Fundamentalism Research Articles

Beyond homocolonialism: working towards queer decoloniality in Bangladesh

AbstractThe queer movement in Bangladesh suffered a crisis in 2016 with the murder of two activists, leading to an unwanted hyper-visibility in wider society, and a chilling effect on activism. We detail what it means to think beyond postcolonial critiques of international LGBTQ rights, briefly explaining the realities and limits of queer politics in Bangladesh, focusing on sexual health infrastructures and the emergence of legal citizenship for the “third-gender” hijra population. We argue that these dimensions of queer existence remain circumscribed, and that a public discourse of sexualities remains difficult to create as a terrain for equality. We explore whether the framing of ‘decolonial’ is useful here, conceptualized as a process of working through the postcolonial critique of western structures of financial and sexual frameworks, towards an understanding of crisis that requires reading colonialism in its later evolution in the context of nationalism, neoliberal development, and religious fundamentalism.

How Religiousness Increases and Decreases Prejudice: The Mediating Roles of Religious Fundamentalism and Religious Ethnocentrism

ABSTRACT We hypothesized that while both religious commitment and quest orientation directly reduce prejudice, their overall influence would largely depend on their indirect effects through two serial mediators: religious fundamentalism and religious ethnocentrism. Our study (N = 429) examined six different forms of prejudice (toward Muslims, Jews, Blacks, atheists, homosexuals, the poor). Serial mediation path analyses confirmed that (a) religious fundamentalism and religious ethnocentrism mediate the connection between religious commitment and prejudice and between quest orientation and prejudice, and (b) religious ethnocentrism mediates the connection between religious fundamentalism and prejudice. For all six forms of prejudice, religious ethnocentrism was the stronger predictor of prejudice. Consistently, religious commitment directly decreased prejudice but indirectly increased prejudice through heightened levels of religious fundamentalism, and in turn, heightened levels of religious ethnocentrism. The implications of these findings, and the importance of studying factors that moderate the direct and indirect influences of religiousness, are discussed.

Impact of fundamentalism on human capital, women's social status and demographics: Evidence from Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq

I analyze the impact of the religious fundamentalists’ rule on regional human capital development and women's social status by exploiting the unexpected rise and fall of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in northwestern Iraq (2014∼2017). I find a large downward impact of exposure to ISIS rule on female human capital and an upward one on fertility rate for women who were school-aged at the time of ISIS occupation. These women express more patriarchal family norms and are more likely to belong to a polygamous union, implying a decline in women's social status. This decline in human capital and the rise of patriarchal family norms doesn't cause a significant negative impact on the development of their pre-school-aged children, possibly implying that these women didn't decrease parenting effort for their children. In summary, even a brief period of extremist rule has potentially large impacts on human capital development and culture.

An Analysis of the Crucial Role of Religious Extremism Contributes to Afghanistan’s Political Instability

Purpose: Political stability in Afghanistan has been hindered by religious extremism. However, several parties have grown up within the country to oppose the government. These extremist groups employ suffering as a means of gaining political power rather than simply using religion Because Sunni, Shia, Hanafi, Wahhabi, and other religious individuals live and work to promote their religions, religious extremism has a significant effect on Afghanistan's political stability. This has led to numerous problems between the citizens and the government. Several explosions have happened in mosques targeting Shia. It is believed that non-Muslims are using this tactic to extend the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan distinctively. This paper aims to analyze the impact of religious extremism on political instability in Afghanistan. In this paper, the analysis is based on the fact that religious extremists have a great impact on the political stability of Afghanistan. Materials and Methods: The study emphasizes analytical and descriptive approaches to gathering and analyzing data, which is more consistent with qualitative studies. The primary approaches used to gather data for qualitative research encompass focus groups, observation, and interviews. Findings: The results of this study are as follows: (1) The analysis of religion is considered one of the important elements in Afghanistan, five categories of participants have different opinions about this response, 51% of respondents agree that religious extremes have an impact on Afghanistan political stability, 38% of participants strongly agree that religion has on impact on political stability in Afghanistan; (2) the supporting of militant groups has an impact on Afghan political instability, 5% of participants are neutral about this response, and 3% of the participants are strongly disagree about the above response. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: We recommend that the Afghan government strictly obey the rule of Islam and international partners should cooperate with Afghanistan in this field.

