The Clash of Fundamentalisms : Crusades, Jihads and Modernity
by Tariq
Ali
( A précis of the Amazon page . )
A refreshing riposte to conventional thinking on 9-11, June 9, 2002
Reviewer: Matt Dimick (see more about me) from Falls Church, VA United States
Tariq Ali's book, The Clash of Fundamentalisms, is necessary reading for
everyone. For radicals it provides an excellent history of U.S. imperial
exploits and of ideological and political conflict in the Middle East and
Central and South Asia. For those of other political stripes, centrists
and rightists, it provides a refreshing and unrestrained response to the
predominating views about the meaning and response to the events of
September 11, 2001.
Ali notes how Francis Fukuyama's thesis on the "End of History," while claiming the moral and economic superiority of liberal capitalism and its triumph over bureaucratic "socialism," didn't provide much in the way of direction for U.S. hegemony following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations filled that gap. Huntington's book, partly a response to Fukuyama, argued not for a golden age ahead, but continuing conflict derived from apparently irreducible cultural differences. Thus Western, and particularly U.S., intervention would still be very much needed to defend American values such as "individualism, liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, equality, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, free markets" (quoted in Ali, p. 273). Huntington's book therefore provided a rationalization for a continued and predominant role of the U.S. in world affairs. September 11 was "proof" for that thesis.
Ali's book subjects this thesis to a withering critique, and this is the main reason for his choice of title, something that others seem not to have grasped. Ali carries out his critique by making two points while presenting a broad political and religious history of the Middle East and Central and South Asia. First, he shows us that Islam and the cultures with which is Islam is associated are anything but monolithic or homogeneous. Islam has had its Luthers as well as its Savonarolas. It has not always been hostile to Western (Aristotle) or even rational and scientific thinking. Its politics have been more varied than most Anglo-American countries, comprising the most radical communists as well as producing leftist and far-rightist nationalisms.
Second, Ali shows that, tragically, and in far too many cases, U.S. foreign intervention in these regions has abetted and financed the rise of the most reactionary elements "against communism or progressive/secular nationalism. Often these were hardline religious fundamentalists: the Muslim Brotherhood against Nasser in Egypt; the Sarekat-i-Islam against Sukarno in Indonesia, the Jamat-e-Islam against Bhutto in Pakistan and, later, Osama bin Laden and friends against the secular communist Najibullah [in Afghanistan]" (p. 275). With the exception of Indonesia, Ali's book is, among other things, a historical presentation of these interventions. Thus, U.S. imperialism, far form necessarily defending itself from an alien and hostile Islamic culture, is at the very least partly responsible for the ascendancy of fundamentalist Islam. Moreover, not only has the U.S. failed to promote democracy, liberty, equality, etc. in these regions, it has actually stifled it.
There are many, including at least one reviewer below, who will disagree with Ali's conclusions, particularly his charges of U.S. imperialism. What these persons want to believe is that U.S. foreign policy really is about those lofty principles that Huntington lists. Ali provides his own response to these critics: "The historic compromise with integrity that this form of Americophilia entails transmutes the friendly critic into a slave of power, always wanting to please. S/he becomes an apologist, expecting the Empire to actually deliver on its rhetoric. Alas, the Empire, whose fundamental motivation today is economic self-interest, may sometimes disappoint the most recent converts to its cause. They feel betrayed, refusing to accept that what has been betrayed is their illusions. What they dislike most is to be reminded of the sour smell of history" (p. 257). Hence, the furious and often ad hominem attacks volleyed against Ali.
