Islamic fundamentalism and modernity

This review explores the ideas put forward by AS Khan on Islamic fundamentalism. By showing that Islamic fundamentalism is not a monolithic issue: there are many different movements and states of Islamic fundamentalism in terms of the application of Islamic values, government and attitude towards the West, the book allows the reader to see beyond belief. Common that ‘Fundamentalism’ in Islam leaves little or no room for peaceful relationships. By reviewing the speeches given by various fundamentalists, a solid basis and arguments are given behind the concepts and points raised in the various chapters.

Audience of the book:

The audience for this book is wide, and it is difficult to pinpoint one or two specific groups, as the book explains the meaning of Islamic fundamentalism by digging into its history and highlighting its followers over time. It also looks at what Islamic fundamentalists believe and want.

Content thesis:

Islamic fundamentalism is a phenomenon that has evolved in two phases since the beginning of Islam. The author interprets the First phase as the positive phase, where Islamic fundamentalism was considered an optimistic and exemplary period, to be studied and put into practice in the present. At the same time, the second phase made a complete U-turn and the period is marked as one of decline. It constitutes corruption, loss of territory, military defeat, and the advent of Western colonialism. The reason for the marked change and loss in this phase is attributed to the loss of religious piety and faith.

Consequently, the author takes a journey through history to trace the roots and evolution of Islamic fundamentalism and how it has changed over the centuries: its perceptions and its consequences. He argues that the advent of fundamentalism was a consequence of the failure of Muslims to solve their problems in the face of an ever-changing modern world. Muslims simply watched as non-Muslim influences eroded their religious values, culture, and form of government. Centuries of moral and political decay became the event in the public and private life of Muslims. The environment that thus dominated the Muslim world divided the Islamic community by creating national borders imposed by imperialism and a westernized upper class alienated from its own Muslim cultural roots. As a result, the true Muslim values ​​and dictates lie forgotten somewhere on the pages of history.

However, Islamic fundamentalism should not be confused with a simple belief or culture that is dominant in the Islamic world, notes the author. Throughout the centuries and its evolution, it has found itself as a socio-political force that has often shown revolutionary tendencies. As such, it is habituated by the process of multifaceted dialectical relationships, and the author has identified nine of them. Some examples are Secularism vs. Theocracy, Establishment Islam vs. Fundamentalist Islam, Sufi Islam vs. Fundamentalist unity, etc.

Fundamentalist thinking in any religion is characterized by going back to the basic and puritanical foundations of the faith. In Muslims, it ranges from a clearly conservative and military-oriented Islamic thought to a foundation in historical precedents that have marked history as revolutionary events and movements. Beginning with Shiites and Jarijites, fundamentalism adopted the guise of opposition ideology against those in power. However, some contemporary movements do not simply focus on the past, but live to incorporate new practices and values ​​into their original beliefs as demanded by change over time and to strengthen their viability in the current modern world context.

In this context, the author presents theses on speeches by Islamic fundamentalist leaders and contributes different points of view on the Islamic interpretations of the philosophy, the text and its meaning and significance in the framework of modern life, Islamic political activism and democracy. . One point to be argued in this context is: does politics inform all doctrines? What should be the discourse and method for the integration and disintegration of the State and society. Interpretation of the text is always conditional and tentative, but most leaders support the idea of ​​modernizing Islam and Islamizing modernism, a two-way shift through which Western political thought is harmonized with Islamic. After all, not all Western doctrines are secular or communist and must keep pace with changes in the world over time.

This is not to say, however, that some Muslim groups do not commit crimes through acts of violence and terrorism against other religious groups whom they consider to be ‘kafir’ and, in some cases, even against fellow Muslims who believe they have ‘turned away from them. the righteous. ‘ road ‘. Consequently, violence and terrorism are two main issues that concern both the Muslim world and the Western world.

Evaluation – Review:

The author’s writing is effective in the way that before arguing anything, the author has provided a brief summary of the historical evidence and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and how and what factors attributed it to its birth. By tracing the steps in history, it provides background and logic to the thinking held by supporters of fundamentalists and how their views differ from group to group, and in what beliefs their values ​​are embedded. Consequently, the writer has provided a new and possibly truer interpretation of fundamentalism, using the speeches of Islamic fundamentalist figures, demonstrating for many that violence is not the facade or the depth that goes hand in hand with fundamentalism.

As the author suggests, the interpretation of the Islamic text depends on the discretion of the person and their own conditioning. What may seem correct to one may not be correct to the other, and therefore it is unfair to judge such a belief or custom. While Al-Turabi can complement one belief and Al-Banna can support another, they both have their own interpretations of it according to Islam as they understand it. Giving the practical examples of radical Islam in Libya and conservative Islam in various countries such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and the Gulf States, the writer offers a picture of how Islamic beliefs and their interpretations have been derived in today’s world. . Through this neutral description, one gets a clearer understanding of Islamic beliefs and their interpretation. Again, judging one point of view as correct and another as incorrect is simply not possible: there are always two sides of a coin, but neither can necessarily be superior to the other.

Another example that has been used and can be cited is how the status of women’s rights differs in different countries. Some interpret the modern concept of “working woman” as non-Islamic, leading to the imposition of strict practices of “wearing the veil” and “observing strict dress”. Moderate Muslims and the Western world, of course, see this as an antithesis to Western civilization and a practice that is not necessarily Islamic in spirit. While it cannot be argued that all Western culture is beneficial to Islamic society and should be adopted, there are several practices from the Western world that are an evolved version of basic Islamic practices and whose adoption can be of great help. in modernizing Islamic society without losing its true core values.