Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945

Beverley Milton-Edwards

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415639897
• eBook ISBN: 9781136029523
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Featuring a brand new examination of Islamic fundamentalism in the wake of the Arab Spring, this fully revised and updated second edition of Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945 analyzes the roots and emergence of Islamic movements in the modern world and the main thinkers that inspired them.

Providing a much-needed historical overview of a fast-changing socio-political landscape, the main facets of Islamic fundamentalism are put in a global context, with a thematic debate of issues such as:

- the effects of colonialism on Islam

- secularism and the Islamic reaction

- Islam and violence in the 9/11 era

- globalization and transnational Islamist movements

- Islam in the wake of the Arab Awakening

Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945 provides an authoritative account of the causes and diversity of Islamic fundamentalism, a modern phenomenon which has grabbed the headlines as a grave threat to the West and a potentially revolutionary trend in the Middle East. It is a valuable resource for students and those interested in the history, effects and consequences of these Islamic movements

1 A diverse tradition from past to present

Appeals to the past are among the commonest of strategies in interpretations of the present.

(Edward W. Said)

From the rich historical tradition of Islam, a spectre has ascended to trouble the world. That spirit is defined more specifically as Islamic fundamentalism. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English describes fundamentalism as the ‘strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’. In the twenty-first century, Islam and fundamentalism are perceived by some as a significant if not the greatest threat to global security. Fundamentalism in its Islamic guise has led to the execution of hundreds in suicide bombing attacks across the world, including the attacks of 11 September 2001 when over 3,000 people perished in the al-Qaeda attacks ordered by Osama Bin Laden.

Fundamentalism is a major threat not just in terms of global security but as a manifestation of extreme attachment to faith and religious revivalism at a fanatical level. The militant dimensions of Islam are apparent in the anti-Western rhetoric of some Muslim preachers, the revolutionary fervour of Muslim protesters and the rigid ideology of many Islamist groups, movements and organisations. In media images, Islamic fundamentalists have rarely been portrayed as peacefully protesting or organising support for dialogue with the opposition or engaged in conflict resolution efforts. The bearded clerics, gun-wielding and masked supporters of Islam, the arms dealers and secret world of covert operations and international terrorism, all serve to strengthen the ideology of fundamentalist thinkers and clerics who advocate a totalitarian vision of Islamic governance.

There have been scholarly attempts to highlight Islam's diverse character in respect of this phenomenon, although it is barely possible to address the rich manifestation of Islam when the fear of the fundamentalist has been so powerfully played on the Western popular imagination. Even when fundamentalist activists speak of, or address, the commonalities between Islam and the West, they are drowned out by a hail of bullets or the explosion of the suicide bomb. It appears difficult to reconcile Islam's claim to peace when its leaders are accused of acquiring the technology of destruction. Jihad, not Salam (peace) is the word mostly commonly associated with Islam.

The spectre has undermined and encompasses the whole of Islam and today Islam is classified principally as fundamentalist. Talk of ‘moderate or radical fundamentalism’ is often dismissed as an exercise in apologetics. The pejorative and emotive use of the word, synonymous with terrorism, has largely been ignored as armies have been despatched to wage a war against the enemy. Fundamentalist Islam is easy to classify if the common motif of anti-Westernism or terrorism is perceived as the single thread that ties this group of believers together. Fundamentalism then becomes a formidable challenge and the political, social and economic context of politics ceases to matter when Muslims are portrayed as united in a hatred of the West and their own violent and anti-democratic traditions. The pursuit of power is seen as the primary motivation for Muslim political culture and its acquisition is expressed in a despotic, totalitarian form with no accommodation or plural vision. In the contemporary era Muslim fundamentalists are seen as the vanguard force of the faithful and the embodiment of the project to restore power to Muslim hands.

In this scenario Islam becomes the solution to the travails of modern society, under which so many millions of Muslims labour. The universal characteristics of Islam are promoted by many fundamentalist leaders as a blueprint for peace and tranquillity governed by Islamic law, Muslim rulers and a Muslim society. The separation of mosque and state is abhorred, along with the secularist ideologies promoted by the West. The ideal of Muslim governance transcends the geographic, economic, social and developmental barriers of the modern world and strikes a chord in the hearts of so many Muslim populations. Since 1945, Islamic fundamentalism has grown and demonstrated a dynamic and diverse capacity for renewal and relevancy. And although the terrorists may appear to signify this trend, the real explanation lies in the conditions under which the majority of Muslims live and the historic processes and legacies that account for the parlous state of so many Muslim countries in the present age.

