Fundamentalism: The Search For Meaning - Hardcover

Ruthven, Malise

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192840916 ISBN 13: 9780192840912

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2004

Synopsis

Since the end of the Cold War fundamentalism has been seen as the major threat to world peace and prosperity, a concern that was exacerbated by the events of 9/11, and the War Against Terrorism . But what does Fundamentalism really mean? This is the first book to expose the real nature and spread of both secular and religious fundamentalism worldwide, and to explore the many different forms this can take. Fundamentalism is a problematic term that eludes easy definitions. Since it was coined by American Protestant evangelicals in the 1920s, the word has expanded its meaning to include radical conservatives or ideological purists in many spheres of activity, not all of them religious. Modern applications of Fundamentalism include Islamist radicals in the Muslim world, the militant Israeli settlers who oppose them as well as Sikh, Hindu and even Buddhist nationalists who seek to justify their political agendas by reference to divine edicts or religious tradition. While questioning its usefulness as a term, Malise Ruthven argues that there are some 'family resemblances' between different fundamentalist movements, especially over concerns national identity and gender in a world dominated by the mass media and economic globalization.

About this title

About the Author

Malise Ruthven has taught at the University of Aberdeen, at the University of California, San Diego, and at Dartmouth College. He is the author ofA Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America, A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Wrath of Islam, andIslam in the World. Now a full-time writer, he divides his life between London and Normandy.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0192840916
• ISBN 13: 9780192840912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 254