Andrew is right enough. This is a reactionary war, with a strong religious component, against modernity. He draws out the parallels with Western fundamentalists too strongly, though. For example, among the most culturally reactionary of Christian sects are the Amish, and, of course, they have no aspiration other than being left alone. Similarly, the most reactionary fundamentalists among Jews are the Hasidim, and they have no interest in taking up arms, even on behalf of Israel, so firmly do they believe that the Messiah has to come first. Thus, it is too broad- brush to make it a matter of fundamentalism vs. modernity. Most fundamentalists are content to separate themselves from the dominant society, or perhaps to evangelize.
The big difference is this: Christianity (and Judaism) already came to terms with certain contradictions in the use of coercion in purely doctrinal matters, and therefore dropped it. Islam itself has the same capacity to modernize, in crucial respects, while keeping many fundamental tenets. Freedom of conscience, which means not creating undue incentive to feign religious conformity, but encouraging the sincere expression of one's beliefs, is the key. Faith is not faith if it is false; the only way that you can guarantee that it is true is by eliminating most extrinsic inducements to hypocrisy; therefore, there should be no religious coercion, and the reduction of material benefit for apparent conformity. In that environment, all faiths must embrace freedom of speech and press, and freedom of religion, in order to have a fair playing field for evangelization and other religious activities.
As for the matter of abortion or gay marriage, these are considered to be matters of morality and not doctrine, per se. Most people, of course, neither blow up clinics nor go looking for gays to beat up.
On the inclusion of Nazism and Communism in with fundamentalism: I consider that to be a bit shopworn a cliche. One reason that Nazism and Communism could be so brutal was that paradise had to be created in this world, and we could not rely on God to work things out for us. In other words, essential to their brutality was their atheism........... |
