Islamic Fundamentalism

On September 11, 2001, the United States of America experienced the worst act of terrorism ever perpetrated on American soil, as major targets in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania were the scenes of the massive slaughter of innocent civilians. From the moment that the first act commenced, the rumor mill flew into overdrive, conveniently blaming the terrorism on "militant Islamic" people, and implying that this movement had suddenly sprung up out of obscurity to strike at the heart of America like a thief in the night. The reality is much more complex, for fundamentalist Islam has a much longer history, and the threat it continues to pose to Western Democracy, even today, had been growing and mutating for generations prior to 9/11. In this paper, the very definition of fundamentalism at its beginning will be presented, as well as the perversion of it that has led to the challenges and threats the West now has come to bear.

Roots of Fundamentalism

To begin, one needs to understand two very different and specific terms: followers of Islam and Islamic Fundamentalists, as the two groups are vastly different, yet both claim legitimacy under the same doctorine.

In its purest form, Islam is based upon the ancient teachings of the prophet Muhammad, who was said to have been given the Quran, or holy book of Islam, by God himself, with Muhammad as the messenger and deliverer of the Quran and its teachings to the masses (Davidson). If one were to follow the teachings of Islam in a more traditional sense, as Muhammad is said to have received the word from God, they would be peaceful, obedient servants of God, and Muhammad, thereby enriching their lives, raising solid families and leaving the world a better place than what is was when they were born into it. Eventually, however, political turmoil distorted this message and gave rise to a strain of Islam that is known as Fundamentalism or Extremism, depending upon the source of the material. This interpretation of Islam and the Quran takes the inflexible view that those who do not believe in Islam, and follow the Quran, are characterized as "Infidels", and the price of their infidelity to Islam is death. Of course, the Christian ideals of the West make America a convenient target of this sort of massive hatred, but this hatred has also been fueled over the years by America's defense of other enemies of the fundamentalists/extremists such as the people of Turkey and Israel (Mustikhan). Eventually, the rage of these Islamics would erupt against the US on a large scale, beginning in the 1970s.

The Islamic Terrorist is Born

It is generally agreed that those who are today termed "Islamic Terrorists" were first given that moniker by the West in 1979, when the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran was seized by terrorists, taking hundreds of American diplomats and their support staffs hostage in a siege that ultimately lasted 444 days, and brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran. The group of Iranians and assorted others who were in essence the foot soliders who undertook the plot, led by the extremist leader Ayatollah Khomeni, came to be called Islamic Terrorists (Hoveyda). From there, the stereotype of what a terrorist is, and their potential to wreak havoc on innocent people, began to grow in the minds of the world community.

Threats to Western Democracy

Due to the widespread presence of Islamic Extremists/Militants, the threat to Western Democracy has become very real, and of course has manifested itself in such tragedies as the Iran Hostage Crisis and 9/11. Given the generally peaceful nature of Islam as seen from its roots, one has to give serious thought to how Islam has become so lethal in some circles, and how that lethality can hurt the West over the long term, as seen in recent years. In a word, the threat comes down to a matter of fanaticism.

The claim of fanaticism on the part of Fundamentalist Islam is not a convenient characterization or a glib statement; rather, it is a claim that can be backed up with evidence from recent years and events. Overall, Fundamentalist Islam is fueled by a hatred of secular, over sacred forms of government. The United States, with its separation of church and state in the ultimate pursuit of religious freedom without government interference, has unwittingly made itself the target of radical Islam. Additionally, the defense of Israel, Turkey, and countless other nations from Islamic Extremists has added to the list of "offenses" that the US has committed, earning it the penalty of death, based on the radical Islamic

Works Cited

Davidson, Lawrence. Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Hoveyda, Fereydoun. The Broken Crescent: The "Threat" of Militant Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.

Marin-Guzman, Roberto. "Fanaticism: A Major Obstacle in the Muslim Christian Dialogue. the Case of Twentieth Century Islamic Fundamentalism." Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) 25.3 (2003): 63+.

Mustikhan, Ahmar. "The Roots of Islamic Extremism." World and I July 1999: 74.