Islamic Fundamentalism

I

Introduction

Islamic Fundamentalism (also known as Islamic revivalism or Islamism), name given to a movement of religious, social, and political reform in the Islamic world. The particular doctrinal characteristic of Islamic fundamentalism is the combination of traditional Muslim values based on Shari’ah law with programmes of social and economic modernization. Most distinctively, Islamic fundamentalists (Islamists) aim to take power in Muslim states and use the state organization to carry out their objectives.

For many people in the West, the term “Islamic fundamentalism” evokes images of hostage crises, embassies under siege, hijackings, and suicide bombers. But these images hardly present a comprehensive picture. While some Islamic militants try to reach their goals through violence, the majority of Islamic activists work within mainstream society, participating in the electoral process. The ranks of Islamic fundamentalists include members of non-governmental Muslim organizations that provide much-needed services to the poor through Islamic schools, medical clinics, social welfare agencies, and other institutions. At the fringes are extremist groups, many linked to or inspired by the Al-Qaeda network of Saudi-born millionaire Osama bin Laden, that engage in acts of terrorism.

The reassertion of Islam and Islamic values in Muslim politics and society is often referred to in the West as the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. However, the word fundamentalism, which originated in Christianity, can be misleading. The conservative monarchy of Saudi Arabia, the radical socialist state of Libya, and clerically governed Iran have all been described as “fundamentalist”, but this description fails to take into account vast differences in their governments and policies. Political analysts prefer to use the expressions “political Islam” or “Islamism” when discussing Islam’s many-faceted roles in current social and political movements.

II

The Resurgence of Political Islam

Islamic fundamentalist ideas first emerged in the salafiyya movement of Muslim purification and revival led by Muhammad Rashid Rida, a Syrian writer based in Egypt, in the early 20th century. These ideas were taken up and modified by educational societies in Syria and Egypt during the 1920s; the best known was the Muslim Brotherhood founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Bannah. During World War II the Muslim Brotherhood expanded, achieving a following estimated at 2 million, developed political ambitions, and threatened the survival of the Egyptian political system. Branches were established in other Muslim countries. In 1954, however, the Brotherhood was suppressed by the new Free Officers regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser, and for the next 20 years Islamic fundamentalism was overshadowed by the secular regimes and ideologies, such as those espoused by the Baath parties, that dominated most Muslim states. There were, however, continued developments in the ideas of fundamentalists, notably in the work of Abu A’la al-Maududi in Pakistan and Sayyid Qutb (executed 1966) in Egypt.

Islamic fundamentalism spread rapidly from the 1970s, aided by several factors. These included the reverses suffered by secular Arab regimes in the Six-Day War with Israel of 1967; the wealth and influence of Saudi Arabia, which patronized Islamic causes; the economic difficulties of several states during the 1980s owing to the fall in the price of oil; and especially the acceleration in the pace of modernization in Muslim countries, including the rapid growth of cities. Modernization, a process of Westernization and secularization of society, was seen as responsible for an excessive dependence on the West; for a weakening of traditional family, religious, and social values; and for a loss of identity that contributed to the breakdown of Muslim society. The leaders of Islamic fundamentalism tended to be men who had been exposed to modern education and came from outside the ranks of the traditional ulema (religious scholars): their followers came especially from the new immigrants to the cities. Islamic fundamentalism is essentially an urban movement, and may be seen as a response to the problems of transition from traditional rural to modern urban economic and social structures. Doctrinally, it takes the form of hostility to the Western styles of the older secular political leadership; and more generally to certain, but by no means all, ideas proceeding from the West.

Although the primary catalysts and concerns of most Islamic movements have been domestic or national, international issues have also shaped Muslim politics. Among the more influential issues have been Arab-Israeli conflict; the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s (see Soviet-Afghan War); the devastating impact of United Nations sanctions against Iraq following the Gulf War in 1991; the conflicts that were often regarded by many Islamic fundamentalists as efforts to suppress Muslims in Bosnia (see Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian War and Kosovo), Chechnya, and Kashmir; and the War on Iraq since 2003. In addition, countries such as Iran, Libya, and Saudi Arabia have sought to extend their influence internationally by supporting government Islamization programmes as well as Islamist movements elsewhere. Western support, especially that of the United States, for authoritarian Muslim rulers such as Iran’s Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, as well as what was seen as America’s uncritical support for Israel, further strengthened anti-Western feelings.

