|
Aren't we all sick and tired of the western media's continuous
criticism about us, the Muslims being fundamentalists? We bring
together all our energies in negating this view about us. We say
to them that Islam is a not a regressive but a progressive religion.
We try to defend our selves by pointing that Taliban's or other
Mujahideen's view on Islam is not a correct one. We defend Islam
by saying that it is a tolerant religion with equal status for
women.
But wait. Do we need to do this? Have we tried to find out what
the West really means by fundamentalism? Or have we just attributed
fundamentalists as static, literalist, retrogressive and extremists.
Now let's look at how the Western Scholars define fundamentalism.
In western thinking, there are only two outlooks to life: secularism
and fundamentalism. In "Popular Conceptions of
Fundamentalism", anthropologist
Lionel Caplan (1987) offers his readers one of the clearest overviews
on fundamentalism:
'Fundamentalism is a belief in the timeless nature of sacred
writings and a belief that such writings apply to all kinds of
environment'.
Don't all Muslims believe that the Quran (sacred writing) is
for all times and for all countries and for all environments.
In Joan Ferrante's book on SOCIOLOGY, A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, he
gives three basic characteristics of fundamentalists:
Belief that relationship with God, Allah or some other supernatural
force provides answers to personal and social problems. Emphasis
on the fact that the authority, infallibility, and timeless truth
of sacred writings as a 'definitive blueprint' for life. All areas
of life, including family, business, and leisure, are governed
by religious principles.
Don't all Muslims believe in the above three characteristics,
as attributed by the west to only fundamentalists. We all believe
that Islam is for all times. We all pray to Allah for our personal
and social problems. We all believe that Islamic law is to be
practiced in all aspects of life. We all believe that Islam can
be used as a 'definitive blueprint' for life. Than why do we shy
away from the fact that we all are actually fundamentalists!
Thus given the definition and characteristics of fundamentalists,
all believing Muslims are fundamentalists. So from next time,
when a westerner (or even one of us) accuses us to be a fundamentalist,
why don't we accept it! It is of course better than being what
he is, secular.
|
