I am now reading for the second time Reza Aslan’s book, Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization. Aslan, an Iranian born American citizen, explores fundamentalism of all stripes though his main focus is on Islamic fundamentalism. He thoroughly explores some of the basic concepts of fundamentalism and how that when core beliefs are taken to an extreme, the consequences can be severe.
For example, he notes that the word “jihad” in Arabic means simply, “a struggle” and comes from the verb “jihada” which means, “to strive for something.” Aslan argues that the word in its context implies “a struggle against the self, against one’s passions and instincts and the temptations that oppress the soul.” But that is a far cry from the popular meaning of the term in today’s world. This demonstrates how easy it is for anyone or any group to take a simple word or concept and interpret it to fit their own ends.
Ideologues of any stripe are dangerous people. If you run into one, give them wide birth! Unless, of course, it happens to me moi!
Aslan’s exegesis of the term jihad reminds me of Proverbs 25:28: He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. And of course we know what happened back then if the walls of a city were broken down. The enemy could get in.