Globalization and Islamic Fundamentalism

5440 Words11 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The rise of Islamic fundamentalism

The Al-Qaeda offshoot ISIS, has made its way through Iraq and Syria. This new terror campaign appears to have been rolled out with a decades old objective, which is wrought with violence, propaganda and destabilization. But what are the reasons behind these acts of terror and violence? How is it possible to stop terrorism? What is the future of the endless conflict between Islamic extremism and modernity? The last one is particularly burning, since it touches an issue, entwined in ever-lasting controversy, aggression and needless carnage - the issue of Islamic fundamentalism and its extreme manifestation - terrorism.

In my paper I argue that in its essence Islamic fundamentalism is a negation of the values, upheld by globalization, democracy, true Islam and modernity. There are several interconnected focal factors that render Islamic extremism incompatible with modern trends of development. The first and basic factor, always in the context of the history of Islam, is the theoretical foundation of fundamentalism. Also, another important issue is the rise of Islamic nationalism, which helps fundamentalism transform religious and cultural differences into an overt and brutal struggle against non-Muslim countries and their globalizing world. Of particular significance, however, is the poor economic development of Muslim states. Moreover, I believe it is the actual reason behind the violent outbreak of extremism. All these issues combine to form the idea of Islamic ideal versus reality, or the ever-increasing gap between modernity and the nature of fundamentalism.

In addition, I argue that poor economic and social conditions in Muslim countries are caused by improper government policies and deep social c...

... middle of paper ...

...://www.worldbank.org/wbi/mdf/mdf1/edecmen.htm>

Global Poverty Monitoring.

<http://www.worldbank.org/research/povmonitor/>

The Middle East and North Africa: An Overview.

<http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/offrep/mena/rov/>

United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2001

<http://www.undp.org/hdro/highlights/statistics.html>

United States Senate. Extremist Movements and Their Threat to the United States. Washington: U.S. Government printing Office, 2000

<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_senate_hearings&docid= f:61869.wais>

The Islamic World to 1600: The Rise of the Great Islamic Empires

<http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/intro.html>

The New York Times; October 31, 2001

<www.nytimes.com/2001/10/31/business/worldbusiness/31TEXT.html?searchpv=past7>

Show More
Related

  • Prompt and Utter Destruction

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.

    Read More

  • Ronald Takakis Hiroshima

    2111 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask “Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?” and more importantly “Why was the decision to use the bomb made?” Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.

    Read More

  • The Real Life Events Illustrated in The Ballad of Birmingham, by Dudley Randall

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though most of the poem is not dialogue, from what little speaking there is between the...

    Read More

  • President Truman: The Reasoning for Dropping the Atomic Bomb

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kross, Peter. "The Decision to Drop the Bomb." World War II Jul. - Aug. 2005: pg. 40. EBSCOhost Conncetion. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

    Read More

  • Harry Truman: The Atomic Bomb

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Powers, Thomas. "THE BOMB : Hiroshima: Changing the Way We Think About War." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Aug. 1995. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hinduism first started in India around 1500 BC. The word Hindu comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, or river. The Hindu community define themselves as "those who believe in the Vedas", or also "those who follow the way, or dharma, of the four classes and the stages of life. The four classes being the varnas and the stages of life being the ashramas.

    Read More

  • Buddhism Compare And Contrast Essay

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Into the world, many religions were born; out of all of them Buddhism and Hinduism are both one of the oldest surviving religion. Hinduism is very polytheistic, it is believed to have been established around 1500 B.C but it has no founder or an origin, while Buddhism on the other hand was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who ordinarily allotted as the Buddha, which implies the “Awakened or “illuminated one”. Both religions come from the Indian roots.

    Read More

  • The English Underclass in Dr. Theodore Dalrymle's “Life at the Bottom

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. Theodore Dalrymle wrote “Life at the bottom” as a way to express his views of the English underclass. He believes their impaired ways of life, are the cause of poverty in England, “not the economy”. Those who pledged to serve and protect, on many levels, are neglecting their responsibilities, either in fear of being judged themselves or by simply turning a blind eye to continuous problems within England. No one wants to accept the reality of England’s horrendous situation. Therefore their endless battle with poverty, suffering and misery will continue in a vicious, endless, cycle.

    Read More

  • American Jihad: Homegrown Terrorists

    1712 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sageman, Marc. "The Journal of International Security Affairs The Normality of Global Jihadi Terrorism 2005th ser. Spring.9 (2005). .

    Read More

  • The Roots Of Muslim Rage Analysis

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both given articles, “The Roots of Muslim Rage” by Bernard Lewis, and “The Roots of Muslim Rage Revisited” by Nicolaas J.E. van der Zee, argue about the enhancement of the Muslim fundamentalism with different perspectives; however, I believe that Lewis’ view may be quiet misleading to the actual perception. Lewis indicates that Muslim fundamentalism is conceived through the Muslim community’s oppression and dissatisfaction with the West’s political involvement, as well as “Islam is a source of aggression” . In defiance of Lewis’ opinion, the word ‘Islam’ comes from the word peace as well as the will of submission to God. The notion of aggression and violence that Lewis conceptualizes to be the headline of Islam does not have any supporting

    Read More

  • What Makes Islam, Islam?

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a strong belief that Islam and politics are directly tied. They are tied in the sense that the building blocks of the religion dictate how they ought to behave in the political environment. Through this mandatory follow up behavior that the religion delineates, many have come to believe that its teachings are a form of terrorism. Mandaville argues that what has challenged the Islamic link between politics and religion was the emergence of secularism, which went against the belief that politics and religion could go together. Islam has been a religion that has been accused of supporting terrorist activities in the world. Different assumptions have been brought up to understand better the linkages between what really lies behind the Islam religion and politics. Peter Mandaville argues that Islam is dynamic and that it has changed over time; situated within time and politics.

    Read More

  • The Atomic Bomb Helpful or Harmful

    3252 Words  | 7 Pages

    Alperovitz, Gar. The Use of the Atomic Bomb. Chicago : D.C. Heath and Company, 1974.

    Read More

  • The Facets and Perspectives in Language Learning

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The facets of first and second language acquisition I believe are the most similar is that second language learners go through the same stages like first language children go through in learning words. They learn how to use the word “No” in front of a sentence, then insert a negative word between the subject and verb or adjective. Both L1 and L2 learners are in the initial stage of forming questions using rising intonations when speaking. The developmental language acquisition has three stages: hey both acquire is that they pass through a similar initial state, the silent period. This is the period that both L1 and L2 students are discovering what language is, giving them the opportunity to listen to their peers speak in English. The second stage is formulaic speech, which is defined as expressions that are learned form of utterances, etc. The third stage both L1 and L2 learners apply structural and semantic simplifications to their language. Structural simplifications omit many words grammatically (articles, auxiliary verbs, etc.) and semantic omit content words (nouns, verbs, etc.)

    Read More

  • Muslim Women

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ahmed, A. S. (1999). Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World. New York: I. B. Tauris.

    Read More

  • The Religious Terrorist

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Terrorism has been around for centuries and religion-based violence has been around just as long. (Hoffman, 2). The violence was never referred to as terrorism though. Only up to the nineteenth century has religion been able to justify terrorism (Hoffman, 2). Since then, religious terrorism became motivated and inspired by the ideological view (Hoffman, 3). Therefore, it has turned against the main focus of religion and more towards the views of the extremist and what is happening politically (Winchester, 4).

    Read More

More about Globalization and Islamic Fundamentalism

Open Document