Islamism/Fundamentalism

Ben

20-10-09

In understanding Islamism as an ideology, as well as the associated Islamic Fundamentalism, it is necessary to understand the basic ideologies set forth by the Qur'an and the religion of Islam itself. The basic premise is that Islam is not only a religion, but also a means of governance. It is the belief that all followers should unite under Islam's social and political rule.

The core of Islamism is that of the Sharia, or Islamic Law. The laws themselves are somewhat irrelevant, but what they represent are quite important. A common misconception is that Sharia is directly quoted from the Qur'an. However, it is a separately formed entity that was endorsed by the Qur'an as the "will of God". In this sense, followers of the Qur'an would certainly be obliged to follow this particular set of ideals. The regulations set forth by Sharia only apply to the Muslim world and society. Thus, when one travels outside of the Muslim society, they are no longer bound totally to their practice. Sharia strives to control all aspects of life including religious practice, political ideology, as well as social expectancies. This even goes so far as peoples' personal, private lives. However, one must not also associate these tenets with negative oppression. Many of the laws under Sharia strive for fairness in areas that had often been undercut in non-Muslim society. In addition to the acceptance of the Sharia, it is a common belief within Islamism that other cultural influences are incompatible. As a result, it is a often a senitiment that these other cultural fallacies must be eliminated for total peace to occur.

The root of Islamic Fundamentalism is that of the second point mentioned. The belief that the way of Islam is the most righteous and all other cultural impurities must be eliminated. The major difference in the ideologies of Islamism and Islamic Fundamentalism is simply that in Islamism, it is believed that people of Muslim faith are heralds of change for a better practice of Islam, and the Fundamentalists are "guardians" of the traditions set forth by the Qur'an and Sharia. This, while not always, is often accompnaied with vehement enforcement of Islam's ideals. When these tenets are also infringed upon by an outside culture, it is also expected to strike back in vengence. Otherwise, the term "fundamentalism" simply indicates that those following the Qur'an should live life using a direct intrepretaion of it.

The final, more controversial term steming from both of the afterforementioned ideologies is that of "Islamofacism". This is not an accepted, or truly practiced form of Islamism or Facism, but rather a label. Many violent Islamic movements and totalitarian states that practice Islam are labeled as such because they resemble history's Western Facist institutions. Thus, it does not mean that these Islamic movements are facist at all. It is a term well liked by the Western media because it demonizes "the Enemy". Facism and true Islamism share a few tenets, and so they are overall incompatible. However, the idea of corrolation is not so terribly misguided. It is understandable that an enemy of group with Sharia in practice might believe they were veiwing a facist state. Much of Sharia dictates ideals of nearly all aspects of life, but it is not strong-arm control. While often severely punishable, the laws of Sharia are still a moral choice. This in itself marks a very imprtant difference to the ideal of facism.