Arab sport between Islamic fundamentalism and Arab Spring

Abstract

The notion of fundamentalism appeared in the history of the Arabic-Islamic region in different areas of Arab countries, but this was evident in the twentieth century when Islamic fundamentalism strongly embraced the ideas of nationalism, socialism and pan-Arabism of many Arab countries, exerting pressure on institutional–cultural systems not only of those Arab governments, but also the Islamic ones. The negative implications of this movement manifested in what is called the ‘Arab Spring’, which destroyed the infrastructure of some Arab countries. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief historical review of Islam, exploring the impact of Islamic fundamentalism beyond the Arab Spring on Arab sports using evidence from the Pan-Arab Games and Olympic Games.