Political influence of fringe religious groups

People in the US & Israel continue to show a strong fascination with ‘fundamentalism,’ influence of religious groups.

In many Western societies, instances of extremism and militancy in Muslim countries are cited as evidence of Islam’s alleged incompatibility with tolerance and dissent.

There is, of course, no empirical evidence to support this contention; it also ignores the political, economic and cultural factors that have gone into this phenomenon. In fact, religious extremism, sometimes inaccurately referred to as ‘fundamentalism’, came much later to Muslim countries than to those associated with democracy and liberalism. In this context, people in two self-proclaimed stalwarts of democracy — the US and Israel — one old and the other young, continue to show a strong fascination with ‘fundamentalism’, which appears to be deepening its influence on national politics and electoral processes.

This is particularly surprising in the case of the US (long a refuge for those persecuted in their own homelands on the basis of their religion), when it is recalled that separation of religion and state was enshrined in the Constitution and many of its founding fathers prided themselves on their commitment to keeping the two separate. And yet, religion has come to wield an increasingly powerful influence in national politics; its first evidence emerging during John F Kennedy’s (a Roman Catholic) campaign for the US Presidency. Ever since, fundamentalist groups have played a visible role in elections; but it was Barack Obama’s presidential bid that galvanised the right wing Christian evangelicals to demonstrate their clout in national politics, with many alleging that he was a ‘closet Muslim’, influencing some 25 per cent of Americans to believe that he was not a Christian!

Israel, too, has had problems with fundamentalist groups, some of whom have spawned extremism and militancy, impacting on both domestic and foreign policies. In addition to its historical ‘divide’ between the European Jews (Ashkenazi) and local Jews (Sephardic), the country has gone through another transformation, with over a million Jews coming from the former Soviet Union, most of whom are deeply conservative, thus strengthening extreme right wing parties. This has influenced not only politics but social behaviour as well, that is deeply worrying the moderates. Recent reports indicate discrimination against females becoming institutionalised and even socially acceptable in government circles.

Women’s exclusion, known as ‘hadarat nashim’, is advocated forcefully by ultra orthodox sects who accuse liberals of waging a war against ‘pious’ people. The best known of these ultra-orthodox sects, known as the Haredim are even ambivalent about the establishment of the Israeli state, convinced that it was insufficiently religious and established prematurely, because the Messiah had not yet arrived! More significantly, they run their own schools, which are unregulated by the state and, therefore, follow their own syllabi. Sounds familiar to many of us in Pakistan!

This is a phenomenon that is assuming unprecedented importance in American politics as well, with evangelical groups coming together to exert influence in both local and national electoral processes, particularly to undercut moderate Republicans. It is also a by-product of their influence that prompts those aspiring for elected office in the US, to swear their loyalty to Israel, occasionally in rather obsequious ways.

It is in this context that former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich’s recent statement about the Palestinians being an “invented people”, should be viewed: as a product of the deeply symbiotic relations between Christian evangelicals in the US and the ultra-orthodox in Israel. This also explains the deep embarrassment suffered by President Obama, when his much heralded initiative on the Middle East was scuttled by the Israeli leadership, confident as it was of unquestioning support in the US Congress. Ever since, Obama has repeatedly reiterated his loyalty to the Jewish state, but has not been forgiven for this initiative, nor has it prevented his Republican opponents from accusing him of “throwing Israel under the bus”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2012.