The Islamic Fundamentalist

Source: http://www.racematters.org/terrorism.htm

"Islamic fundamentalism appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries as a reaction to the disintegration of Islamic political and economic power, asserting that Islam is central to both state and society and advocating strict adherence to the Koran (Qur’an) and to Islamic law (Sharia)"

(oxforddictionaries.com)

"Muslim fundamentalism is fast becoming the chief threat to global peace and security as well as a cause of national and local disturbance through terrorism. It is akin to the menace posed by Nazism and fascism in the 1930's and then by communism in the 50's"

(The New York Times/International Herald Tribune, 9/9/93)

"As Muslims increasingly experimented with Western-influenced interpretations of the sacred law, their efforts resulted in three new approaches to Islam: the secularist, reformist and fundamentalist.

Secularists Muslims believe that success in the modern world requires the discarding of anything that stands in the way of emulating the West; they therefore argue for the complete withdrawal of religion from the public sphere.

If secularists push away the Sharia entirely and embrace Western civilization, reformist Muslims incorporate parts of both. They interpret the Sharia in ways that facilitate the acceptance of whichever Western practices they wish to see adopted.

Fundamentalists, in contrast to both these groups, and to traditionalist Muslims as well, believe that the law of Islam must be implemented in its every detail."

(Daniel Pipes, The Rise of Muslim Fundamentalism, St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 22, 1984)

"By burning the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary we are saying stop. Stop to Islam. Stop to Islamic law. Stop to brutality...There are moderate Moslems. But there is no such thing as a moderate Islam...I do not understand why people defend Islam. The Koran calls for the killing of unbelievers. A true Moslem believes in Sharia law. Sharia law okay's our killings."

(Pastor Terry Jones)

"Considering that fundamentalists are motivated by power, shame and/or the deep desire to be different from even the most orthodox of others, the way to defeat them isn’t clear. I’d love to hear some ideas, because the one thing that is clear is that defeat them we must."

(Lenore Skenazy, The Allure of the Burka, January 30, 2012)

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Pick up a newspaper or browse through the net, you will not fail to find articles that are an amalgam of misunderstood facts and misquoted verses. A person trying to vilify an ideology is not uncommon. But what is uncommon is the denigration of an entire religion at the hands of people who profess to know everything about it and who try to judge it with their feeble intellects. The fundamental debate is on the term ‘fundamentalism’. I fail to completely understand the term since it is a smorgasbord of definitions and misconceptions. If you go by all of them, a large number of individuals can be termed fundamentalists.

Fundamentalism is defined by one source as “adherence to the original form of a religion without accepting later ideas”. Another source defines it as “strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam”. A third source defines it as “a religious position typically characterized by a rigid adherence to what are perceived to be the most basic and traditional principles and beliefs of that religion”. The term fundamentalist is defined as “one who supports fundamentalism”.

My dilemma begins when the term ‘fundamentalist’ is used to categorize oppressors, extremists and terrorists as well. Going by the above definitions, Muslims who pray five times a day, who observe fasts, who give alms to the poor, who perform Haj (pilgrimage) and who believe in the Shahadah (witness) can be called fundamentalists since these are the fundamental teachings of Islam. But today’s media-driven version of fundamentalism also incorporates terrorist individuals and organizations.

Today, Islam is judged based on the actions of extremists and terrorists. The most common phrases used to describe terrorism are ‘Islamic terrorism’ and ‘Islamic fundamentalism’. Let us consider the first phrase. To understand the phrase, we need to first understand the term 'terrorism'. Terrorism is defined as “violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians)”.

Using the word ‘Islamic’ in the phrase points to the misguided belief that Islam encourages terrorism. In all the 6236 verses in the Quran, there is not a single verse which espouses the murder of an innocent human being. In fact, the Quran says that the murder of a single innocent human is equivalent to the murder of the entire humanity. This makes the phrase ‘Islamic terrorism’ an oxymoron.

Coming to the second phrase, today’s media makes it synonymous with the former. In fact, both terms are used interchangeably. Using the word fundamentalism synonymously with terrorism also points to the misguided belief that Islam is a proponent of terrorism. This belief is fuelled by the actions of a few misguided idealists. How can you take Al-Qaeda to be Islam in practice when you cannot take Ku Klux Klan to be Christianity in practice? The analogy makes complete sense. If you take the former as true, the latter should also be true by all means. Phrases like these promote Islamophobia, hatred and Islam-bashing.

What is hilarious is that many people are eyeing Islam-bashing as a career option, especially in the US! They emotionally charge their supporters and live off their charity. They revel in controversies because it often broadens their support base, thus increasing financial in-flow. One reason why they are so successful at this is because their actions evoke an angry reaction from Muslims. I am not saying I approve the killing of innocent people in Libya and other parts of the world. But making debasing films and posting hateful ads in train stations will spark emotional reactions which are, more often than not, violent. These reactions are then termed 'fundamentalist' and the reasons behind them conveniently forgotten.

While the Islam-bashers make me laugh with their propaganda, I am hurt by the reactions of my Muslim brethren. They fail to realize that their actions are actually spawning many other Jones and Gellers. The ideal reaction to such propaganda is, trust me, to laugh it off. Islam is not an emotional religion. It does not encourage emotional reactions to events. It is a religion which promotes logical thinking and reasoning. Don’t get me wrong. I am not asking Muslims to detach emotion completely. It is in human nature to be emotional. It is perfectly human to be angry. I am only conveying the message that Islam conveys: control your emotional reactions. People tend to forget who they are when they get angry and end up doing things they regret later. This is exactly what happened in Libya. The Muslim protestors ended up killing the US ambassador and others. This, when Islam clearly denounces the killing of innocent people. Violence is justified by the violent with myriad excuses. But there is no excuse for killing an innocent person. This is why the Quran asks Muslims to swallow their anger. It does not ask them not to be angry. Just swallow it. Don’t let your emotions take control of you and make you forget who you are; make you forget that you are a Muslim.

Coming back to fundamentalism, I believe that the Quran is the word of God. And being the word of God, every word in it is true. I cling to everything that the Quran tells me. If it is in the Quran, it is good enough for me. But you don’t have to believe all this if you are not a Muslim. I am just stating my beliefs here and I am not imposing them on you. You don't have to believe in the Quran. Heck! You don’t even have to believe me! You can accept what the media tells you about what is in the Quran and start opposing Islam without verifying the facts. You don’t have to believe what I believe. You don’t have to accept what I write on this blog. I may be wrong. I may be right.

I am just a normal guy with normal problems and a normal life. I pray five times a day, adhere to the tenets of Islam and strive to be a better Muslim and a better human being. I also abhor all new inventions in Islam and the new ideas that go against its teachings. Does that make me a fundamentalist? Of course it does! And I don’t have any qualms about it either!

Don’t be scared now. I’m not going to blow you apart. I’m not ‘that kind of a fundamentalist’. I am an Islamic fundamentalist.

I am The Islamic Fundamentalist!

Afterthoughts:

1.      I hate to admit that I do not have the power to go and persuade each and every angry Muslim to express their anger in a peaceful way.

2.      Being a Muslim, the first thing that I am taught by Islam is to respect another human being, no matter what his/her credentials are. I am asked to show compassion for the fellow human being and pity those who cannot.

3.      When a person (read Pam Geller/Hall) asks for support in a war, he/she should also be ready for a war. People are going to stand up to them in their own backyard.

4.      I do not blindly follow my religion. I always crave knowledge that will strengthen my belief in Islam. I introspect.

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