Argument essay

Explain the rise of Islamism in the Middle East: is it a cultural backlash against the homogenising forces of Globalisation? Is this a matter of reconstructing political/cultural identity in the context of Globalization? Can it be directed into a more accommodative mode of intercultural relations rather than a violent or antagonistic one?

« Our duty as Muslim Brothers is to work for the reform of selves, of hearts and souls by joining them to God to the all-high; then to organize our society to be feet for the virtuous community which commands the good and forbids evil-doing, then from the community will arise the good state » are Hassan al-Banna’s words, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the early 1920s first Islamic movement which took roots in Egypt (Sami Zubaida 2009, p.48). Not only this political claim is still relevant today but it is an increasing phenomenon too, especially in the Middle East. In this manner, the following lines are an attempt to explain the rise of Islamism in this part of the world in the context of Globalisation and also more precisely in a context marked by an important American involvement in the area. A clear definition of Islamism needs to be set here in order to avoid any mixture with Islam as a religion which would be a wrongful association. All the sources of this essay agree to define it as an Islam Fundamentalism, in other words « a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system; that modern Islam must return to their roots of their religion and unite politically ». It is consequently a political extension of the religion, an anti-secularist point of view, in other words bringing religion into the field of politics. The first argument will demonstrate that culture is actually little involved in the causes of Islamism rise in the Middle East , but that it rather finds its source in political issues in a context of homogenizing forces of globalisation. The second