The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalist groups

Introduction

The Islamist fundamentalists reflect a particular ideology. Besides that, the rise of the Islamic fundamentalist groups has gained popularity since the 9/11 attacks in America. After the unfortunate event, the global threat remained to be transnational terrorism. It is quite difficult for states to address the issue of Islamic fundamentalism in the world today thus requiring a comprehensive approach to understanding the problem and find the permanent solutions. Terrorism is an act that brings fear and anxiety to society. Nowadays, religious motivations are the primary causes of violent extremism unlike in the past when terrorism resulted from secular motives such as the separatist movements. The modern terrorism tends to undermine the apparatus of a state. The aim of this research paper is to understand the rise of the Islamist fundamentalism and its effects in most states. Further, the article aims at understanding the ways and the reasons as to why the Islamic terrorists regard violence as a means to attain the goals of their faith. Some of the research questions that this paper seeks to answer is;

1. What factors contributed to the rise of Islamist fundamentalism?

2. Why do the Islamic terrorists regard violence as a means of achieving their goals?

3. What are the effects of Islamist fundamentalism?

Literature Review ¹

¹ According to Bendroth, the various methods, types, and goals that contribute to a rise in violence in the name of Islam tend to vary from one another. However, they have one thing in ² common that includes the legitimization of violence. ³ Borer found out that the violent actions are eliminated through an intense fight in the name of Allah. Most Islamic fundamentalist groups struggle in the name of Allah. Further, most terrorist groups justify their violence with claims that they have anti-western mindsets while the Islamic terror groups protest the adverse effects of globalization. ³ Besides that, Borer stipulates those domestic and socio-economic factors, as well as, some of the psychological factors cause the emergence of terror groups. ⁴ According to Daoud, the geographical regions, the new colonialism and the collision of the cultural identities create the anti-western mentalities among the Muslims. In most cases, Islam possesses an attitude that the current international system plays a significant role in maltreating the Muslims in most parts of the world. Since the 18th century, most Muslims have resorted to Islamic organizations with the aims of reviving their beliefs. The tension posed by most Islamic fundamentalist groups result in tension that is created by a sense of humiliation and the failure of the Arab socialism.

According to ⁸ EL HAITAMI, Muslims have a different perception of the western society. Importantly, most Muslims perceive the community of the West to be a greedy, materialistic and as a means of mechanical civilization. Through referencing the era of the Crusaders, most Muslims characterize westernization as barbaric. As a result, the Islamic terror groups tend to correct this corrupt society by forming an organic union that has been strengthened by a decisive stance with some moral questioning. The urge of the terror groups to create disunity has been fortified by the secular nature of the Western origin and the destruction it has caused among the Islamic societies. In most cases, the Islamic terror groups are presented as an antidote that is against the moral relativity, hypocrisy, and depression that is associated with the secularization.

³ Notably, Amin indicates that that the Islamic terror groups have provided an alternative identification of the western societies for the people who are disadvantaged who were estranged through the siding with the west in the colonial era. Besides that, the terror groups are against the globalization that has arisen due to the westernization of societies resulting in increased corruption and immorality as well. The rise of the religious awakening is viewed from a cultural perspective. The Islamic movements since the 18th century are perceived as defiance to the Western cultural hegemony. ¹⁰ Most Muslims believe that their religions and societies are under threat hence they have no option other than result to battle and violence. Besides that, most Muslims distance themselves from the Western culture. Islam has a unique culture that is viewed as an alternative to the immoral western cultures. Further, the Muslims use cultural imperialism to empower the underprivileged Muslims communities in most western societies. Therefore, this shows that a civilization crisis exists between the Muslim communities and the society of the west. The conflict cannot be solved since the reconciliation of the two cultures cannot occur. As a result, most Muslims have led to violence legitimization that leads to an increase in the rise in the terror groups that are destabilizing peace in the countries.

⁴ According to Hamid, most Muslims result to violence due to the perceptions that the Islamic societies are not treated fairly. ¹¹ For example, the fact that the American state supported the Israel community during their fight with the Arabs led to increased in the perception of unfairness of the Muslim communities. In addition to that, the fact that the USA deployed its military in Saudi Arabia where two Muslim places of worship are located are seen as attacks aimed at attacking the Muslim community. Moreover, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the USA where the American soldiers attacked Iraq and removed Hussein from power led to increased enmities between the Western countries and the Islamic states. ¹¹ Hamid stipulates that the perceptions that most Muslims are under attack result from the humiliation supported by some Islamophobic behavior such as in the individual and the state levels. Therefore, this has led to the use of violence justified as a means of rising against the unjust and the unfair treatments directed towards the Muslim societies.

Contrary to that, according to JJJJ, the rise of terrorist groups is associated with the ideological constructs that are used by the terror groups to create new enemies. As a result, this leads to the creation of solidarity among the western societies through the spreading of fear. ¹² Besides that, Koopman indicates that the terror groups were formed because of the increased globalization. Most Muslims work towards the creation of a global Muslim belief and culture for everybody. The states that do not believe in the creation of an identity conflict are the main target countries by the fundamental Islamic groups. ¹³ As a result, Kunst indicates that the party to win the clash lead to a conflict to make their identity famous and hence gain supporters from all the areas around the world. In most cases, the Islamic fundamentalist groups legitimize violence claiming that the war is fought for a particular cause. Besides that, the jihadist view that the fights in the name of Allah are a path aimed at reaching their creator.

