Neo-Fundamentalism and Modernity: A Reading of Sayyid Qutb’s MileStones

This article explores how fundamentalism is primarily and theoretically based on the denunciation of difference and plurality. Fundamentalist erasure of difference is presumed to constitute one of the basic intellectual grounds of the religio-social phenomenon of Takfeer (or excommunication) across heterogeneous cultures. By attempting to analyse and trace the historical and intellectual roots of fundamentalism as a kind of religious extremism in relation to the problem of difference and pluralism in both the West and the Arab World, this article seeks to disentangle some of the problematic meanings and causes associated with the concept of fundamentalism and hence suggest plausible remedies.  
 
Whereas many academic and press discussions stress the close affinity between fundamentalism and Islamic culture, this article aims to trace the roots of modern fundamentalism back to the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) tradition in America at the threshold of the twentieth century and to identify the family resemblances between its modern forms in both America and the Arab world. One of the basic resemblances is revealed to be a consistent monocultural vision that rejects pluralism and diversity within and without the cultural enclave to which the fundamentalist group is affiliated. Underlying such mono-vision is a utopian construct of a golden age, when the norms of the tradition are believed to have preponderated. Such denial of pluralism in the present global culture is highlighted as a fundamental cause of cultural clash and violence. The article finally recommends plausible solutions such as revisionism, self-criticism, and re-examination of the Christian and Muslim traditions in the light of a cosmopolitan, pluralist reading that incorporates toleration of religious and cultural difference and pluralism.