How to Decipher the Construals of Islamic Fundamentalism

Islamic fundamentalists require women to be fully covered in public.

Deciphering the construals of Islamic fundamentalism means defining the term in a way that puts the practice into a comprehensible context. Fundamentalism exists and is practiced by extreme groups--albeit minor segments--in all forms of organized religion. The fundamentalist term originated during the American Protestant movement in the late 1800s and was defined as religious practitioners who disagreed with the tenants of secular and/or modern culture. Islamic fundamentalism represents an extreme and ultra-literal devotion to holy concepts and can be deciphered several different ways. The best way to decipher the construes of Islamic fundamentalism is to compare the practice to the wider body of its own moderate practitioners, modern society and conceptions of law.

Things You'll Need

• Koran

Instructions

1. Listen for anti-western dogma. Nearly all religious fundamentalists subscribe to the notion that secularism is a sin because it goes against the writ of sacred texts. Many segments of Islamic fundamentalism in parts of the Middle East, for example, directly subscribe to anti-western dogma. These fundamentalists identify the western world--Europe and the United States--as cultures devoid of religious authenticity due to practices of liberal laws and culture. Anti-western dogma is not specific to Islamic fundamentalism, but it is apparent in most Islamic fundamentalist beliefs.

2. Identify the practice of Shari'ah law. Shari'ah is based on the five pillars of Islamic law. According to Washington State University, the pillars identify the various forms of human activity, including, "obligatory actions, recommended actions, indifferent actions, repulsive actions and forbidden actions." Shari'ah law differs from modern law in its focus on the importance of an afterlife; thus, penalties for violating Shari'ah can be severe. In Islamic fundamentalism, for example, a woman who admits to adultery may be banished or sentenced to death.

3. Understand the radical mission of Jihad: to stand as a religious decree to defend the purity and ultra-literal understanding of Islam against liberal or secular culture to the point where he may sacrifice his own life. Many Islamic fundamentalists, such as the Wahhabi movement in Saudi Arabia, subscribe to the idea and practice of Jihad where the practice is often justified for socio-political reasons. Most moderate and even serious practitioners of Islam do not subscribe to and discount the mission of Jihad.

References

• Washington State University: Islamic Fundamentalism
• Jaafar Idris: Islamic Fundamentalism