The Clash of Fundamentalisms

[Justin Schwartz]

>
>
> > You are mistaken. Islamic fundamentalism is a child of the 1970s. It was
> > given a big boost by the Iranian revolution.
>
>Mea culpa.  However, your statements are in need of some qualification.
>Radical Islamic governments are a recent phenomenon.  I doubt the religious
>fundamentalism that supports them could arise in the span of a single
>decade.  Argument from analogy: although the Religious Right wasn't a
>visible electoral force until quite recently, Christian fundamentalism of
>one sort (from Puritanism to evangelism ) or another has been present in 
>the
>US for some time.
>

But it did arise in a decade or two. ANd there are precedents, such as the 
US "Great Awakening" that first created the basis for fundamentalism in the 
US in the 1790s. Of cpurse there was a lot of religious Islam, but it wasn't 
a radical political force until the 1970s--and not just not a state force 
either, but not a popular force either.

jks

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