What is the meaning of September 11? It is, in the prescient words of Chalmers Johnson, "blowback." "'Blowback' is shorthand for saying that a nation reaps what it sows, even if it does not fully know or understand what it has sown. Given its wealth and power, the United States will be a prime recipient in the foreseeable future of all of the more expectable forms of blowback, particularly terrorit attacks against Americans in and out of the armed forces anywhere on earth, including within the United States" (quoted in Ali, p. 292). Read this book for a case study of this phenomenon. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Real history of fundamentalism , April 6, 2003
Reviewer : A
reader from United States
Tariq Ali puts forth a history of Islamic fundamentalism, from Muhammad onward, through the emergence of Wahhabism (Saudi Arabia's state religion, once Afghanistan's) from its inspirer Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab in the 18th century under Ottoman rule, through the present. In between, Ali sandwiches a discussion of Islamic heresy, including the Islamic world's most prominent medieval intellectuals. What's more, he also takes on American imperialism as another form of religious fundamentalism, with its history of domination, manipulation, and extermination, and uses the resulting paradigm of a "clash of fundamentalisms" to explain the current situation in the Middle East and in South Asia. Ali takes on a discussion of the Iranian Revolution, of the Iran-Iraq war, of the history of Pakistan, and of Palestine, amongst other things. The result is detailed, informative, stimulating, and honest. Ali ends with a "Letter to a Young Muslim," where he confronts the viewpoints of desperate Muslims living under US proxy regimes throughout the world.
I can hardly wait to read the next hundred denunciations of this book, for all that it is chock-full of blood-boiling heresies from beginning to end. A must-read. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Engaging reading , substantial insights thought-provoking ! , July 28, 2003
Reviewer: Giant
Panda from Washington, DC
One can't tell a book from it's cover, but in this case, at least one can get an idea that the author has a sense of humor! Perhaps it may be well that such a serious topic as terrorism and religious fundamentalism be approached with a some humor. At the same time, it is a serious book, one of the few books on terrorism that actually delve into the roots of it all to discern a solution. The book is quite voluminous, nearly 330 pages, packed with information and deep analysis, with many notes. The author's brilliant writing style makes it an incredibly difficult book to put down. I ended up finishing the whole book over the Christmas / New Year holiday, with many sleepless nights, that is.
The book is divided into 4 major parts: one on the early history of Islam; one on the last 100 years of relations with the West, marked by colonialism and upheavals; a special part focusing on South Asia (India and Pakistan) the region about which the author is most familiar; and the last part on the United States and it's relations with the Islamic world. The book is fascinating not only because it draws upon the author's deep knowledge of the history of Islam, but also because he punctuates it with poetry and quotations from diverse literary works over the ages. The book exhibits a deep understanding of the subject, and posits a thesis directly confronting the much-touted "clash of civilizations" model. A major strength of this book, however, is that the author is daring enough not to stand with the crowd. While many intellectuals from the Muslim world do little to explain current events beyond laying the blame on the West, Tariq Ali is not afraid to look squarely at his own culture with the same critical eye he uses to examine Western imperialism.
In this day and age, I would say this is a must-read!
Read it for a non-American view of the world, July 28, 2003
Reviewer: Tim
Johnson (see more about me) from Fremantle , Australia
I confess I began this wonderful book about this time last year. Why, you have every right to ask, did I take over a year to complete a relatively small book and the answer lies in the fact that I feel Mr. Ali's book is several books in one and therefore you can read one part as complete unto itself.
The topics that Ali explores are diverse but all of immense importance to America as she tries to feel her way in a world that is hostile to her much valued beliefs. Everybody in the world knows that America is hell-bent on building the first world empire but Ali's book is the best indication that goal, if it happens, will be more costly than the Washington conservatives think it will be.
If there are any of those conservatives who would like an insight into the movements of the contemporary world, I suggest that they grasp the contents of chapter 19, if little else in Ali's book, because no more need be read to have an insight into the ways of our modern world.
Further, chapter 16 on his country-Pakistan, will not only illuminate an area of the world that for many decision makers is still a blank-a blank whose mysteriousness will, and perhaps already has, lead to involvement mistakes that will haunt this new empire for many years to come.
As one commentator said-this book is a modern political classic that should be read by all who think to captain the ship of this empire.
OTHER TITLES
9-11
Noam Chomsky
- Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace by Gore Vidal ( Paperback )
- The Stone Woman by Tariq Ali ( Paperback )
- The Book of Saladin: A Novel by Tariq Ali ( Paperback)
- Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta by Gore Vidal ( Paperback )
- The Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder by Gilbert Achcar , Peter Drucker ( Translator ) ( Paperback )
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