Islamic fundamentalism

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Islamic fundamentalism is a religious ideology which advocates literalistic interpretations of the sacred texts of Islam, Sharia law, and an Islamic State.^[1] It is often regarded as the older, less preferred term for Islamism. [1] [2]

Other academics, such as American historian Ira Lapidus, distinguish between mainstream Islamists and Fundamentalists: whereas fundamentalists are political individuals pursuing the search for a more original Islam, Islamists according to his definition have a political agenda, although the two can in cases become identical. He notes that Islamic fundamentalism "is at best only an umbrella designation for a very wide variety of movements, some intolerant and exclusivist, some pluralistic; some favourable to science, some anti-scientific; some primarily devotional and some primarily political; some democratic, some authoritarian; some pacific, some violent."^[2]

1 Interpretation of texts
2 Social and political goals
3 Conflicts with the secular state
4 See also
5 Further reading
6 Opposing views
7 External links
8 Citations

[edit] Interpretation of texts

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the unadulterated word of God as revealed to Muhammad through the Archangel Gabriel.

Islamic fundamentalists assert that a correct interpretation of Islam relies solely on the Qur'an, Hadith and Sunnah, excluding tradition and popular practice.^{[citation needed]}

This view, commonly associated with Salafism by Western sources, rejects Shi'a Islam, and the four common schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Social and political goals

As with adherents of other fundamentalist movements, Islamic fundamentalists hold that the problems of the world stem from secular influences. Further, the path to peace and justice lies in a return to the original message of Islam, combined with a scrupulous rejection of all Bid'ah ("innovation") and perceived anti-Islamic traditions.^{[citation needed]}

Some scholars of Islam, such as Bassam Tibi, believe that, contrary to their own message, Islamic fundamentalists are not actually traditionalists. He points to fatwahs issued by fundamentalists such as “every Muslim who pleads for the suspension of the shari‘a is an apostate and can be killed. The killing of those apostates cannot be prosecuted under Islamic law because this killing is justified” as going beyond, and unsupported by, the Qur’an. Tibi asserts; “The command to slay reasoning Muslims is un-Islamic, an invention of Islamic fundamentalists”.^[3]^[4]

Islamism has become significant factor in world politics since end of the Cold War and its long-term movements may impact national and international development. It appears that the word ‘fundamentalism’ is a general label for the Islamist current. The fundamentalists that are in the Islamic world have global vision because of their interpretation on the Quran’s verses. In other words, they want to dominate and manage all nations and states in accordance with the Islamic rules ‘the sheri’a’. However, it is believed that people can interpret the religious texts and books in different way. For example, Al Qaeda and Hamas are militant organizations. They believe the same Quran, however their aims are slightly different. In the Islamic world, many states take the Quran as a guide. In other words, religious belief has a significant role for them in determining politics in the social and political life.

[edit] Conflicts with the secular state

Islamic fundamentalism's push for Sharia and an Islamic State has come into conflict with conceptions of the secular, democratic state, such as the internationally supported Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This conflict centers on following issues:

rejection of the equality of men and women (i.e. Men and Women have different roles in the society but as humans both are equal)
rejection of the separation of church and state;
rejection of some of the religious rights, such as the right of Muslims to leave the religion, while the right to be a non-Muslim in Muslim lands is still allowed.

As a result of this sharp conflict, fundamentalist Islam is incompatible with modern liberal democratic states.