Different Groups Of Islamic Fundamentalism example essay topic

Over the history of Islam, u lama was a collective name for any learned Muslim who brought wisdom of Islam to people, often leading them in their struggle against internal tyrant or external aggressor. Ulama always were in high esteem, at the same time they remain equal citizens to everybody else, so the Islamic institution of Ulama could hardly be called theocratic; Islam permeated every aspect of community life, yet it does encourage theocratic rule. In his life, every Muslim is guided by Koran and other Islamic scriptures. Therefore, Islam have great influence on the political life of Islamic countries, even if a secular rule is declared. As Lt. Col. David Kibble rightly put it, Islam is divided into various groups, each with its own interpretation of the Muslim holy book the Quran -- and the prophet Muhammad's sayings and deeds [Military Review, 1995, p. 40]. Yet, a Western commoner has a misperception of Islam as militant extremists religion, although extremist are a tiny part of Islamic community.

Even Islamic fundamentalism, which is also only a fraction Islam, is not necessarily propagate extremism, as Lt. Gen. Anthony Zinn i, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command clarified in a recent Army Time interview: Were very careful to separate fundamentalism from extremism... Some people relate fundamentalism and extremism as being the same. We dont. There are fundamentalists that are not violent, that are not hostile, they just have a very conservative approach to their religion. But there's a small group of extremists and then a small group of countries, like Iran, that encourage extremism". (18 Nov 96, p. 10.) Extremist are fanatic fundamentalists, who twist the actual meaning of the Koran.

They reinterpret it for their political purposes. Islam becomes "politicized". Scholar Seyed Nasr further explains the place of "fundamentalist" and "extremist" movements within Islam: "Traditional Islam is like a huge mountain. Scarred by geological formations, crevasses, and landslides, these details represent fundamentalist streams of thought.

The permanent, solid, unchanging mountain is much more akin to Islam itself. People study and report on the surface activity, often ignoring the vast, solid structure which underlies all". (See Our Religions, p. 515.) It is important to understand the reasons behind the spread of Islamic fundamentalist because its emergence is inevitably is an attempt to answer some insistent questions raised in the process of development of Middle East countries. Definitely there are some major trends that contributed to the resurgence of fundamentalism, among these are modernization, reaction and the end of Cold War and retreat of the West. A popular notion twenty-five years ago was that the modernization would reduce peoples desire for the sacred.

Rather than drive people from faith to secularism, however, social, economic and cultural change urges people back to their religious frame of reference. Reason and technology cannot provide to spiritual needs. The distinctly religious dimension of humankind resurfaces. As urbanization increases -- so does desire for community and meaning. Religion meets such need. Islamic fundamentalism came as a reaction and counterbalance to secularism, moral relativism, self-indulgence, pollutions, indecency, crime and narcotics, excessive consumerism, stressing the material over the spiritual, interest in religion -- especially fundamentalist expressions with clear cut answers to societal ills -- resurfaces.

A reaffirmation of community, values, order, discipline, work and mutual assistance all are bolstered by fundamentalist religious underpinnings. The end of cold war brought down long standing struggle between communism and Western democracy ideologies, inevitably creating a void readily full filed by religion fundamentalism. Western democracy model with its urbanization, development, industrialization, technology has not instilled its values in Middle East region. Relativism, egotism, consumerism and degenerate influence often accompanying Westernization were hugely rejected and despised as lacking spirituality pertinent to Islam. The need for stronger spiritual values has led to revival of Islamic fundamentalism.

Islamic fundamentalism is not monolithic though. It is as diverse as each country in which in can be found. Fundamentalism has many dimensions, however, there are some common influences that shaped different groups of Islamic fundamentalism most evident are those brought by different religious axis of Islamic world like modernism and revivalism. While modernist Muslims understand Koran in terms of contemporary knowledge, revivalists reject Western ideas as converse to the true teaching of Koran.

These two interpretations of Islam support different social models. Modernists position includes accepting scientific ideas such as evolution and in gender issues, they support women emancipation. Revivalist rebuff such views as non-Islamic and call for strict observance of Koran and Sharia, regardless of modern influences. Fundamentalists can be called revivalist because they too call for the return of traditional Islamic views. At the same time revivalist are not necessarily fundamentalist or extremists because there are some very peaceful revivalist group that view Islam as a spiritual world; these groups often despise political interpretations of Islam. The nature of Zionism and Islamic fundamentalism is essentially the same it is the return to the traditional and often conservative worldview that largely ignores the changing realities of the modern world.