Fighting Fundamentalism
October 25th, 2007One of my work colleagues is doing her PhD in the area of multifaith peace efforts, so we have chats about interfaith, multifaith, what’s the world all about etc.
I’ve long believed that what we have to fear today, is not Islam or Muslims, it is the rise of fundamentalist thinking everywhere. We can easily recognise fundamentalist thinking that comes in the guise of religion, Christian fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists and Muslim fundamentalists. But sometimes it’s harder to see fundamentalism that comes in secular, political and scientific guises. Richard Dawkins, for example, is an Atheist fundamentalist and Ann Coulter is a Political fundamentalist.
Fundamentalism has the following attributes:
- Selective reading of human knowledge/history/traditions, whilst asserting the correctness of their selected narrative
- Intolerance for pluralism (whether religious, cultural, political etc.)
- Views the world as a ‘clash’, a binary division into Us versus Them, Good versus Bad
- Sees an ever-present danger that ‘their world’ or ‘their country’ or ‘the purity of their faith’ is going to be overtaken by the dangerous enemy
- Can evolve into a militant fundamentalism, which uses violence to achieve its political ends
- Is a phenomenon of modernity
Disarming Fundamentalism should be the real arena of our attention, not buying into the hype and hysteria of Islamophobia.
One way to do this, is to promote multifaith peace efforts, because they demonstrate the nature of the Fundamentalist lie that pretends religious folk do not and cannot work together for a better world.
Interfaith Links
The Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme
Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia
Buddhist-Muslim Dialogue
The International Centre for Islam and Pluralism
Interfaith Web
A Melburnian Muslim convert blogs religion, academia and life in general.
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I just read an article recently about a pluralism project in Massachusetts. It’s very good and it gives a person hope.
Fantastic, thanks for the link Aimee
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G’day,
I’m glad someone actually sees that fundamentalism goes outside of one or two religions. There’s all sorts of fundamentalist intolerances in the world, particularly in the scientific world.
Just watch the reaction you get if you say that you believe the world was created in six days at a time that is measured in thousands not millions of years ago. It ranges from ridicule right through to having an earned PhD removed. This kind of reaction fits the fundamentalist attributes you have listed here.
Willem
Fundamentalism is the vehical true evil uses to ride into town!
The fundamentists of this world are even to stupid to realise they are the shauffeurs of ignorance in any field in which they rear their ugly human heads.
The bumper sticker I spotted the other day sums it up well for me…..
“Lets just right out and say it,
Fundamentalists are vicious,dangerous, unpleasant idiots”
Is there any more to be said?
Phil
G’day Willem and Phil,
“Fundamentalists are vicious,dangerous, unpleasant idiots”
I think most appear to be very frightened to me. Frightened of changes they see happening in the world around them and frightened of the “other” (whoever that other is). I wonder if there is a place for trying to alleviate their fear of postmodernity, other cultures, science, faith etc.
“There’s all sorts of fundamentalist intolerances in the world, particularly in the scientific world”
I don’t know whether fundamentalism is the same as intolerance, although intolerance is certainly a part of fundamentalist thinking. There are some views and opinions that I don’t think are tolerable. Having said that, if someone propounds a scientific view that is ultimately untenable, then thorough, well-done science is the best rebuttal.
UY
Hi Umm
You’re right of cours! Fear is the basis of all fundamentalism and evil, fear of GOD, fear of change, fear of loss of controll or your own way. Sadly fundamentalist Christians are the most fearful and probably the most dangerous… reflecting on they history. Which I see as most contradictory. One of the most attributed teachings of their Chirst was “Fear not” or ” love thy enemy as thyself”
Which brings to mind a couple of my favorite sayings…….
“If only Christians were Christian”
” Who would Jesus bomb”
PK
Having just finished Tanya Levin’s “People in Glass Houses” I think I can confidently say that they (fundamentalist Christians) are about as far removed from the teachings of Jesus as it is possible to get.
I like those tags - they’re very very thought-provoking!!