Islamic fundamentalism

Cultural  

1. A movement that has gained momentum in recent decades within several Muslim nations. Islamic fundamentalists oppose the infiltration of secular and Westernizing influences and seek to institute Islamic law, including strict codes of behavior. They also target political corruption in Muslim nations. Severely repressed by the governments of their own nations, such as Algeria, Egypt (see also Egypt), and Saudi Arabia, they nevertheless target the United States as the “Great Satan,” chant “Death to America,” and provide ready recruits for terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda. (See terrorism.)

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Example Sentences

Mazzola, who works for Italian public RAI TV and is an expert on Islamic fundamentalism, created a network of associations to host 70 Afghans, mostly Hazara women activists and their families.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 10, 2022

The son of a pharmacology professor, Zawahiri first embraced Islamic fundamentalism at the age of 15.

From Reuters • Aug. 1, 2022

They pledged to stand up against the Taliban’s Islamic fundamentalism and fight for the same pro-democratic platform the Northern Alliance touted decades before.

From Washington Times • Dec. 28, 2021

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Chechen independence movement became more militant, propelled by a growing belief in Islamic fundamentalism.

From Washington Post • Nov. 13, 2015

Freshly minted movements such as revolutionary communism and Islamic fundamentalism, which promised to immunise Asian countries against western imperialism, began to look attractive.

From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2012