The Saffronization of Public Knowledge in India

Abstract During the political regime of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), public knowledge in India has been tarnished with political colors. The BJP has used the color saffron, which is closely associated with the Indian National Flag, as a sociopolitical tool to signal patriotism, nationalism, indigenization, and decolonization. However, the government’s policies and messages focus on the self-profiting mechanisms of Hindutva ideology. According to the BJP, the notions of pre-colonial knowledge systems and patriotism are only related to the Hindu religion. Thus, public knowledge in India has been politicized through “saffronization”: the color saffron, rightwing political ideologies, and religious fundamentalism combine to create false beliefs about Indian history and culture, which then inspire and excuse hate and crime.

RELIGIOUS MODERATION, EXPERT, SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT NEWBIE? RELIGIOUS EXTENSION OFFICERS IN SOCIAL MEDIA

About sixty-seven thousand religious extension officers (Penyuluh Agama), representing six religions in the state service, are on the frontline of the massive campaign of religious moderation organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. They are the sole body with religious competence dealing with the increasing religious conservatism, radicalism, and extremism. The study observes the digital performance and agency of Penyuluh in social media. It describes the complexity of their position within the challenge of religious extremism, the execution of a religious moderation campaign, and social media engagement. Data collection utilizes mixed methods, while the analysis employs netnographic and descriptive-inductive methods. The findings demonstrate the digital divide context, the tendency of Penyuluh to reproduce the structure, hence limiting their agency, limited digital mastery and digital literacy of many of Penyuluh, fragmented institutional information system, and the vulnerability of instant messenger engagement that is prone to epistemic bubble and echo chamber effects.

Selling Sex in the States: Religious Fundamentalism, Christian Nationalism, and Public Acceptance of Moral Problems

The extent to which commercial sex, particularly sex work, should be regulated is an important and controversial policy conversation in the United States. Despite the salience of religion to informing attitudes about morality and bodily ethics, little is known about how some key dimensions of U.S. religion (e.g., religious fundamentalism and Christian nationalism) influence the public’s moral acceptance of prostitution. We investigate this gap using nationally representative survey data ( n = 1,219). Fundamentalist beliefs and Christian statism are both associated with lower moral acceptance of prostitution, adjusting for other religious and sociopolitical characteristics. Disaggregated models also revealed differences in the strengths of these associations by sex. Implications for policy and opportunities for future research are discussed.

Türkiye’s Diplomatic Perception of the Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan: Ideological Dynamics and Geopolitical Interests (1933–1935)

This study examines Türkiye’s diplomatic communications, with a focus on its foreign policy towards the Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET), which was established in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and existed for less than six months. The aim is to understand Turkey’s diplomatic perception of TIRET by analyzing recently declassified archival documents from 1933 to 1935 through an inductive approach to idiographic case study and qualitative content analysis. In studying this under-explored topic, the main findings indicate that Türkiye maintained a distance from TIRET due to its perceived religious extremism that stood in tension with the secular revolutionary principles of the modern republic established in 1923. Meanwhile, Türkiye closely monitored the Xinjiang policies of key powers in the region, such as the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Japan, particularly those related to perceived Turkish interests. Türkiye’s interest mainly stemmed from the involvement of individuals opposed to the new Turkish regime, including former military officers, politicians, and exiled members of the Ottoman dynasty, which overlapped with external powers’ policies towards Xinjiang. Türkiye’s cautious engagement reflects its attempt to navigate complex international dynamics in light of its domestic ideological mindset and external geopolitical interests.

Exploring the political frontier in Australian schools: Bernsteinian insights on Civics and Citizenship education

Contemporary liberal democracies face complex and disruptive challenges, such as toxic populism, culture wars, political polarization, religious fundamentalism, the climate emergency, global conflicts, and the influence of powerful social media platforms. This is the disconcerting world that young people are growing up in and need support in understanding and mediating. This paper critically analyses the Australian Civics and Citizenship education curricular response using the theoretical insights of Basil Bernstein to understand the types of citizens it aims to nurture. Through analysing the language of the Australian Curriculum, the processes and intellectual influences behind its creation, and specific curricular content descriptors, the paper illuminates the social and ideological assumptions embedded in its vision of educating for democratic citizenship. We argue that political education remains a domain that Australian curriculum framers, schools, and teachers have approached cautiously. The paper highlights the curriculum's inadequacy in addressing early twenty-first-century political imperatives related to democratic deconsolidation, falling short of Bernsteinian ideals.

