WHY I AM A LUKEWARM ENEMY OF FUNDAMENTALISM

Abstract

Assuming that mere opposition to fundamentalism is counter-productive, if not hypocritical, this article calls for an understanding of the question fundamentalism seeks to answer: What is to fill the space between the ‘most sacred’ and the ‘most mundane’? It turns out that we struggle to provide better answers. If, instead of dismissing fundamentalism as a futile reaction against modernity, the ambiguous links between fundamentalism and postmodernity are explored, it is seen that modernity, late capitalism and postmodernity are intertwined in complex ways that defy standard classifications. Fundamentalism poses important questions to the contemporary world and thus deserves some sympathy. The conclusion suggests that we should, nevertheless, prefer to the negativity of fundamentalism sources of affirmation. These may be found in the spaces of the ‘most sacred’ and the ‘most mundane’ – but not simply in ‘secularity’.