How Great Was the Impact of the Rise of Religious Fundamentalism in the Middle East on Regional Security from 1970 to 2000?

While the aftermath of World War II is often referred to as one of the primary creators of deep rooted turmoil in the Middle East region, the effects of the Cold War and the United States often over-zealous battle against communism is just as much a contributor if not more. The Arab world and the Middle East region were clearly going through quite an extraordinary period throughout World War II and its conclusion, primarily with the creation of most of the states we recognize today and struggling with the continuation of colonialism. These factors set the stage for the emergence of strong nationalist sentiments and Pan-Arab movements across the Middle East. Unfortunately, and much to the detriment of the region, the leaders of these young

Sectarian violence in the west was influenced by people that believed that there way of living was the only way to live. They shaped some parts of the west by causing problems with other people and religious people by intimidating them to not move there and killing and causing wars like they did with the massacre of bear river. The Mormons believed in one way of life, they tried to control the Native Americans and their rights to try and move and start new from where they once was. The Native Americans were treated poorly due to the fact they were different from others. They lived a different lifestyle and believed in a different type of religion from everyone else. Because they were different and was wanting to move away from Missouri to

Much of the tension and terrorism between the Middle East and the United States can be traced back to the twentieth century. In the early 1920s oil became very essential to the United States, therefore the U.S. invested in the Middle East oil industry. Since both sides of the world were connected through this investment, the Middle East was more exposed to western society. “As Western ideas spread through the region, many Muslims feared that their traditional values and beliefs were being weakened” (Appleby, 1032). In order to continue following the traditional Muslim religious laws, Muslim movements were created to overthrow pro-Western governments in the Middle East. Even though Muslims believed that terrorism is the opposite of their faith, they supported these movements and were called fundamentalist militants. In 1947 the United Nations divided Palestine into two sections in order to give the Jews land that they can call ‘home’. One section was called Israel, and the other section was to become a Palestine state. This was the beginning of a military war; the Palestinians wanted their own nation therefore they began planning raids and terrorist attacks against their neighbor Israel. The United States gave aid to Israel, and immediately became Muslim target.

These wars had made angry Palestinian lost more and more land causing many terrorist attacks and suicide bombings occurred during the conflict planned by Palestinian terrorist organizations such as the Hamas. Civil Palestinians’ anger had also lead to Intifada (1987) and Second

5) Religion is such a common factor of territorial conflict that people sometimes outright say that religion is sometimes the main cause. Religion has caused much territorial conflict from the Crusades hundreds of years ago to extreme tensions today. For example, the conflict between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir stems from the fact that the ethnic minority of the area claimed by India is Muslim, and Pakistan is a heavily Muslim-majority country. In addition, Israel uses religious reasoning in order to justify the possession of the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem from the people who were already living there.

Religions differing has caused many conflicts throughout history. “The feeling of attachment to tribalism and fake patriotism under the umbrella of religion is stronger and more apparent than respect for human rights and pluralism” (Mhamed 2). When people are tied so greatly to their religion, they will be willing to throw away their morals and do whatever they deem is right for their beliefs, leading to constant wars. “different tribal and so-called patriotic groups resort to religion to gain legacy and popularity” (Mhamad 2). Religion is even just a way to unite people to war such as saying they are doing something in the name of their deity

Next driving force was the conflict in Sub-Sahara nations. Due to Islamic extremists, the conflict in Sub-Sahara nations and within the Middle East forced Europe and the United States to establish international policies that could protect the democratic values within these regions and the rest of the world (Chaplin 10-12). In fact, the global policy decisions were created concerning religious groups, as well as, mass destruction weapon of

Following the Algiers Accords, the first terrorism related U.S. sanctions were put in place against Iran following a series of Iran supported terrorist attacks by Hezbollah in 1983. Hezbollah or “Party of God” is an extremist political religious movement based in Lebanon. In the early 1980s, Iran helped create Hezbollah by providing funding, training, and the indoctrination of new members into what, until then, was a “fledgling movement.” Initially, Hezbollah was created and sponsored by Iran as a “form of resistance” to Israeli presence in southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah’s dedication to the creation of an “Iran-style Islamic republic” in Lebanon has led Hezbollah to seek the removal of all non-Islamic influences

