Jalaledin Ebrahim‘s “The Sacred Canopy and the End Times: Fundamentalism’s defenses at the Edge of Chaos”. This paper will be posted in two parts.
The Sacred Canopy and the End Times
Fundamentalism’s defenses at the Edge of Chaos
Jalaledin Ebrahim, M.A. Ph.D (c)
http://jalaledin.blogspot.com/
As millions of viewers around the world watched the televised scenes of terror and mayhem in Mumbai which transpired November 26-30, 2008, we have yet to hear, as of this writing, a rational, cogent explanation of what the motivation could possibly be for a band of well-armed and well-trained young Muslim terrorists, in their early twenties, to simultaneously attack different targets in the financial and cultural capital of India. These targets comprised two prestigious international hotels, a popular café, a local hospital, a train station and a Jewish community center, sites for the random killing of innocent men, women and children, including but not restricted to Americans and Britons. The majority of the victims of this crime were Indian, and some were most likely Muslims too. Until we can assess and examine the socio-psychological infrastructure of these types of events in the world, the planet will continue to be an increasingly dangerous place for all of us, especially for, but not restricted to, those who live in the urban centers of the world.
However, the fact that the majority of terrorist attacks in the past fifty years have occurred at major urban centers, from the Olympics in Munich in 1972 to the twin towers of New York City in 2001, from the discotheques in Bali (2002) and Casablanca (2003), to the train station in Madrid (2004) and the bombings in London (2005) suggests that, at the very least, the venues of these attacks have psychological import, in addition to the potential for access to media distribution, for the violent groups and extremists engaged in such slaughter of innocent human life.
This paper aims to explore an assessment and examination of different expressions of fundamentalism, not just in its extreme, chronic and pathological forms, such as terrorist groups, but also those emerging systems which are guided by an exclusive value or belief system, which claim a monopoly on the truth or which experience a threat of annihilation. This exploration is offered in the hope that some sense can be made out of the fragmentation of the human species which is increasingly divided along these lines, as well as the apparent senselessness of these tragic events that constantly deluge our communications infrastructure through television and the blogosphere. It will identify and outline some of the factors that may be at the heart of these cross currents, such as the increasing secularization of societies as a result of progress in modern science and technology, the inherent greed and need of a consumer driven and market driven society required to sustain economic viability (as in the recent global financial crisis), the cultural fallout and imperialism which can accompany globalization, the lack of good governance resulting in social and economic injustice, and an adherence to an end times eschatology.
to be continued …
Ismailimail 