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Fundamentalism and religion

22 March 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By A B M Shafiqul Islam Dept. of English Jahangirnagar University.
22 March 2005, 18:00 PM
. PHOTO: AFP
There is a tendency to stigmatise 'Islam' as the religion of fundamentalists and extremists, especially by the western press. Standing at this juncture, my letter will very briefly draw a demarcation line between fundamentalism and extremism and its so-called fillip-providing components in 'Islam'. The letter from Ms. Cantara Wali published in the DS on 16 March hinted at this heated debate. Fundamentalists are those who are stuck to originality. Their rigid stand on originality termed as fundamentalism is the father of nationalism, I believe.

But extremism is diametrically opposite to fundamentalism. It is the display of violent spurt of power to subjugate others. Sometimes I become flabbergasted why religion especially Islam is labeled with the scar of extremism. Is there any living religion in the world which supports extremism? The answer is in every possible way negative.

Nowadays Islam is misrepresented and misinterpreted. It is a matter of great concern. Everyone is dogmatic and fundamentalist when it comes to his own roots. If we delve deep into this matter we will find that the essence of this fundamentalism is nationalism.

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Let's not mix up religious faith with the political agenda of the fanatics.