Fundamentalism

• Members of Fundamentalist movements see themselves as saviours of society - able to justify any act (extreme or personal sacrifice).
• See world in black and white - good or bad actions, enemies or friends.
• Can have peaceful methods.

1) Social change produces social tension.

2) Cultural tension produces an attempt to accommodate, leading to distortion and change in social patterns, causing social disruption.

3) In a response to cultural tension fundamentalism emerges in the form of an orthodox restatement of cultural patterns. This is spread through evangelism and charismatic leaders.

• Social change is like a ritual process. In ritual individuals are transformed from one status to another.
• This is done firstly by removing from society to a 'liminal space.'
• In this state the individual receives training and instruction applicable to their new status. Normal rules of social life are suspended.
• The transformed members are reincorporated into society in their new status.

• In social dramas, society tranforms when a 'social breach' occurs.
        - This social breech is like Wallace's first stage (cultural tension produced by social change).
• Turner says the social breach leads to a period of liminality when change takes place. In this period normal social rules are suspended or even reversed.
       - This is like Wallace's second stage.
• In the final stage, Wallace and Turner agree that a new social order is established.
• Turner's theories were developed to explain shorter events than what Wallace's theory explains.

Three phases of development:

1) Rejection - traditional authority is challenged.

2) Adaption - attempt to accomodate old philsophy with the new.

3) Reaction - fundamentalist practice arises.

Is similar to Wallace's earlieer analysis.

• Through C18th European gained economic and military power due to their wealth from the Industrial revolution. This = devastating to Muslims.
• Spurred Islamic movement followers with views of the Golden Age (C8th-C18th) when they were wealthy, independent, militantly strong etc.
• al-Afghani aroused Muslims and advocated a return to this Golden Age, a reform of Islamic law to meet the requirements of modern age and a violent resistance to the West who stole their power.
• He saw Govt in the middle east as corrupted by W influence/values. His solution was the three points in bold.
• His movement was widespread. He had a revivalist agenda and his successors used a variety of methods to achieve the revivalist foal.
• Successors: Muhammad Abduh, Islamic Brotherhood, assassins of Egyptian President Sadat & Hamas (responsible for suicide bombing in Spring 1996).
• Islamic movement success = Iranian Revolution 1979, helped by a successor of al-Afghani. Aim to return to period of harmony & rel strength.
• Muslims do not all agree with the Iranian revolutionaries but have been inspired that fund Islamic revival can take place, even for a whole society.