Fundamentalism
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and regeneration can only be brought about by returning to the spirit and traditions of some long-past ‘golden age’. Unfortunately, however, this image is simplistic, and in certain respects misleading. Religious fundamentalism is selectively traditional but also selectively modern; a mixture of resentment and envy characterizes its relationship to modernity. One face of fundamentalism is undoubtedly its strident anti-modernism. Its traditionalism is evident in what amounts to a form of moral conservatism. Western societies, having succumbed to the cult of the individual and a passion for personal gratification, are seen as amoral at best and thoroughly degenerate at worst. Permissiveness, adultery, prostitution, homosexuality and pornography are only some of the symptoms of this moral pollution. Nothing less than a moral gulf divides liberal individualism (see p. 24) from religious fundamentalism: the former encourages people to make their own moral choices, while the latter demands that they conform to a prescribed and divinely ordained moral system. Islamic fundamentalists therefore call for the reintroduction of ancient Sharia law, and Christian fundamentalists attempt to combat the spread of permissiveness and materialism by a return to ‘family’ or ‘religious’ values. Fundamentalism should not be mistaken for conservatism or traditionalism, however. Despite overlaps between conservatism and fundamentalism and the ease with which they have sometimes constructed alliances, notably in the USA through organizations such as the Moral Majority and within the Republican Party, the two differ in terms of both temper and aspirations. Conservatism is modest and cautious, where fundamentalism is strident and passionate; conservatism is disposed to protect elites and defend hierarchy, while fundamentalism embodies populist and egalitarian inclinations; conservatism favours continuity and tradition, while fundamentalism is radical andmay be revolutionary. Fundamentalism has little in common with traditionalism, in that it favours ‘novel’ interpretations of religious teachings and calls for comprehensive social regeneration. There is a closer affinity between fundamentalism and the reactionary radicalism of the new right. Nevertheless, fundamentalism is more clearly reactive than reactionary: behind the rhetoric of moral traditionalism, it is perhaps orientated more towards a purified future than an idealized past. The tendency within fundamentalism towards populism, charismatic leadership and psycho-social regeneration has also led some to suggest parallels with fascism. However, this risks ignoring the degree to which fundamentalism may be animated by genuinely religious passions. The clearest evidence that fundamentalists are not just dyed-in-the-wool reactionaries is found in their enthusiasm for particular aspects of modernity. For instance, fundamentalists across the globe have shrewdly exploited the advantages of modern techniques of mass communication, not least in the case of the ‘televangelists’ of the USA, andmore recently through the use of social media.This contrasts markedly with revivalist and ultra-orthodox movements that have turned their backs on the ‘unredeemed’ world. Nevertheless, the fundamentalist accommodation with modernity is not merely a cynical or tactical exercise. The willingness to use the Internet and other new media, the machinery of the modern state and even to accept nuclear weapons suggests sympathy for the spirit of modernity, and respect for ‘this-worldly’ rationalism rather than a descent into ‘other-worldly’ mysticism. Early interest in Iran, for instance, in the idea
of ‘Islamic science’ quickly gave way to an acceptance of conventional, and therefore Western, science. Similarly, the search for ‘Islamic economics’ soon developed into the application of market principles derived from economic liberalism. Finally, it is significant that fundamentalists
Sharia : (Arabic) Literally, the ‘way’ or ‘path’; divine Islamic law, based on principles expressed in the Koran.
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