It is contended that since 1945 the ideological clash epitomised by the Cold War between communist East and capitalist West has now been eclipsed by a new ideological war between the Islamic fundamentalists and the democratic West. The Islamic fundamentalists are, it appears, prepared to advocate revolution and jihad in their quest to take power from the hands of corrupt elites and tyrants they condemn as infidels controlled by kufr Western elements. Through revolution Islamists could control the state and enjoy the monopoly of power. In this way Islamic fundamentalism, as a modern ideology, appears to challenge and rival all ideological comers.

Our past, their present

Muslims currently constitute over one billion people worldwide and their faith system is the second largest in the world. Although the roots of Islam lie in the monotheistic traditions of Judaism and Christianity, acknowledgement of the theological commonality between these faiths is sometimes obscured by the manifestation of what appear to be greater differences. The rise and expansion of Islam were a formidable challenge to the prevailing Judaeo-Christian orders over many centuries and the apparent universal appeal within Islam allowed little room for accommodation of power cradled in the Christian realm. The battle appeared to be initially lost to Christianity from the seventh century onwards and throughout the medieval period. The Enlightenment (and the eclipse of faith as politics) led to the regeneration and flourishing of secular and industrialised European domains at the expense of many Muslim territories. By the late twentieth century it is contended by some that Muslims have resurrected a battle cry against the West and a struggle has ensued. This struggle has been epitomised by the veiled demonstrators of Tehran who shouted ‘Death to America’ in their thousands and the war of terror and terrorism that has unfolded between what appears at first glance to be a rigid faith system and its robotic followers and the defenders of the ‘free world’. The origins and history of Islam, however, demonstrate a more subtle and varied picture.

The religion of Islam was founded by the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century CE among the desert communities and tribes of Mecca and Medina in Arabia. Islam is a monotheistic faith founded on the acceptance of one god (Allah) and owes much to the earlier expressions of monotheism common in Judaism and Christianity. As the faith system took root, and then grew, its leaders and followers challenged the status quo of the rule of the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. Islam has always been described as a universal religion in the sense that Islam dominates all dimensions of the human existence. With respect to the political realm, Islam is labelled and understood as enjoying an intimate or symbiotic link to the political realm and the generation of a particular political culture.

This challenge took the form of both peaceful and contested conquest that led by the eighth century to the eclipse of Byzantine, Sassanid and other forms of rule in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe, including Spain and as far north as Tours in France. Through trade, military conquest, geographic proximity and the continual flux of global politics over the centuries, the expansion of Muslim rule continued into other areas of the globe. In the modern day, there are as many as 60 nations across the globe where Muslims comprise the majority of the population.

This process did not unfold in a uniform manner, and nor did the nature of Islamic or Muslim rule. In this respect, Muslim politics was always a diverse spectrum of expressions of rule, governance, economy, social orders and military norms. As the faith grew through interconnected networks of religion, trade, politics and travel, Muslim polities reflected the synthesis of local or indigenous customs that in turn shaped Islam and made it relevant across large sections of the globe. Few unitary factors were identifiable. But the few unitary factors were important in giving the faith its unique character and pace. The five fundamental characteristics of Islam are commonly referred to as the pillars of the faith and they include the obligation incumbent upon Muslim believers to do the following:

• Shahada: To bear witness that there is none worthy of worship save Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah;

• Salat: To observe prayer;

• Zakat: To give alms;

• Hajj: To perform the pilgrimage;

• Sawm: To observe fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

There is some debate within and outside the Muslim community as to the extent to which jihad (striving) should be considered a sixth pillar of the faith. This discussion with respect to jihad is a modern one that has reflected the concern at the apparent attachment to jihad as a mechanism of faith protection and propagation in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Particular fundamentalist thinkers have claimed that jihad considered to be a defence of Islam is obligatory for all Muslims. This is not generally accepted and is seen in the context of modern conflicts and tensions. By and large, and over the centuries, Muslims in different areas of the world have created for themselves a wide array of cultural traditions that reflected their attachment to the faith of Islam and their own local or indigenous identities as well. In Islamic Spain, for example, Muslim society developed a rich tradition in arts and sciences that endures to the present-day in the architectural heritage of sites such as Granada. Throughout the medieval period, the work of Muslim scholars, poets, artists and scientists contributed to a great flourishing of state, arts, culture, science, medicine and trade throughout Muslim domains. Moreover, other societies, including those in Europe, unconsciously adopted the new customs and advances of Muslim society as their own. Through the generation of carefully calibrated relationships between trading Muslim and non-Muslim states, a variety of cultures and world-views were intertwined.

