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Islamic fundamentalism is a religious ideology which advocates literalist interpretations of the sacred texts of Islam, Sharia law, and an Islamic State. Bruce Gourley: Islamic Fundamentalism: A Brief Survey It is the older, less preferred term for Islamism. [http://lexicorient.com/e.o/fundamen.htm
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.
This view, commonly associated with Salafism by Western sources hostile to Islamic ideals, rejects Shi'a Islam, and the four common schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.
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 in religion") and perceived anti-Islamic traditions.
For much of the 20th century, revolutionary Marxism had been the dominant form of political dissent. However, the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War largely discredited leftist ideologies and Arab Nationalism, and has led to the strengthening of Islamist parties.
Some scholars of Islam believe that, contrary to their own message, Islamic fundamentalists are not actually traditionalists.
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 priority of universal rights and civil law upon religious group rights and religious law, and more specifically
- rejection of the equality of men and women (i.e. they are unequal in specific aspects like how they think and act but are still equal overall)
- rejection of the separation of "church" and state;
- rejection of some 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, many doubt whether fundamentalist Islam is compatible with modern liberal democratic states.
See also
- Islamism
- Fundamentalism
- Christian fundamentalism
- Jewish fundamentalism
- Islam
- Salafi
- Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h
Further reading
- Fundamentalist Islam: The Drive for Power by Martin Kramer
- Coming to Terms: Fundamentalists or Islamists? on terminology, by Martin Kramer
- Islamic Fundamentalism: A Brief Survey
Opposing views
Citations
- Sikand, Yoginder Origins and Development of the Tablighi-Jama'at (1920-2000): A Cross-Country Comparative Study, ISBN 8125022988
Islam | Contemporary Theocracy
Fundamentalismo islámico | Islamiar fundamentalismo | Fondamentalismo islamico | Moslimfundamentalisme | Fundamentalizm islamski | イスラム原理主義 | Muslimsk fundamentalism
"Islamic fundamentalism"