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Islamic Fundamentalism
BY JOHN L. ESPOSITO
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.
Historical Perspective.
Muslim belief and history have provided the sources for the
worldview of Islamic activists. A Muslim's duty is obedience
and submission (islam) to the will of God. However, the
submission incumbent upon the Muslim is not mere passivity or
acceptance of a set of dogmas or rituals; rather, it is submission
to the divine command, to strive (jihad) to actively
realize God's will in history. Thus, the Qur`an declares that
Muslims are God's vicegerents, or representatives, on Earth;
that God has given creation to humankind as a divine trust;
and that realization of God's will leads to eternal reward or
punishment.
The Muslim's obligation to realize God's will is communal as
well as individual. The Islamic community/state serves as the
dynamic vehicle for realization of the divine mandate in society,
as an example to other peoples of the world. Islamic activists
believe that religion is integral to every aspect of life: prayer,
fasting, politics, law, and society. This belief is reflected
not only in Islam's doctrine of tawhid (oneness of God,
or monotheism) but also in the development of the Islamic state
and Islamic law.
In the first Islamic state at Medina in the 7th century, Muhammad
served as both prophet and political leader of the Islamic community/state.
Islamic law, the Shar'iah, was rooted in divine revelation,
the Qur`an, and Sunna (example, or model behaviour, of the Prophet).
Law provides the blueprint for Muslim society, a comprehensive
mode of life that includes laws regulating prayer and almsgiving
as well as family, criminal, commercial, and international transactions.
Belief in the divinely ordained nature and mission of the community
was validated and reinforced by Muslim success and power. Within
100 years of Muhammad's death, the original Islamic community,
through expansion and conquest, became an empire more extensive
than any other the world had known. In time the Islamic world
extended from Arabia west to North Africa and Spain and east
to Indonesia. Success and power were regarded as both signs
of divine guidance and the rewards for the community's fidelity.
Origins of Contemporary Revivalism.
Current Islamic revivalism builds on a considerable legacy of
reform. 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. 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 Qur`an and model of Muhammad and the early Muslim
community. In the first half of the 20th century, there emerged
the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Jamaat-i-Islami (Islamic
Society) in South Asia, both of which became prototypes of today's
Islamic movements. Their legacy includes the belief that Islam
affects public policy as much as private worship and the objective
of establishing effective organizations to implement an Islamic
system of government and law.
During the 1970s contemporary Islamic revivalism emerged. The
personal aspect was reflected in increased emphasis upon religious
observances (mosque attendance, Ramadan fast, outlawing of alcohol
and gambling), the proliferation of religious literature, and
the birth of new associations or movements that sought to "Islamize"
the population.
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. Religion was
used both by incumbent governments and by opposition movements
to reinforce their legitimacy and mobilize popular support.
Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi's Green Book of
Islamic socialism and use of Islam internationally; Gen. Zia
ul-Haq's 1977 coup d'état in Pakistan and his call for
the establishment of an Islamic system of government; Ayatollah
Khomeini's Iranian revolution of 1978-79; the seizure of the
Grand Mosque in Mecca by militants in 1979; Pres. Anwar as-Sadat's
appeal to Islam in Egyptian politics, his legitimation of the
1973 war with Israel as a jihad, and his assassination in 1981
by religious extremists; the Afghan resistance (by mujahideen,
or holy warriors) to the Soviet invasion and occupation throughout
the 1980s--all were instances of Islam reasserting itself.
The causes of the resurgence are varied. Widespread failures
(the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Malay-Chinese riots in 1969, Bangladesh's
war of succession from Pakistan in 1971, and the Lebanese civil
war in the mid-1970s) served as catalysts. As a result of such
events, 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 1973 Arab-Israeli war and Arab oil embargo and the Iranian
revolution of 1978-79 produced a newfound sense of pride and
power.
The negative effects of modernization are equally important
in understanding the Islamic resurgence. They include massive
migration from villages and rapid urbanization of overcrowded
cities; the breakdown of traditional family, religious, and
social values; and the adoption of a Western lifestyle, enthusiastically
pursued as a symbol of modernity but also criticized as a source
of moral decline and spiritual malaise, corruption, unemployment,
and maldistribution of wealth.
For the vast majority of Muslims, the resurgence of Islam is
a reassertion of cultural identity, formal religious observance,
family values, and morality. The establishment of an Islamic
society is seen as requiring a personal and social transformation
that is a prerequisite for true Islamic government. Effective
change is to come from below through a gradual social transformation
brought about by implementation of Islamic law.
On the other hand, a significant minority views the societies
and governments in Muslim countries as hopelessly corrupt. They
believe that un-Islamic societies and their leaders are no better
than infidels and that the religious establishment has been
co-opted by the government. Such critics believe that both established
political and religious elites must be overthrown and a new
Islamically committed leadership chosen and Islamic law imposed.
These radical revolutionary groups, though relatively small
in membership, have proved effective in political agitation,
disruption, and assassination. They have not, however, been
successful in mobilizing the masses.
Extremists and Activists.
Much of the 1980s was dominated by fear of Iran and its threat
to export revolution and by images of extremist organizations
that used violence, hostage taking, and terrorism. By the late
1980s and early 1990s, however, Islamic movements were diverse
rather than a monolithic threat. A minority of radical extremists,
with names like Islamic Jihad, the Party of God, the Islamic
Liberation Front, and the al-Jama`a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group),
have continued to exist in many parts of the Muslim world. Groups
like Egypt's al-Jama`a al-Islamiya battle the government and
attack and kill Coptic Christians and foreign tourists, and
other extremists are alleged to be behind the World Trade Center
bombing. However, Islamic activism is also a social and political
force operating within the system. Islamically inspired organizations
run schools, clinics, hospitals, banks, and publishing houses
and offer a wide array of social welfare services. A new generation
of elites, modern educated but Islamically rather than secularly
oriented, can be found among physicians, lawyers, engineers,
teachers, and social workers seeking to implement Islamic alternatives
or visions in society.
At the same time, calls for political democratization have
brought both greater liberalization and repression. Where governments
have opened up their political systems, Islamic organizations
have participated in elections and emerged as the leading opposition,
as in Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan. In Algeria the Islamic Salvation
Front swept municipal and parliamentary elections in the early
1990s and seemed poised to come to power when the Algerian military
intervened. The successes of Islamic movements in electoral
politics have led governments such as those in Algeria, Tunisia,
and Egypt to engage in political repression, charging that religious
extremists threaten to "hijack democracy," to use the political
system to come to power and then impose their will and undermine
the stability of society. Iran and The Sudan are often cited
to support concerns about democracy and pluralism, in particular
as governments that deny the rights of minorities and women.
Some experts counter that many governments whose political
legitimacy is tenuous and supported by a heavy reliance on security
forces will only tolerate "risk-free democracy" (a political
liberalization that does not threaten their power and rule)
and that the indiscriminate suppression of Islamists may contribute
to radicalization and extremism. While some governments and
experts identify Islamic fundamentalism as a major threat to
the stability of their societies and to global politics, others
point out that it is important to distinguish between authentic
populist movements that are willing to participate within the
system and rejectionists who seek to topple governments through
violent revolution.
John L. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International
Affairs and Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. He is the author of
several books on Islam, including The Islamic Threat: Myth
or Reality? and Islam: The Straight Path.
Copyright (c) 1996 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved