Religion Expert Critiques Fundamentalism

Karen Armstrong, a best-selling author and expert on religion, offered a critique of fundamentalist views of faith in a speech last night at Memorial Church.

Armstrong, a former nun, respected theologian and author of such best-selling books as A History of God and Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, defined fundamentalism as an act of panic.

“Every single fundamentalist movement is rooted in terror and fear of annihilation,” she said.

Armstrong, a scholar in residence at Lowell House, presented the excessively rapid and at times oppressive secularization of Muslim countries as a possible explanation for their fundamentalism. “Fundamentalism often develops in a symbiotic relationship with secularism,” she said.

Armstrong was careful to note that not all fundamentalists are terrorists. However, she said fundamentalist views can lead to violence.

“What can happen is that fundamentalists distort the values they are trying to protect,” she said. “They tend to overemphasize belligerent passages of their faith.”

Armstrong contradicted Osama bin Laden’s reading of the Qu’ran as a call for unbelievers to be destroyed. She said violent passages in the Bible and Qu’ran are always succeeded by exultations of peace and mercy.

Furthermore, Armstrong informed her audience as to the true definition of the often misused Arabic word “jihad.”

“‘Jihad’ does not mean ‘holy war.’ It means ‘struggle,’” she said. “The jihad is a struggle to do God’s will that requires an effort of all fronts.”

War plays only a small role in this struggle, she said.

Armstrong illustrated this point with the fact that Mohammed once said of a battle, “We are returning from a lesser jihad and going on to a greater jihad to root out the evil of our own society.”

“We have begun our own lesser jihad,” Armstrong said. “Now it is time for us to start our greater jihad.”

Armstrong cited an anecdote of Buddha to explain America’s situation in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Buddha achieved enlightenment only after experienceing suffering, and the United States may have to pass through the same process.

“We have to treat the suffering in the rest of the world or it will come to our world as it did on Sept. 11,” Armstrong said. “If we can reach out in compassion something wonderful will come out of this awful tragedy.”

If we use our fear and vulnerability to drive us toward the long term jihad ahead of us, Armstrong said, “Evil can be turned into good and there may be a greater experience of sacredness in this world.”