⁵ Besides that, globalization has played a significant role in the development of the communication and the transportation industries resulting in the knowledge of the suffering of Muslims around the world. In Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan states, most Muslims are dying, suffering or being humiliated. However, most Western countries indicate that the sufferings of most Muslims are due to the external natures and they should not be held responsible. Therefore, the increased of violence among the Islamic states is aimed at ending the suffering of Muslims in most western countries of the world. ¹⁴ Contrary to that, Petticrew indicates that political factors have played a significant role in increasing the rise of the Islamic fundamentalist groups. Importantly, the forces of modernization, as well as, the emergence of modern states since the 18th century were extravagantly interpreted in the Muslim countries. ¹⁶ In most cases, the modernization process creates a political perspective that has turned into authoritarian regimes in the Islamic faith. The Islamic societies insisted on sticking to the traditional values instead of adopting the modernization. However, gradual marginalization took place in the political arena of the Islamic societies resulting in oppression through various means of violence. ¹⁵ Pupcenok indicates that most Muslims believe that modernization has led to failures.

Discussion

⁶ The recent years have been characterized by a spread and a rise of Islam fundamentalist groups that are involved in acts that disrupt peace in the society. The Islamic terror groups are a growing trend that is throughout the strategic and the economic region in the advanced capitalist countries. Most western nations experience a rising tide in the oppositions that has been expressed in the Islamic language. Further, the United States of America had deployed its military in Somalia due to fear of the fact that the terror groups could provide a rallying point for the people living in the area. In most cases, the Islamic terror groups tend to threaten the imperialism movements. However, the intervention of the United Nations, as well as, the USA government has played a significant role in strengthening the militia terror groups. ¹⁷ Most Islam imams have urged the jihad groups to start a holy war aimed at attacking the United States of America. The terrorist wars force most people to depart from their native countries with intentions of seeking a safe place. The anti-imperialists fundamentalist groups have found people interested in joining their movement in all over the countries. ¹⁸ Thus, this has led to the increase in the number of individuals in most Islam fundamentalist groups. Importantly, the USA is at war with the fundamentalist groups as evidenced by the Gulf wars and the sanctions that are ongoing against the Iraq people. Recent Bagdad bombings have been witnessed that have increased the urge of the terror groups to attack the USA. The rise of the fundamentalist groups is because of the exploitation of imperialism and the living conditions affecting Muslims in the world today. Besides that, for an extended period, Christianity has been viewed as a stronger denomination as compared to the Muslims. As a result, some Christian countries have failed to accept the Muslims living in those countries. Thus, this has increased the enmity between the Christians and the Islamic people leading to violence against the Christians. In some instances, the Muslims identify the target people by forcing them to quote a part of the Quran. The people who fail or are unable to quote any verse are killed since they are proven to be non-Muslims.

The rise of the Islamic fundamentalist groups may have resulted due to the lack of groups that are encouraging the people to change and accept the Muslims in societies. The economic boom present in the 1980s in the developed countries resulted from the over-exploitation of the colonial world. Moreover, the domination of the imperialist powers led to the pricing down of the commodities coming from the Islamic countries such as oil. As a result, this played an essential role in denying the people significant revenue. Thus, this led to a form of anger among the Muslim countries leading to fights against westernization and globalization. Further, when the Muslims countries asked or requested for loans from the world bank, the grants were given based on uncompromising sternness. Notably, the economic recession led to more problems in the overseas countries while the imperialism movements tightened the squeeze between the states.

Conclusion

The rise of the terror groups is due to a variety of factors. For example, Muslims have a different perception of the western society. Importantly, most Muslims perceive the community of the West to be a greedy, materialistic and as a means of mechanical civilization. Through referencing the era of the Crusaders, most Muslims characterize westernization as barbaric. As a result, the Islamic terror groups tend to correct this corrupt society by forming an organic union that has been strengthened by a decisive stance with some moral questioning. The urge of the terror groups to create disunity has been fortified by the secular nature of the Western origin and the destruction it has caused among the Islamic societies. In most cases, the Islamic terror groups are presented as an antidote that is against the moral relativity, hypocrisy, and depression that is associated with the secularization. Besides that, Muslims have perceived that globalization has resulted in an increase in the oppressions of the Muslims in the western society. Nowadays, religious motivations are the leading causes of violent extremism unlike in the past when terrorism resulted from secular motives such as the separatist movements. The modern terrorism tends to undermine the apparatus of a state. The aim of this research paper is to understand the rise of the Islamist fundamentalism and its effects in most states. Further, the article aims at understanding the ways and the reasons as to why the Islamic terrorists regard violence as a means to attain the goals of their faith. The rise of terrorist groups is associated with the ideological constructs that are used by the terror groups to create new enemies. As a result, this leads to the creation of solidarity among the western societies through the spreading of fear. Besides that, the rise of terror groups results from increased globalization. Most Muslims work towards the creation of a global Muslim belief and culture for everybody. The states that do not believe in the creation of an identity conflict are the main target countries by the fundamental Islamic groups. As a result, the party that wins the clash results in conflict to make their character accessible and hence gain supporters from all the areas around the world. In most cases, the Islamic fundamentalist groups legitimize violence claiming that the war is fought for a particular cause. Besides that, the jihadist view that the fights in the name of Allah are a path aimed at reaching their creator.

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