The contemporary phenomenon of fundamentalism goes back to the same historical root in both Shiite and Sunni Islam. The magnitude and spread of religious violence in the Middle East has prevented a meticulous and scholarly study of fundamentalism in these two branches of Islam and its common roots.

“Political Islam” is the umbrella term for fundamentalism in both of these branches. Looking deeper and more carefully at regional affairs, we can see that conflicts among the different versions of “political Islam” are being presented as religious conflicts. While a large number of Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East do not think of themselves as participants in the current religious conflicts, various political interpretations of Islam have turned the region into a scene of war. The point worth noting is that these different approaches have very similar ideological structures as well as joint historical roots. Understanding this fact can change one’s outlook toward conflicts in the Middle East.

Islamic fundamentalism, in its current form as a social movement and apart from its historical religious background, is a recent phenomenon of approximately only 100 years. This movement was a reaction to the frailty and weakness of Islamic countries compared with their glorious pasts. Therefore, the fundamentalists emerged not out of conservative circles but rather out of reformist movements which were aiming for an “Islamic Awakening.”

The goal of fundamentalism in fact is to return to the “sacred text,” carefully executing what it says, without any interpretations, and rejecting the official, and more conservative, historical interpretations of it. For the fundamentalists, a return to the original and primary reading, and avoiding any latter interpretations, is the solution to all current problems.