How has globalization contributed to the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism in the UK?

This paper shall argue that Islamic fundamentalism in Britain reflects the ‘dark side of globalization’, to use Bruce Mazlish’s phrase. While globalization undoubtedly yields many benefits such as increased living standards, its ‘dark side’ has led many people the world over to feel ‘rootless’, lacking identity in a rapidly changing world. In the case of the Muslim community in Britain, this rootlessness manifests itself as religious fundamentalism for a small minority of Muslims.

This essay shall focus on how globalization creates individuals who struggle with two seemingly incompatible parts of their identity – an Islamic part and a Western part – a tug-of-war which, for some, resolves itself through a complete repudiation of the Western part and a lurch towards the most extreme manifestation of Islamic identity. It shall also argue that fundamentalism in Islam, as in most other religions, often emerges from a very real and unaffected religious devotion. Genuine religious zeal is a phenomenon which, like cultural/religious ‘identity-crisis’, remains underestimated and little-understood by Western commentators who are mostly secular/irreligious and have no experience of living as minorities within their country of birth. This argument shall be advanced by exploring different aspects of globalization, such as empire, immigration, and politics foreign and domestic, and how these contribute to the formation of ‘identity-crises’ which can lead to fundamentalism. 

 

The essay shall unfold according to a roughly chronological structure, although it may also be regarded as thematic:

  • The first section will deal with the subjugation of Islamic empires and kingdoms by Europeans during the ‘golden age’ of European imperialism. It will illustrate why these historical events continue to resonate with Muslims today.
  • The second section explores the history of Islamic immigration to Britain, and investigates the historical novelty of the phenomenon of mass non-European immigration into the UK. It will discuss how this ‘difference’ between Muslim immigrants (and their descendants) and native Britons sometimes leads to alienation and crises of identity which precipitate fundamentalism.
  • The third section deals with the British Muslim community’s reaction to global politics, particularly British military interventions in the Middle East.
  • The fourth section explores how the rise of populism and the radical left in British politics- which are both themselves byproducts of globalization– leads to 'identity politics' gradually becoming normalised. This emphasis on communal politicking reinforces fundamentalist tendencies.

 

I am still unsure whether to incorporate a section on the importance of globalized communication technologies for the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Britain. 

 

The types of sources used:

Muslim historians  

Western historians of religion

Philosophers

The works of Islamic fundamentalist ideologues

The works of psychologists and psychiatrists

Sociological studies of the Muslim community in Britain

Historians of Empire

Historians of Post-War Britain