Therefore, it can be said that religion can be used as a form of cultural defence against the rapidly increasing West. The use of religion as a cultural defence is very evident in modern times with the rise of Fundamentalism. Those from ethnic minorities opposing Western values so much that they are willing to kill others and themselves to prove this. The clash of civilisations has been evident between Islam and the West for hundreds of years but became known throughout the world after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Fundamentalists are using religion to defend their culture in a negative way and have thus created a stigma for ethnic minorities.
Assess the view that the growth of religious fundamentalism is a reaction to globalisation The issue of religious fundamentalism has emerged with many associating it with Islamic terrorism. However, as Item a states, fundamentalists are not necessarily violent they may just wish to return the “true path”, the basics of their faith. Some sociologists argue that this is a reaction to globalisation and the uncertain, risk society that people face. However, others argue that changes within a society can also encourage fundamentalism. Giddens argues that fundamentalism is a reaction to globalisation.
The same cannot be said of modern Islamic states and societies, which lag behind international standards of equality, democracy, and human rights”(32). However, he expresses challenges the opinion of Fadl by disagreeing that literalist readings are exclusively by puritan extremists. It seemed that Fadl’s claims that the only group of people who are seen to take literal interpretations of the Qur’an are those that express and support a violent and intolerant approach to tolerant Muslims and non- Muslims, stating "Narrow and illiberal readings of the Qur'an are not exclusively the province of fringe elements”(32). I
Individuals have also made good arguments about the negative outcome that racial profiling might bring to our society. Obviously it has led the dominant race to have superiority to the minorities – racial discrimination. James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute have made a point that he have seen a lot of dark skinned people being searched and treated with humiliation, which is really wrong – Racial Relations. David Harris, a writer and Professor at Toledo College, have already written a couple of books about racial profiling. He states that law enforcers think that they would be more accurate in targeting a suspicious group, but in reality, what happens is the total opposite wherein officials have inaccurate results in targeting the suspect—Race Relations.
The Spread of Islam Islam expanded greatly in the 600’s and 700’s and has developed great attention. There have been many people who believe one thing and many believe the other, but Islam spread through three important reasons: conversion, conquest, and interaction with other groups (cultural interaction). Islam transferred many people using conversion by, mostly likely, expanding the truth, but mainly by forcing them (doc: 1, 2, 5, 8). Muhammad says that you must believe in his ways of he will force you and make you pay tribute; if you obey the Lord Muhammad he will defend you. If not, he will fight against you, kidnap the young, and kill the elder.
Unfortunately, due to the many Islamic terrorist organizations in the world and their many threats or attacks on the different populations, many people have discriminated against persons who are, or who are believed to be, Arab or Muslim, regardless of what those persons actually believe or practice. In fact, in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States has taken many actions. The government has made it more difficult for Arabs or Muslims to immigrate to the United States or to apply for citizenship or permanent residence classification. It has also undertaken wiretapping and other searches which once required warrants and used the information it obtained through them to prosecute Arabs or to accuse them of terrorist actions. Lastly, it has continued to hold Arabs in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, even after federal courts have specified those prisoners have certain rights that cannot be denied them.
However, more recently there has been a lot of tension between patriotic Britons and Muslims which has led to a lot of anti-Islamic propaganda among the British public. One might ask what the reasons are for this media and campaign portrayal. And are they justifiable? This topic was chosen in light of the tensions building from 9/11, the London Underground Bombings and the Iraq war as well as the more recent murder of British soldier, Lee Rigby, by two Muslim extremists which led to a wave of anti-Muslim propaganda across not only Britain but around the world. Due to the controversy that could be caused by this topic sources from patriotic Britons, Muslims and the media will be used to avoid bias and create balanced and well formulated argument.
Muslims, on the other hand, are found all over the world, and are followers of the religion called Islam. Not all Arabs believe in Islam, and not all Muslims are Arabs. Islam is the second most popular religion, next to Christianity. The misperception between Arabs and Muslims has led to discrimination during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both viewed as terrorists.
Every Muslim goes through this problem in his/her life. In this research paper I will be discussing the world’s attitude towards the Muslim community and how they deal with these crises. But we must remember that it is not always the Muslims who face identity crisis. Anyone who has been previously colonized has to deal with this problem. This happens mainly because the imperial politicians try to create identity problems and use it as a weapon against the colonies.
However, the word fundamentalism, which originated in Christianity, can be misleading when it is used to describe Islam or Muslim countries. The conservative monarchy of Saudi Arabia, the radical socialist state of Libya, and clerically governed Iran have all been described as “fundamentalist,” but this description fails to take into account vast differences in their governments and policies. Political analysts prefer to use the expressions “political Islam” or “Islamism” when discussing Islam’s many-faceted roles in current social and