Identity Crises and the Impact of 9/11: A Post-Colonial Study of the Reluctant Fundamentalist and Khuda Kay Lye

The current study explores the devastating aftershocks and identity crises caused by 9/11. It furthermore, presents the upheavals through two different forms of literature: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and the cinematic film Khuda Kay Liye by Shoaib Mansoor. The study employs a post-colonial lens, utilizing the concept of marginality to examine identity crises and the traumatic aftermath of 9/11. In addition, the study highlights the main characters of both the literary forms: novel and film, demonstrating how they face marginalization at various levels—cultural, religious, and international. The background of the study encompasses the Afghan-Russian war in 1979 and the 9/11 attacks, which profoundly affected Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, fueling terrorism and raising questions about identity. Religious figures, as the research uncovers through the character of Changez in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, were often labeled as terrorists. On the other hand, Mansoor, Maryam, and Sarmad are marginalized in Khuda Kay Liye. Mansoor faces racial prejudice in the USA, while Sarmad and Maryam encounter religious extremism in Pakistan. While weaving together the theme of identity crises, the study adopts the framework of marginality, a significant aspect of post-colonial literature. With a clear understanding of the issues, the study utilizes post-colonial theory, using Edward Said's seminal work, Orientalism. Additionally, the researcher recognizes the significance of marginality, which is central to both the genre fiction and the films The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Khuda Kay Liye.

Critical Analysis of Hybridity and Multiculturalism in the Short Story “My Son the Fanatic” by Hanif Qureshi

In his presented textual writings, all these approaches, i.e, multiculturalism, hybridity, cultural clashes, identity crisis, and fundamentalism, are equally measured by Hanif Qureishi beautifully. The main focus of this research is achieved using questionnaires and a critical analysis approach. Key results are extracted from the critical analysis of the text of short story My Son the Fanatic (1994) on account of religious perspectives and fundamentalism. It is observed that second-generation of immigrant families are less in touch with their primary origin as their religious identity for Muslim immigrants who have a residence in British for a long time; respectively, in this present research short story My Son The Fanatic; the case seems in an opposite direction because the represented character Ali who is counts as a second generation young man in immigrants family of Pervaiz , shows strong attachment to his religion after they realize the true impact of his origin upon their real life, therefore, he is firmly diverted to his religion and follow the actual pattern of Islam and becomes a fundamentalist figure of his time, opposite to his father. This shows nature can never change. That’s why he questioned his father in the final period: “Who is fanatic now?”

Accounting for <i>Hijab</i>: Interrogating the Post-Secular

This article questions the idea of the ‘post-secular’ as a category for understanding Indian women’s experience of religion as an existential practice in neocolonised capitalist patriarchy. The majoritarian state’s manipulation of an identitarian regime of signification to use and control women’s lives is located in a plural, democratic society that is currently riven by the violent politics of conflicting religious and secular constructions of <i>hijab</i>, a head covering worn by Muslim women. From an engaged ideological perspective that seeks radical transformation, feminist struggle includes the right to practice and profess one’s faith, against a majoritarian norm that bulldozes difference and imposes its prescriptions as ideal. This article aims to show, from a feminist perspective, the manipulation of significatory practices in India, linking women’s ‘dress’ with progress to essentialise and politicise identity. It questions whether redressal against violence wrought on women by religious fundamentalism can be found in a secular state policy, based on the norm of equality of difference. Feminist practice would actively use the guarantees given to the citizen by a pluralist secular constitution to challenge the violence of interlinked discriminations, necessary for the survival of a plural society in which diversities co-exist.

A neural network for religious fundamentalism derived from patients with brain lesions

Religious fundamentalism, characterized by rigid adherence to a set of beliefs putatively revealing inerrant truths, is ubiquitous across cultures and has a global impact on society. Understanding the psychological and neurobiological processes producing religious fundamentalism may inform a variety of scientific, sociological, and cultural questions. Research indicates that brain damage can alter religious fundamentalism. However, the precise brain regions involved with these changes remain unknown. Here, we analyzed brain lesions associated with varying levels of religious fundamentalism in two large datasets from independent laboratories. Lesions associated with greater fundamentalism were connected to a specific brain network with nodes in the right orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and inferior parietal lobe. This fundamentalism network was strongly right hemisphere lateralized and highly reproducible across the independent datasets (r = 0.82) with cross-validations between datasets. To explore the relationship of this network to lesions previously studied by our group, we tested for similarities to twenty-one lesion-associated conditions. Lesions associated with confabulation and criminal behavior showed a similar connectivity pattern as lesions associated with greater fundamentalism. Moreover, lesions associated with poststroke pain showed a similar connectivity pattern as lesions associated with lower fundamentalism. These findings are consistent with the current understanding of hemispheric specializations for reasoning and lend insight into previously observed epidemiological associations with fundamentalism, such as cognitive rigidity and outgroup hostility.

