Definition of the word Fundamentalist

This question is often hurled at Muslims, either directly or indirectly, during any discussion on religion or world affairs. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. In fact, such misinformation and false propaganda often leads to discrimination and acts of violence against Muslims. A case in point is the anti-Muslim campaign in the American media following the Oklahoma bomb blast, where the press was quick to declare a ‘Middle Eastern conspiracy’ behind the attack. The culprit was later identified as a soldier from the American Armed Forces. Let us analyze this allegation of ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘terrorism’:
1. Definition of the word ‘fundamentalist’
A fundamentalist is a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. For a person to be a good doctor, he should know, follow, and practise the fundamentals of medicine. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. For a person to be a good mathematician, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of mathematics. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. For a person to be a good scientist, he should know, follow and practise the fundamentals of science. He should be a fundamentalist in the field of science.


2. Not all ‘fundamentalists’ are the same
One cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush. One cannot categorize all fundamentalists as either good or bad. Such a categorization of any fund amentalist will depend upon the field or activity in which he is a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist robber or thief causes harm to society and is therefore undesirable. A fundamentalist doctor, on the other hand, benefits society and earns much respect.
3. I am proud to be a Muslim fundamentalist
I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practise the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because, I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.
4. Dictionary meaning of the word ‘fundamentalist’
According to Webster’s dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ was a movement in American Protestanism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.
According to the Oxford dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ means ‘strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’.
Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.
5. Every Muslim should be a terrorist
Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror. The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word ‘terrorist’ is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. anti-social elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.
6. Different labels given to the same individual for the same action, i.e. ‘terrorist’ and ‘patriot’
Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the British government. The same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the same activities and hailed as ‘patriots’. Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain had a right to rule over India called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and freedom fighters.
It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.
7. Islam means peace
Islam is derived from the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.
Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.

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Misconception Vs. True Face Of Islam

There is a face of Islam the world does not know.

By Amit Pyakurel

Fair distinction is needed between the concept of Islam and some of its unfair practices. The newly bred term “Islamophobia,” is feared to be infiltrating the mentality of the Western, European and other societies. It may be putting forth unnecessary prejudice and negative speculation against the Islam by the non-Muslims, so we need to ascertain how relevant the term is in itself. Is it about fearing all aspects of Islam, or fearing only some of its distorted or misinterpreted values, which are perceived to lead to radicalism, fundamentalism, discrimination or even terrorism?

There is one adage that the term “Islamophobia” is deceptive and the phobia (fear) is illogical. Perceivably, what is to be feared is the Political Islam, or some practices in it that sound ethically wrong.
The world media is saturated with the terms Islamic Fundamentalism, Islamic Radicalism and Islamic Terrorism, causing all the havoc or negative backlash against believers of the religion. We need to separate “Islamic” out of these generally unwelcome terms. Maybe the discontent is not with the Islam, but with the very bad aspects associated with the religion. Negative stereotypes abound because the majority of those perpetrating world terrorism, such as al Qaeda, are Muslims.

But does it mean that all the people in Islam have to bear the responsibility for the unruly characteristics of some of the people in the religion, who have nothing to do with the moderate lots? Certainly not! It may be only a coincidence that the majority of world terrorists are Muslims. It’s not ethical to associate Islam with the unruly characteristics followed by some of its less moderate believers.

It’s of course not reasonable for the West, and the rest of us, to fear Islam as a religion, its genuinely humanistic teachings or its deference to the lord, Allah. While criticizing bad practices of Islam, it’s extremely essential not to impose any hatred or contempt against ordinary and moderate Muslims. And it would be more genuine if, not only non-Muslims, but all the intellectual and moderate believers of Islam come forward to refute and discourage the wrong practices in Islam as well as to uphold the good practices in it and to highlight Islam as being an equally good religion as others.

Some call this distinguishing and questioning by non-Muslims “intruding” in Islamic norms. Though I am not a stern believer or blindly faithful, I happen to be a Hindu by religion. And I certainly don’t mind if anyone criticizes the unfair norms or distorted or misinterpreted practices of any doctrine in my religion. Criticisms could help provoke changes for good. Couldn’t it be viewed just from the humanist point of view rather than from any religious or cultural phenomenon? Arguably, we could.

We could be right to question the “unfair practices.” But what if the Muslims in their country and living abroad, especially in the Western or European countries, are misunderstood, annoyed, and intimidated, simply because they are from the religion? It’s definitely unethical and we can’t refrain to deem that such belief resembles inadequate knowledge about the religion.

The Vienna-based European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, which tracks ethnic and religious bias across the 25-nation EU, has cautioned in a recent report that Muslims routinely suffer acts ranging from physical attacks to discrimination in the job and housing markets. Beate Winkler, the group’s director said that the key word is “respect.” “People need to feel respected and included. We need to highlight the common ground that we have.” Winkler said that since the September 11, 2001 attacks, many of Europe’s nearly 13 million Muslims feel “put under a general suspicion of terrorism.” The 117-page report underpins the increasing urgency of dealing with the religious tensions in Europe.

For instance, especially in Western or European nations, it’s certainly ironic and unfair that if a crime is committed by a Muslim, chances are high that it may be linked with “terrorism” or “Jihad.” This highly reflects a prejudiced notion and, as the scholars in Islam argues, that “Jihad” doesn’t encourages terrorism or nonsensical murders, here the accusers must need to rethink their claimings. Such crimes could have been solely committed by a criminal, and it may have nothing to do with Islam or Jihad. As there is no significance to criticize if the unfair practices or some cultural aspects in Islam are questioned, it’s equally refutable that many Muslims are subjected to prejudiced discrimination and intimidation simply due to their adherence or recognition with the religion.

All religions and customs are made by humans, and we can’t deny that there could be some flaws in them. This is relevant in speaking about Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and so on. Any cultural idea or practice deserves to be analyzed and examined. Our nationalism, culture and religion are our dignity. We should be ready to prevent and uphold our identity, but this doesn’t mean we are exempt from having moral criticisms against our practices, no matter which religion or culture we belong to.

Article taken Froem: Orato.com

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