Islamic Fundamentalism in South Asia

Islamic fundamentalism is a multifarious movement with diverse manifestations, components, and contextual historical and societal conditions. While the radical Islamists, for instance, seek to impose change from above through holy wars, others pursue a bottom-up approach to bring about the re-Islamisation of the society through extensive networks of social activity. Regardless of their particularistic properties, all Islamist groups, however, share a common goal of establishing an Islamic order (nizam Islami) for the actualisation of Muslim life. The fundamentalists may not have registered considerable success in electoral terms, but they continue to dominate political discourse because their message is capable of attracting a broad spectrum of society. On the basis of a broad understanding of Islamic fundamentalism as a religio-political movement, this article attempts a comparative study of the phenomenon in Pakistan and Bangladesh, two leading Muslim states of South Asia. By examining the historical and social context, internal political developments including the role of state in promoting religious agenda and the varying impact of extraneous factors, the article argues that while Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh is containable, accomplishing it in Pakistan will be difficult because of the state appropriation of Islam in political discourse guaranteeing the movement’s staying power.