You're right. Fundamentalism is a word that is taken out of context so much that it has almost taken on an entirely new meaning. I often hear the term "Muslim fundamentalist" and cringe. What they really mean is "militant Muslim" or "Muslim terrorist", but they choose to use the word "fundamentalist" instead. The proper use of the word is limited to those Protestant Christians whose religious beliefs dictate that the Bible is infallible and each and every word of it was directly put there by God.
I was taught that "fundamentalism" was a term that was coined within the past 100 years to describe a movement within Christianity that rejected religious schools of thought that viewed the Bible as being allegorical in nature, as opposed to literal. When Islamic terrorism began to really enter the public consciousness, many people simply took the fundamentalist label and applied it to the Muslims who interpreted the Quran in such a way that allowed terrorist attacks against civilians. A more precise term describing ultra conservative Muslims is "Islamism" or "Islamists." Fundamentalist Muslim, as I understand it, is a term that simply adapts a pre-existing Western concept to Islam when there were already precise terms to describe Muslims who view their sacred texts as being the literal word of God.
neverendingjourney, In the 12th century, the word "gay" once meant "full of joy and mirth", "merry". From the 13th century, "gay" was applied to anything that was "brilliant" and "showy". In the 17th century, "gay" had acquired the tone of "sexual promiscuity", not necessarily homosexual though. It's only in the 20th century that we find evidence of the transition into actual homosexual reference. Now, I know that the dates are and can be disputed depending on which literature one refers to and how one interprets the author's intention. But my question is, which century would you like us to return to? Should "gay" only and exclusively refer to "mirth" and "merry"? Would it seem prudish to "cringe" when you hear people "bastardise" a once "innocent" adjective to refer to same-sex attracted people? Perhaps then you will appreciate why the application of the word "fundamentalist" has shifted with the times. INQ