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| Volume VII, February 2000, Number 2 |
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| Book Review |
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For a printable version of this book review, click here.
Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey, by Ahmad S. Moussalli. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 1999. 401 pages. $ 75.00, hardcover.
Lawrence Davidson
Department of History, West Chester University, West Chester, PA.
Ahmad S. Moussalli, associate professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, has produced a useful, up-to-date Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements. More a small encyclopedia than a dictionary, the work covers both major and minor organizations. Here one can learn what Hamas and the Lebanese Hizbollah really stand for, as well as how they have evolved over time. One can also learn that the name Hizbollah (party of God) is used by groups in at least six countries. The work also gives brief biographies of the most important Islamic fundamentalist leaders and thinkers. From the Ayatollah Khomeini to Muhammad Khatami, from Hasan al-Banna to Sayyid Qutb, one can learn just who these people are or were and what ideas they have put forward. As important, the work explains most of the terms, key words and concepts that one needs to know to make accurate sense of Islamic fundamentalist rhetoric. What do Islamic fundamentalists mean by justice, democracy and freedom? What do those esoteric Arabic words, such as fatwa, jihad, and umma really stand for when used by Islamic fundamentalists? One can find the answers in this work.
The book’s entries are arranged alphabetically and extensively cross referenced. They are preceded by a detailed chronology that runs from 1804 to 1998 and followed by an extensive bibliography divided into general texts and those specific to a country. Though not overly technical, Moussalli’s writing is sophisticated. The explanations given, especially of concepts and terminology, assume a basic prior knowledge of both Islam and the fundamentalist’s approach to it. For instance, part of the entry for "fundamentalism" includes the following passage:
In modern times many movements that call for a return to the fundamentals (usul) of religion have flourished throughout the Muslim world. Leaders of such movements feel that the Islamic spiritual dimension can aid in developing a clear portrait of the enemy and condemn moral corruption -- especially when the perceived corrupted present is contrasted with a perceived idealistic and glorious picture of a past full of ethical idealism. The moral dimension in turn may be used to urge Muslims to establish anew their civilization, reconstruct their identities, and absorb modernity and change (p. 67).
Some of the terms used here, such as religion, civilization and modernity, are cross referenced so the reader might learn what Islamic fundamentalists mean by them. Such meanings are not always the same as those assigned these terms in the West. Because of this level of explanation, Moussalli’s work is best used as a companion piece to one of the now numerous books seeking to explain Islamic fundamentalism to the Western reader. Among the best of these are John Esposito, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality (Oxford); Shireen Hunter (editor), The Politics of Islamic Revivalism (Indiana); and L.Davidson, Islamic Fundamentalism (Greenwood).
When thinking of Moussalli’s dictionary as a companion piece for the general works on this important subject, one is led to wonder just how wide an audience there is for these books. Certainly interested scholars and a small number of college students will read them. Some foreign-service personnel might look at them. And there is always the odd browser in the larger public libraries. Yet, despite the obvious growing Western (and particularly American) obsession with Islamic fundamentalism, it seems that the accurate information offered by these works has not penetrated very deeply into the public consciousness.
As the world recently moved into the twenty-first century, the American media and presumably that portion of the public that takes "news" seriously, were focused on two fears: a possible collapse of the technological foundation of modern society due to the ubiquitous Y2K bug and death and destruction raining down on America’s end-of-the-century celebrations through acts perpetrated by Islamic-fundamentalist terrorists. Using this duality, the media redefined the apocalypse for the contemporary Westerner: a cornerstone of modernity (technology) threatens to fail, while an ancient, allegedly fanatical, enemy (Islam) threatens to triumph.
To a great extent these fears were and are a function of ignorance helped along by media sensationalism. For instance, the computer glitches caused by the flipping of a century calendar date proved to be few and of minor consequence. Even if such glitches had been widespread, they would still have constituted an inconvenience to only a small percentage of the world’s population. Yet the media was able to build the issue up almost to the point of hysteria. The year 2000 is now with us and Y2K’s apocalyptic potential has failed to materialize. By the time this book review is published the whole issue will have most likely disappeared from the media "news."
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the growing Western fear of Islamic fundamentalism and the media’s consistent association of this multifaceted movement with the singular notion of terrorism. Unlike Y2K, this fear is not tied to a moment in time; it has a seemingly endless media shelf life. And, it too is fed by ignorance. According to the State Department’s latest annual report, Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1998, terrorism in general has been steadily declining. In 1998 there were 273 incidents, the lowest yearly number since 1979. Of these, 111 were "anti-U.S. attacks" in which 12 Americans died. The greatest number of these attacks occurred in Latin America (87) and Western Europe (13). The vast majority of these cases had nothing to do with Islamic issues and were not perpetrated by Muslims. Only five attacks took place in the Middle East. In other words, terrorism of Middle Eastern origin is about as much a danger to the average American as the Y2K bug was. Americans have far more to fear from home-grown, mentally disturbed high school students inspired by the latest overly violent Hollywood film than they do from the world’s Muslims, fundamentalist or not.
This is not to say there are no violent Muslims. Islam is the world’s second largest religion with over one billion adherents. Like Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, it has been experiencing a fundamentalist revival for some time now. As Moussalli’s dictionary clearly shows, this phenomenon as reflected among Muslims is complex, and its causes are varied. Some of these causes are shared with other religions, such as the reaction to the corrosive effects of modernity upon tradition. Others are a product of Islam’s recent past and include a reaction against Western imperialism and local secular dictatorships, the yearning after lost glory, and the search for a uniquely Islamic form of modernity. As is the case with other religions, Islam’s fundamentalist revival has produced a small number of partisans capable of violent acts. Their targets are usually local Middle Eastern authorities who are judged traitors to the faith. However, to the extent that Western powers, and particularly the United States, are seen as actively supportive of these local authorities (or others judged as enemies of Islam, such as Israel), they too become potential targets. Yet, as the State Department’s report indicates, this danger remains small and certainly bears little resemblance to the media-promoted picture of a great "clash of civilizations."
Thus, Islamic fundamentalism is not anti-American as such. Indeed, most Muslims, including fundamentalists, find America's tradition of religious freedom very attractive. This is readily apparent from Moussalli's explanation of the notion of freedom held by most Islamic fundamentalists. For these Muslims freedom is freedom of religion. It is this aspect of the U.S. approach to religion that has helped Islam become one of the fastest-growing religions in North America, with over five and a half million adherents.
Nonetheless, America is a predominently Christian country with its own domestic versions of religious fundamentalism (some varieties of which are themselves prone to violence). And, of course, it is part of a Western culture that has long seen itself at odds with the Muslim world. As a result, Islam has been, and seems destined for the forseeable future to remain, misunderstood and feared. Ahmad Moussalli's historical dictionary does put Islamic fundamentalism into a sensible context and, in combination with the other explanatory works, can potentially defuse some of this fear. But fact can be an antidote to fear only if the facts are known. To be known they must, in this case, be read. How many of those who stand in fear will read Ahmad Moussalli's book?
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