Sunni Islamic Fundamentalism & Militant Islam

Islamic Fundamentalism and Militant Islam Islamic Fundamentalism

Share the same ultimate vision of political Islam.

Muslim fundamentalists want to create a Caliphate ruled by the strictest interpretation of the sharīʿah.

Islamic fundamentalists entirely reject Western values and call for returning to the early years of Islam’s pure ideals and laws.

Islamic fundamentalists that want to implement sharīʿah law according to the most puritan dogmatic interpretation are known as Salafists.

The ideology they ascribe to is known as Salafi.

The word salaf means “what has been previously.”

Salafism’s core ideology is that Islam will thrive and flourish again once Muslims return to the roots, to the origin of Islam, and adopt and apply the Islamic codes, law, norms, and values as they were in the time of the Prophet Muhammad and his first four successors.

Contemporary Islamic fundamentalism (called in Arabic Usuliyah, which means “going back to the origin or lexicon 553 the roots”) has two branches.

One branch is the non-militant Salafi Islamist fundamentalist camp. Non-militant Salafi Islamists are called Usuliyun. Usuliyun follow a strict interpretation of sharīʿah law. But they do not try to impose it on others forcefully. Instead, they use preaching, education, and political actions to try to gain followers, grow the movement, and fulfill their religious objectives. Some choose to isolate themselves and minimize their interaction with the surrounding society, state authorities, and institutions.

The other branch of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism is the militant camp—Militant Islam. Fundamental militant Islam adheres to the Salafi-Jihadi ideology. Militant Islamists are often called Usuliyun Mutashaddidun or al-Mutashaddidun al-Islamiyyun. As we said earlier, the word usilyun or usuliyah means “the origin or the roots.” The word Mutashaddidun means “extremist.” Militant Islamists are what is often referred to in Western media as “extreme fundamentalists” or “extreme Islamic fundamentalists” or “radical fundamentalists.” The West is most familiar with the following militant Islam Salafi-jihadi ideology groups Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab “The Youth” in Somalia, African-based Boko Haram “Western Values are Forbidden,” Global Jihad, ISIS, Islamic Jihad, and the Taliban.

A core value of all Salafi-jihadists is the concept of Talb a-Shahada—”the quest for martyrdom for the glory of Islam and Allah’s rule.” To summarize their value system: It is good, necessary, and noble to kill and be killed for the sake of Allah. For militant Islamist groups, violence is an essential tool that they must use to bring about the caliphate.

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