Research on the experience and lessons of ethnic and religious governance in the EU under the rise of populism

As a community of multicultural and religions, the effective governance of ethnic and religious affairs is of great significance for maintaining the stability within the EU and promoting the harmony and cooperation among member states. The EU has strengthened ethnic and religious governance by promoting multicultural policies, implementing regional policies, establishing conflict prevention and mediation mechanisms, promoting cross-border cooperation and integration process, focusing on protecting the rights and freedom of citizens, establishing a legal and policy framework, and strengthening dialogue. However, under the rise of populism, the EU is severely challenged, including the intensification of immigration and refugee problems, the insufficient response to religious extremism and terrorist threats and the lack of coherence and consistency of policies, the lack of effective communication and dialogue mechanisms, and insufficient regulation.The article suggests vigilance the dangers of populism, strengthening the rule of law, focusing on education and publicity, preventing and responding to extremism, and promoting the integration of economic development and society. The EU has taken measures, such as promoting legal policy making, strengthening dialogue mechanisms and the governance of migrants, but it still needs to focus on social integration to maintain stability and solidarity. Other countries can learn from the EU experience and develop religious governance strategies adapted to their own situation.

Fundamentalism in The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra

The emergence of religious extremism and its effects on people and society are explored in Khadra's The Sirens of Baghdad, especially in light of the Arab world. This study examines the fundamentalist motif found in Yasmina Khadra's The Sirens of Baghdad. The story's protagonist's journey illuminates the complicated philosophies, goals, and repercussions of fundamentalist groups. This research investigates the manner in which Khadra depicts the captivating nature of fundamentalism, the elements that contribute to its attractiveness, and the mechanisms via which it may influence and exploit people. Furthermore, this analysis delves into the novel's exploration of the socio-political and cultural circumstances that contribute to the emergence of fundamentalism. Additionally, it scrutinizes the novel's exploration of the tensions and conflicts that arise between traditional values and the forces of modernity. By examining the fundamentalist theme in The Sirens of Baghdad, this research adds to current understanding of the intricacies of religious fanaticism and how it affects both people and society.

The Death of God as a Turn to Radical Theology: Then and Now

This article begins with a short reconstruction of the long-forgotten Death of God movement and its development of the concept of a Radical Theology during the 1960s in the United States of America and in Western Germany (The “Death of God” as a Signature of Secular Culture). In my view, protestant theology and the church have thus far failed to discuss Nietzsche’s proclamation of the “Death of God” as a genuine signature of modernity in a constructive way. In refusing the debate, they did not see the theological potential of the diagnostic and ambiguous metaphor “Death of God” as a “tremendous event still on its way”. With regard to a current perspective on Radical Theology (The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism and the Renaissance of Radical Theology), the intention is a creative and radical interpretation of this heretical concept as a step towards a modern religiosity after (the Death of) God which includes a new awareness of the finitude of human life and of its limitations. The theological symbol of the “Death of God” in my concept of “Heretical Religiosity” leads to a new approach to the theology of wisdom as symbolized in the Hebrew Bible by the book of Ecclesiastes (Heretical Religiosity: Radical Theology and Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible).

What Is Religious Fundamentalism? Asking Scientists Who Study the Construct

The purpose of the present study is to gain clarity into the definition of religious fundamentalism. Specifically, the goal of the current research is to engage in a multi-method study defining the various aspects of fundamentalist movements across cultures and religions. Social scientists from around the world with recent peer-reviewed journal publications concerning religion and fundamentalism ( n = 125) complete a survey where they define the construct and rate how representative 29 items distilled from the existing literature represent the term. Quantitative analyses reveal the scientists find Williamson et al.’s intratextual religious beliefs as the most important aspects of religious fundamentalism. Qualitative analyses reveal no theme is prevalent among the majority of scientists, with one category noted by 40 percent of participants, six by 20 percent to 39 percent of respondents, seven by 10 percent to 19 percent, and four reported in 7 percent to 9 percent of the sample. I integrate findings within existing religious fundamentalism theories and provide research suggestions with the purpose of creating a more comprehensive measure of fundamentalism that could be tailored to different cultural and religious contexts and used in future investigations to help applied practitioners better understand and interact with fundamentalists.

