The Challenge of Fundamentalism
by Tibi Bassam (9780520236905)

The Challenge of Fundamentalism (Book)

Islamic fundamentalism has had a significant impact in nearly every corner of the world in recent years. Bassam Tibi offers a disquieting analysis of this particular synthesis of religion and politics. The author sees Islamic fundamentalism as the result of Islam's confrontation with modernity. The movement is unprecedented in Islamic history and parallels the inability of Islamic "nation-states" to integrate with the new world secular order.;This study is an analysis of the politicization of religion, a global phenomenon that extends beyond Islam, and the author suggests that such global issues must be addressed within the framework of worldwide solutions. As an alternative to religious fundamentalism he proposes a compact based on secular democracy and human rights. These twin goals should become the substance of an international cross-cultural morality, one that should bring people of different civilizations to live together in peace.;Islamic fundamentalism poses a grave challenge to world politics, security and stability, Tibi maintains. He consistantly draws a distinction between Islam as a religion and Islamic fundamentalism as a political ideology, a distinction not always understood in the West. The lack of appropriate Western policies and the insensitivity of some Western politicians contribute to the fundamentalists' sense of being threatened, in turn strengthening political Islam's stronghold. Tibi sites the fundamentalist's interpretation of the Gulf War and the war in Bosnia, the latter seen to be in continuity with the former, as recent examples of this perceived threat.

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