Deeply divided society

With such diversity, even from the earliest foundations of Islam, it should come as no surprise that within the Muslim fold there are various communities. Under the crescent of Islam there are major divisions, exemplified by that between the majority Sunni and minority Shi'a, as well as minor schisms or sects such as the Ismailis, Druze and Sufi Muslims. The major schism between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims derives from a succession dispute that arose after the death of the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. The dispute centred on the figure of Ali, who was the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed and whom Shi'a followers believe should have been the rightful successor (caliph) after the death of the Prophet. After the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 CE, tensions grew as Ali was sidelined in favour of other rulers including Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman. Ali did become caliph after Uthman but his rule was opposed by Aisha, the second wife of the Prophet Mohammed. In an ensuing battle Aisha was defeated by Ali. Opposition remained in other quarters, and at the battle of Siffin Ali came up against an array of forces against him. The term Shi'a was applied to those who joined Ali in battle during this period of civil conflict in the house of Islam. Ali was assassinated in 661 CE by the Kharijites, who themselves were dissidents who contended that all Muslims should adhere to Islam in its purest form. They attacked those they considered to be promoting deviance from the primary sources and spirit of Islam. In this respect they can be classified as the original fundamentalists of the faith system. Orthodox elements from within Islam, however, see the Kharijites as dangerous heretics and they were historically ostracised. Ali's son Hussein was regarded as martyred in battle against Sunni forces in the battle of Karbala (in present-day Iraq) in 680 CE. Even today, the martyrdom of Hussein is commemorated by Shi'a through mourning ceremonies and rites. This, despite the many common tenets of faith, has marked relations between Sunni and Shi'a Islam and signifies the dangerous potential for civil dispute within the faith. Shi'a Muslims are found in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and Bahrain. Along with the other minorities within Islam, they have experienced hostility from offcial Sunni sources and historical tension still lingers. Shi'a followers of Islam believe that leadership and political guidance from within Islam should remain within what is referred to as the House of the Prophet – the blood succession line of the Prophet's descendants. This bestowed a particular religious or spiritual status on the caliphate that divorced it from succession preferences as expressed within orthodox Sunni circles. The Sunni preference remained dominant and the caliphate endured as a means of governance until the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. A ruler was not required to be a spiritual leader or cleric of Islam but he was supposed to frame his rule according to the laws of Islam. This generated a form of authority and legitimacy for those who claimed to rule in the name of Islam that endures to the present day. It also meant that the manifestation of Muslim rule could be erratic, imperial, fair and just, despotic and tyrannical, dynastic or individual. Muslim rulers were obliged to institute Islamic law (shari’a) over the territories of their authority, which in turn ensured that all aspects of life, from birth, taxes and death, were accounted for.

Jews and Christians also had their place in the new Muslim states and domains. This position would be coloured by their minority status and Islamic norms and theological positions around it. The early respect that grew between Islam on the one hand and Jewish and Christian communities on the other later dissipated. However easy and close relations between Muslims, Jews and Christians might be, there remained a gulf of ignorance and prejudice between them. They worshipped separately and had their own high places of worship and local shrines of saints.¹

Sufism is an expression of what may be referred to as mystical Islam. Here the spiritual dimension of attachment to the faith is the primary emphasis and purpose of the believer. There is a focus in the Sufi tradition on the direct linkage to God through personal meditation, prayer and even dance. Sufi practices can be seen in a wide variety of populist Muslim practices across the globe and Sufi brotherhoods (tariqa) have established strong communal links in both urban and rural locations. Throughout the centuries and particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the mass appeal of Sufi doctrines and brotherhoods was regar...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• The Making of the Contemporary World
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chronology
• Introduction
• 1 A diverse tradition from past to present
• 2 The advance of secularism: the decline of Islam?
• 3 Identity and revivalism
• 4 Islam armed: resistance in an ideological era
• 5 Going global: fundamentalism and terror
• 6 Ground Zero and Islamic fundamentalism
• 7 Islamic fundamentalism and the Arab Awakening
• 8 Conclusion
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index