The Islamic revival has affected both the private and public lives of Muslims. Many Muslims have become more religiously observant, attending mosques, fasting, wearing Islamic dress, emphasizing family values, and abstaining from alcohol and gambling. Publicly, the revival has manifested itself in the form of Islamic banks, religious programming in the media, a proliferation of religious literature, and the emergence of new Islamic associations dedicated to political and social reform.

As Islamic symbols, slogans, ideology, and organizations became prominent fixtures in Muslim politics in the 1970s and 1980s, Egypt’s Anwar al-Sadat, Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi, Pakistan’s General Muhammad Zia Ul-Haq, and other government leaders appealed to Islam in order to enhance their legitimacy and authority and to mobilize popular support. Movements in opposition to the government in Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other countries did the same.

The most successful Islamic opposition movement culminated in the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. After that and throughout the 1980s, Iran inspired anti-government protests in Kuwait and Bahrain, and helped create Islamic militias, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah (Party of God) and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories, both of which were involved in hijackings and hostage-takings. These acts, combined with the 1981 assassination of Egypt’s President Sadat by religious extremists, contributed to the image of a monolithic radical Islamic “fundamentalist” threat to governments in the Muslim world and the West.

Distinguishing between moderate Islamic groups that participate within society and violent revolutionaries is critical to understanding the resurgence of Islam. Many opponents of political Islam have charged that all Islamic movements are extremist groups that seek to “hijack democracy” and manipulate the political system in order to gain power and impose their will. Some experts argue that this type of reaction contributes to the radicalization of moderate Islamists.

III

Beliefs Behind Political Islam

A number of beliefs and assumptions lie at the heart of the Islamic political revival. The first of these is that the Muslim world is in a state of decline, and the cause of this decline is departure from the straight path of Islam. The cure, therefore, is a return to Islam in personal and public life, which will ensure the restoration of Islamic identity, values, and power. Moreover, Islam is a total or comprehensive way of life as stipulated in the Koran, mirrored in the example of Muhammad and the first Muslim community-state organized by Muhammad at Medina, and embodied in the comprehensive nature of the Shari’ah (Islamic) law. Thus, the renewal and revitalization of Muslim governments and societies require the restoration or reimplementation of Islamic law, which provides the blueprint for an Islamically guided and socially just state and society.

Although political Islam condemns the Westernization and secularization of society, it does not condemn modernization as such. Science and technology are accepted, but the pace, direction, and extent of change are to be subordinated to Islamic belief and values in order to guard against the penetration of and excessive dependence upon Western values.

IV

Beliefs of the Radical Minority

While the majority of Islamic activists seek to work within the system and bring about change from within society, a relatively small but significant radical extremist minority believes it has a mandate from God (Allah) to carry out God’s will. This extremist minority further believes that because the rulers in the Muslim world are authoritarian and anti-Islamic, violent change is necessary. They seek to topple governments, seize power, and impose their vision or interpretation of Islam upon society.

Radical Islamic movements often operate on the assumption that Islam and the West are locked in an ongoing battle that reaches back to the early days of Islam, a battle that has been heavily influenced by the legacy of the Crusades and European colonialism, and that today is the product of a Judeo-Christian conspiracy. This conspiracy, they believe, is the result of superpower neo-colonialism and the power of Zionism. These radical movements blame the West (Britain, France, and the United States) for its support of un-Islamic or unjust regimes and especially for biased support for Israel in the face of the displacement of the Palestinian people (see Palestine). Thus, violence against such governments and their representatives as well as Western multinational companies is regarded as legitimate self-defence.

Islamic radicals also believe that Islam is not simply an ideological alternative for Muslim societies but a theological and political imperative. Because it is God’s command, implementation must be immediate, not gradual, and the obligation to implement is incumbent on all true Muslims. Therefore, those who hesitate, remain apolitical, or resist—individuals and governments—are no longer to be regarded as Muslims. They are atheists or unbelievers, enemies of God, against whom all true Muslims must wage holy war in the form of jihad.