marigold

currently, the 'fundamentalist' wings of all the major religions are growing in popularity. or at least, christianity, islam and judaism. I am unsure about hindu and bhuddism and what is going on there.

but it is certianly not only islamic fundamentalism which is proving more popular. and, unsurprisingly, with the 'born again' george bush in the white house, backed by his fundamentalist christian pals, more hard line governments in israel, and the increasing popularity of fundamentalist islam in the middle east, this is a noxious cocktail which is leading us to more conflicts.

the real question to ask is 'why?'. why is fundamentalism in all its forms spreading? and that is a difficult one to answer. It seems as though we are all turning our backs on secular, rational modernity and moving back towards the middle ages. I would put the increased popularity of rubbish like homeopathy, spiritualism, belief in conspiracy theories, and 'holistic' medicine in that trend towards medievalism as well.

with regard to islam. there is plenty of evidence to show thatthe increase in radical fundamentalism is the result of two things:
1. A reaction to globalisation and consumerism (i think this goes for fundamentailist christianity as well)
2. a reaction to the foreign policies of the west and particularly the us. we can use the example of iraq to illustrate this. Prior to the invasion, under saddam hussain, iraq was a us backed dictatorship, providing 'stability'' for western interests in the region. Under this regime, iraq was officially a secular (but muslim based) country. fundamentalists were almost non-existent. after the invasion, and the gross levels of poverty and social disorganisation resulting from that, fundamentalism has risen in popularity.

in short, radicalism and fundamentalism needs 'fuel', and through policies like invasion, propping up dictatorships, and ignoring the palestinian issue, we continue to provide that fuel. deal with some of those issues, and that will take tyhe rug out from under radical fundamentalist islam.

User Comments / Have Your Say

The opinions and views expressed in the above comment are purely those of the writer and in no way reflect the opinions or views of the Daily Express website, the Daily Express newspaper or Northern And Shell Media Publications. We accept no responsibilty legal or otherwise for the accurancy or truth of this comment.