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

Product Description:

In Very Good Condition

Review:

Fundametalism is a thought-provoking book which deserves to be widely read as a starting point for considering this most important modern phenomenon. (Journal of the Royal Antropological Society)

short, eloquent book (THES)

careful analysis...provides a much-needed mental map...thought-provoking. (Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian)

About this edition

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