The reemergence of Islamic and Jewish fundamentalisms: the international scene, the Middle East and Latin America

Abstract

In this paper, we present the scope and role of thefundamentalist religious movements as new actors of the post-Cold warera. We emphasize that the Islamic and Jewish fundamentalisms are ableto assume different forms and roles: in some circumstances they are aphenomenon more moderate, but in others they are more violent. Thereare a variety of fundamentalist movements, both state and non – stateactors, traditional and emergent actors, that are a consequence of thespecific social, political and cultural characteristics of respective nations,areas and historic circumstances. We argue that the main component ofthe most radical movements is the intolerance toward persons that formpart of a disliked group. This religious fanaticism – that share both Islamicand Jewish movements – is more profound now because of theradicalisation in the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict. Finally, we examine therole of Islamic fundamentalisms in some Latin American countries.