The debate between whether religion cause war or not based on their impression of religion; furthermore, it is unreasonably clear about what does and does not permit like a religion. Countries such as Islam are fated while certain others, like nationalism, are subjectively ignored. Authors used different theories such as absolutist, divisive, and absurd to explain why religion is so predisposed to violence. Sometimes authors combine these arguments to make their case.

that religion and politics have a long history in the Middle East does not mean that religion is always, or even most of the time, a crucial factor driving political conflicts. Most of the politics of the Middle East have been viewed by those inside and outside the region as driven by religious difference. From the Arab-Israeli conflict to the Iranian revolution to the emergence of

As Peter Berger (1967) explained religion, it is a sacred canopy under which the entirety of life is explained and regulated. Secularization theory as explained by Weber holds that modernity challenges this sacred canopy through two major ways: increased cultural and structural pluralism and increased primacy of economic pursuits (Emerson and Hartman, 2006:129). With globalisation accelerating in the post Cold War era, causing mass migration across borders, increased interstate interaction and huge growth in the global financial market, it was predicted that religious influence would be relegated to the private sectors of social life by ripping the sacred canopy, and leaving people with, at best, sacred umbrellas (Smith 1998). Despite this, what secularization theory did not anticipate is that the demystification of the world provided within it the seeds both for the re-mystification of the world and resistance to the demystification (Berger, 1992:1). Hence the world today, with some exceptions, is as furiously religious as it ever was, in some places more so than ever (Berger, 1999:8). Since the 1970s there has been a particular rise in religious fundamentalist movements, as signalled by the Iranian Revolution in 1979 led by Ayatollah Khomeini, which led to the establishment of the first Islamic State. As Almond et al note, fundamentalist movements have risen to the highest levels of power in Sudan in 1993, Afghanistan and India in 1996, and in India again

Since many religions have started in the Middle East, it has become the center for erupting conflicts. For instance, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been in the news for many reasons. Both groups want control of the God given land that they both claim is theirs, according to God, and what had happened in the past. The result of the conflict is religious terrorism (PBS, 1). Continuing, some Middle Eastern politics have been in conflict, even dividing communities of the

During the time of 1948 and 1956 there were two major events that happened with regards to the Middle East crisis. The 1st major event that happened was the War of Liberation. The 2nd was the Suez crises. The War of Liberation was fought between the Arab states surrounding Palestine and newly formed Israel. While some countries like the US had officially recognised the State of Israel, which had caused the Arabs to become anti west, Jordan, Syria and Egypt immediately

the conflict in the middle east between 1948-1973 was not purely fuelled by the interest and concerns of the superpowers but rather of a series of conflictual incidents, aswell as the main wars that took place from the years from 1948-1967 such as the: 1948 War, The Six Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur war of 1973. But although the conflict was not fuelled by the superpowers, the influence of the superpowers and the reach of the superpowers into the Middle East was evident in the years both prior and following 1978. But even despite the influence and interests of the superpowers between and including 1948-1967 being undeniably evident, the extent of this influence cannot be said to have “fuelled the conflict”.

453). A prime example of an Islamic Fundamentalist movement is al-Qaeda which was a new militant Islamic group when it emerged in 1988. It followed on from the spread of strong religious beliefs and codes that was common in Africa and the Middle- East (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150). Al-Qaeda was founded by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, its goal when established was to spread the word of God and to make his religion to most triumphant religion of all. A main characteristic of Islamic Fundamentalism is to create a theocracy which is a regime based on religious principles (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150). Al-Qaeda is most known for its attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in the USA in 2001, whom they openly claimed responsibility for and motivated the USA's war on terror (Goodwin, 2007, p. 432).