CRS 3319: Religious Fundamentalism and Asian Culture Prof. WONG Wai Ching Angela

Religious fundamentalism? A wide range of phenomenon, some violent, others peaceful: The Shia regime in Iran The Taliban regime recently ousted from Afghanistan The Hindutva movement of India The Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam of Pakistan Iran election 2009: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei

Religious fundamentalism? some violent, others peaceful: The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt; The conservative Baptist movement in the US The pancasila in Indonesia James Dobson and his Love Won Out conferences

Religious/Political “disturbance”: Upsurge of religious extremism Rise of massive violence → Is it waning Enlightenment? → Is it product of modernization? → Is it merely Islamic fundamentalism? → Is it a religious movement or a social movement?

Common features: A conscious effort to return to the core beliefs or values of a given religion or culture; Texts taken to be authoritative are used to justify the return An attitude of ambivalence is exhibited toward modernity or secularism Rejected some aspects while endorsed others Normally the presence of a self-appointed elite that assumes the leadership role For transformation of society, capture of state power

Related features: A return to traditional values and an accompanying sense of restoration for the building of alternative structures; The search for a new identity, often at the expense of minority groups; A preoccupation with moral concerns that tends to have an adverse effect on the position of women; A spirit of militancy with which these objectives are pursued No necessary tie between violence and religious zeal until recent association

R. Scott Appleby: A working definition Religious fundamentalism is An identifiable pattern of religious militancy in which self-styled true believers attempt to arrest the erosion of religious identity by outsiders, fortify the borders of the religious community, And create viable alternatives to secular structures and processes

A short history Origin of concept: Recent attention: By 2000 American Protestants in early 20th Century Recent attention: 1979 Iranian Revolution The success of an Islamic and anti-western political movement The first theocracy in the 20th Century By 2000 Religious ideology is back on world political agenda 2001, 9/11: The global Al Qaeda and the US-led War on Terror

“The Fundamentals” Freely chosen self-description of the American Protestants in 1920s Strict adherence to “five fundamentals”: the inerrancy of Scripture, the Virgin Birth, the Substitutionary Atonement of Christ, Christ’s bodily resurrection, and the historicity of the miracles (second coming was added later) The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth (1915) 1910-15, a series of 12 pamphlets a manifesto published by the conservative magazine The Presbyterian entitled "Back to Fundamentals”

The Fundamentalists Description of “others” in late 20th century With negative connotations Almost exclusively referred to Islam Anti-Western cultural and political values E.g. Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 British Observer (1981): “the dangerous fundamentalism revived by the ayatollahs and their admirers as a device, indistinguishable from a weapon, for running a modern state.” An imposed label by outsiders, journalists and academics

Belief versus means The use of violence often not implied in the original concept Militancy in fundamentalism ≠ violence Militancy: built on religious exclusivity of specific groups at the expense of other groups Aims at revitalization of traditional religions

Characteristics: Modernization—a disruption of tradition Urbanization and technological innovation Ethnic and religious pluralism Creation of the nation-state, etc. Resulted in change of worldviews or relationship to the divine Social and religious identity at stake Look to the past for solutions Return to the religious utopia Use of violence as an unfortunate resort by some

A Project of Restoration A process of selective retrieval often found on a sacred history as recorded in sacred texts Sacred history vs worldly history A moral opposition btw tradition and modernity Tradition: divine centers in human society and acts as the source of good Modernity: deviation from original tradition and therefore epitomizes all society’s ills and moral decay

Glorious Past as Vision for Future Whether historical or mythical A deep sense of commitment, generated and sustained thru’ religious ideology With religious imagery accounting for the possibility of another world A moral foundation for such an alternative society Projected onto the future through the present

Exceptionalists: → A militant interpretation of jihad These are special times Departure from normal standards and procedures are allowed Tradition of tolerance and peace could give way to intolerance and violence Old social norms no longer apply → A militant interpretation of jihad

Project of empowerment Effective organizational structure: including the congregational groups and the independent “cells” E.g. Al Qaeda network of Osama Bin Laden Development of practical strategies “Pro-family”: for anti-abortion, anti-gay and lesbian, and anti-feminists Intervention in law, education policy etc. E.g. American Christian Right

A fundamentalist program: A project of restoration A project for “back to future” A project of exceptionalist A project of empowerment