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Fundamentalist islam, of the sort that is being spread by contemporary preachers, is not a return to the traditional form of Islam practiced in rural areas of the Muslim world. The majority of Muslims belong to the moderate Hanafi school of Sunni Islam or to Sufi-influenced varieties of the same (Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Balkans, Anatolia, Indonesia, Central Asia...). What Islamic fundamentalists are preaching is adherence to the strict interpretation of Islam favoured by the Hanbalite school of thought, and its Whahabite and Salafist forms. Strict control over the body of the worshipper (five prayers a day following a precise set of genuflections), extreme importance laid upon "ritual purity" (following the rules of purification before prayer, eating 100% Halal food, in a certain way, dealing with menstruating women in a certain way), considering other Muslims as having committed the sin of "shirk" (denial of God) and characterization of the modern world as being in a state of "jahiliya" (ignorant idolatry). This narrow-minded, sectarian world-view, in which the faithful are seen as a the only true god-fearers amidst a world perverted by "jahiliya", means that any charismatic figure can rise to prominence. It does not encourage free-thought or a recognition of class-war. Again, it is my view that Islamism is a poison and not a "useful ally" in the struggle against Imperialism. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