Beyond “Religious Fundamentalism”: Bridging Religious Tradition, Gender Normative Systems, and State Institutions to Respond to Intimate Partner Violence in Ethiopia

Despite its western Christian origin, the notion of religious fundamentalism has been employed by western and non-western scholars alike to describe a variety of religious groups perceived to manifest antagonism to aspects of modernity and secularism, especially western ideals of gender equality as enforced in many cases by state policies. Within religion and gender studies and Gender and Development scholarship, fundamentalism has been often invoked in reference to faith communities opposing feminist ideals, but without due recognition being given to the western metaphysics of feminist theories of gender, or the epistemological and ethical problems of “naming” such communities as “fundamentalist” within Western/Anglophone scholarship. This lack of reflexivity risks essentializing religious communities as being opposed to feminist gender ideals when their reactions might reflect more complex underlying reasons, and can also be counterproductive in effectively responding to gender inequalities and women’s abuse in religious societies. This paper proposes that a more intimate engagement with non-western religious traditions grounded in a study of theological teachings and the lived religious experience of specific communities can remedy such tendencies and achieve a better understanding of the nexus of gender, faith, and tradition/modernity in diverse cultural contexts. It illustrates this by drawing key insights from a study of conjugal abuse in an Orthodox Täwahәdo community in Ethiopia that demonstrated intricate associations between understandings of and attitudes toward conjugal abuse and the local religious tradition, the significance of a culture-as-religion discourse in the maintenance of rigid gender norms, and the potential of Orthodox theology to counter ideas about abusiveness that contributed to its implicit tolerance. The paper relates these findings to Ethiopian women activists’ efforts and the multi-religious societal fabric of Ethiopian society to explore the possibilities for integrated responses to intimate partner violence in the country.

The Rising Religious Extremism and Mob violence in Nigeria

Before the emergence of Boko haram terrorist group in the early 2000s, religious extremism in Nigeria had sparked large scale crises in Kaduna and Plateau among other states in the country. Since the inception of the Nigerian fourth republic, such crises have been undermining public safety and by implication, the country’s quest for national integration and sustainable development. In the light of a mob violence that resulted in the gruesome murder of a college student who allegedly uttered blasphemous comment, this paper examined the rise of religious extremism in Nigeria. Looking beyond human security threats like poverty and illiteracy, the paper utilised desk review of published documents to establish the historical and political factors that sowed in the country, the seeds of religious extremism now germinating. The paper found that the nature of the pre-colonial empires that now make up the Nigerian state coupled with colonial and post-colonial factors including the dissipation of knowledge on Islamic justice system, competition over political powers and the politics of divide and rule have converged to make religion a volatile phenomenon in the country. Therefore, the paper concludes that until the multidimensional factors are addressed through mitigating and preventive efforts—such as robust religious education, religious regulation, interreligious dialogue and economic empowerment—the country’s quest for ‘peace, justice and strong institutions’ among other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will remain a mirage.

Deradicalizing Digital Islamic Space Through The Ahl Al-Sunnah Wa al-Jama’ah (Aswaja) Thoughts: Indonesia and Malaysia Cases

The digitalization of Aswaja’s moderate understanding in the digital space is essential to counter religious extremist narratives. Focusing on the context of Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries where the majority of Muslims adhere to Aswaja teachings, this research aims to answer the question of how is Aswaja preserved in the digital space to deradicalize radical Islamic movements in Indonesia and Malaysia? This study employs a qualitative research method using the Religious Social Shaping of Technology (RSST) approach. Data were obtained through interviews, observation, and documentation. The research found that the practice of Aswaja in these two countries has transformed new media. The digitalization of Aswaja is based on its moderate principles. Aswaja’s moderate values have influenced the new religious environment as an antithesis to the more extreme and closed religious spaces controlled by extremist Puritan communities. In Malaysia, Aswaja’s digital narratives tend to be more controlled and less contested, whereas in Indonesia, Aswaja’s narratives tend to be less controlled and face more contestation. This study contributes to the development of a new religious space, where the more moderate the ideological basis of new religious media, the more moderate the appearance of the religious media.