayed from the basic principles and traditional practices of Islam. Moreover, Western presence and influence contributed to Muslims’ deviance from the righteous path. Therefore, Islamic extremists argue that Muslims must expel Westerners from Muslim homelands, reject Western politics and customs, and return to a literal interpretation of the Koran and Muhammad’s teachings.
Furthermore, since Islamic fundamentalists maintain that Islam is the one true religion, extremists advocate overthrowing powerful secular governments and replacing them with a single Islamic authority. According to Bassam Tibi, one of the world’s foremost specialists on Islamic fundamentalism, “The goal of Islamic fundamentalists is to abolish the Western, secular world order and replace it with a new Islamist divine order. . . . The goal of Islamists is a new imperial, absolutist Islamic world power.” Islamic fundamentalists maintain that one of their duties as Muslims is to defend Islam from its enemies. Islamic extremists contend that Western powers— especially the United States, whom many fundamentalists characterize as the “Great Satan”—are enemies of Islam. According to Burmeister, mullahs have declared that any action taken on behalf of Islam is acceptable to God. By this rationale, Islamic extremists justify their acts of terrorism toward Westerners. Most extremists regard terrorist action toward the West as retribution for the atrocities that Western military committed in the Middle East. According to bin Laden, “The terrorism we practice is of the commendable kind for it is directed at the tyrants and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah. . . . Terrorizing those and punishing them are necessary measures to straighten things and to make them right. Tyrants and oppressors who subject the Arab nation to aggression ought to be punished. . . . America heads the list of aggressors against Muslims.”
The specter of radical Islamists dominating the secular world is frightening, especially in light of recent terrorist attacks, but it is important to remember that most Muslims are not radical and that most espouse a modernist interpretation of the Koran and Islamic traditions. Islamic extremists represent a small faction of Muslims who, although influential, are probably not powerful enough to overthrow world superpowers. The majority of Muslims, especially those who live in the United States, are moderate, and they accept and value secular societies. These Muslims represent a compromise between Western and Islamic customs that celebrates cultural identity and tolerance. At Issue: Islamic Fundamentalism gives readers a thorough understanding of the issues surrounding fundamentalist Islam and how it relates to the West.
