by freemindfade 12 Replies latest social current
I had a thought this morning and I am putting it out for discussion.
When a christian is a nutjob we call them fundamentalist but a nutjob Muslim is "radical".
Doesn't one detach the person from the religion while one puts them square at the root? Shouldn't we call radical Muslim terrorists "fundamentalist"?
I think the difference is you can be fundamentalist without being radicalized. You can believe your holy book is the infallible word of god and is to be taken literally (fundamentalist) without going out and killing people (radical) because of it. That's my take on it, anyway.
Though, in the case of Islam it becomes much more difficult to be a fundamentalist without being radical just due to the very nature of the religion so the two become somewhat more interchangeable.
Radical and fundamentalist have similar connotations to me: modern strict interpretations of old religions under the guise of faithfulness to tradition. A difference between the two might be that radical groups tend to challenge the stability of society whereas fundamentalists seek to live quietly within society.
Fundamentalism in a Christian context also has a particular meaning in relation to the American evangelical churches who signed up to the five "fundamentals" of the Christian religion in the early 20th century.
It's an interesting and open question whether JWs are either fundamentalist or radical. I don't think they qualify as radical, but possibly as fundamentalist.
Radical: gives me more of a sense of perversion of an ideology
Fundamental: more of a truest/literal interpretation of an ideology
I believe saying "radical" Islam takes these action too far away from the fact that they are plausible interpretations and actions of the religion. It makes them seem separate.
I haven't personally read the Koran, tho I've heard that most of the scriptures encourage peace, and there are a few that encourage killing.
My witness family often referred to themselves as fundamentalists and said it with pride. The only area we weren't fundamentalist was the literal days of creation thing, saying each creative day could have been thousands of years. It's an insignificant difference compared to all the other ways they are fundamentalist. What makes them radical is saying they are the only religion approved by God (not every Christian religion, only theirs), all others will be destroyed, letting people die without blood, not celebrating holidays, disfellowshipping, college aversion etc. Yes, I think Jehovah's witnesses are both fundamentalist and radical. Good thing the Bible doesn't say to actively kill those who don't believe, or Jehovah's witnesses would be doing it (not just looking forward to that day.).
Peace among everyone, or among "true" believers?
They have scriptures that say things about how bad it is to kill an "innocent" man, however according to this same book, if you are not Muslim you are not "innocent". Or what about scriptures that encourage you to beat your wife?
Radical/extreme Islam terrorism is a plausible interpretation of the Muslim religion.
They are both the same once they cross the line of following secular rules of law and order.
Etymologically they are similar. Radical means going back to the roots and fundamentalism is back to the bottom or foundation.
Well then, I learned something new today
it was worth getting out of bed
