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Fundamentalism in the Middle East. Middle East Fundamentalism. Islamic. Jewish. Sunni. Shiite (Iran, Lebanon, & Iraq). Islamism (Muslim Brotherhood). Salafism. Islamic Fundamentalism. Islamic fundamentalists believe society should be based on the principles of Islam.
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Middle East Fundamentalism Islamic Jewish Sunni Shiite (Iran, Lebanon, & Iraq) Islamism (Muslim Brotherhood) Salafism
Islamic Fundamentalism • Islamic fundamentalists believe society should be based on the principles of Islam. • Their two sources for ordering society are the Koran and Sunnah. • Sunnahare the practices of Mohammed that Muslims find in hadith collections. • Hadithsare specific known things that Mohammed said or did. • From the Koran and Sunnah comes the Shariah,or Islamic law. • Sunnah and Sharia both mean “path.”
Islamic Fundamentalism • Islamic fundamentalists tend to believe that the Umma has left the “true path.” • Umma: All believers or Muslims • They reject the nationalists’ secularism. • They tend to reject the western concept of the nation/state. • They consider such western influences to be part of the problem • They do not reject western technology • They tend to believe in a literal interpretation of the Koran • Jihad– “holy struggle”
Shiite Fundamentalism • Shiite fundamentalism is centered in Iran and the Islamic revolution of 1979, led by the Ayatollahs. • Shiite fundamentalism is centered in three Middle Eastern countries: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Ayatollahs in Iran Ayatollah Khomeini Ayatollah Khamenei
Shiite Fundamentalism • In Lebanon is it led by Hezbollah. • Hezbollah was able to grow due to their fighting against Israel. • Iranian support after the 1979 revolution was coordinated by the Ayatollah in order to stop Jewish aggression.
Iraq • In Iraq, the nationalist Ba’ath party was opposed by Shiite leaders. • The Ba’ath party, led by Saddam Hussein, harshly repressed any and all forms of religious extremism. • In 1990, during the first Gulf War, the U.S. offered support to the Shiites. • After Saddam’s overthrow in 2003 the Ba’ath party was removed from power, opening the gates for religious extremism to thrive in Iraq.
Sunni Fundamentalism • Sunni fundamentalism is led by two movements: • Salafism • Islamism
Salafism • Salafism is an 19th Century movement. • Salafism is sometimes called Wahhabism after an 18th century Islamic teacher named Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab. • Salafis generally reject the term Wahhabism. • Salafism is the belief that the first three generations of Islam were the purest. • Salafis want only the Koran and hadith to be used as guides for society. • They reject any form of nationalism or other changes since the first generations.
Salafism • Saudi Arabia’s government is founded on this sect. • Saudi Arabia declared the Koran and Sunnah to be their constitution. • Salafism is also the dominant sect in Kuwait and Qatar. • These countries have used their oil money to promote their doctrines among Muslims around the world. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Al-Qaeda • Al-Qaeda (“the base”) formed in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden and other radicalized members of the Muslim Brotherhood. • Al-Qaeda is a radical Wahhabi Muslim movement calling for a strict interpretation of sharia law and jihad, and the struggle towards Islamic ideals on a global scale.
Islamism • The second major branch of Sunni fundamentalism is Islamism. • Islamism seeks to replace all western models with sharia law and restore the caliphate. • The Muslim Brotherhood is the most important Islamist organization. • It was formed in Egypt in 1928 by a Sufi teacher, Hassan al-Banna.
Islamism • The most famous leader was SayyidQutb. • He preached against Nasser’s secularism. As a result, he was jailed and executed in 1966.
The Muslim Brotherhood • Today the Muslim Brotherhood has members in several countries around the world. • Most Islamic extremist groups have come from or been influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. • Osama bin Laden was once a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian Islamic Jihad • Ayman Al-Zawahiri was the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ). • EIJ and Al-Qaida merged in June of 2001.
Hamas • Hamas began as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. • Hamas currently controls the Gaza Strip.
Jewish Fundamentalism • Focused on the Covenant: the promised land. • Called “Religious Zionism”, It begins soon after the World Zionist Organization (WZO) forms. • It’s mainly from the Orthodox sect and is “messianic”. • Jewish settlements continue the strategy of the WZO to occupy the “promised land”.
Jewish Fundamentalism • In 2005 the Israeli government began removing settlers from the Gaza Strip.
Jewish Fundamentalism • The Al Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount is a center of controversy. • Third holiest site in Islam, Muhammad was transported in spirit to this place from Mecca. • Jews believe that it is the site of the Third Temple, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.
Israeli troops block the path to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. (Jerome Delay/AP Photo)