Islamic Fundamentalism as a lifestyle? a Sociological Study of Islamic Fundamentalism among Sunni Kurds of Iran

ABSTRACT

Islamic fundamentalism believes that in order to get rid of the problems in Islamic societies and achieve a just and moral society, we have to return to the basic principles and beliefs and behaviour of Islam. The idea, although is minority but has been emerging in different parts of Islamic world, meanwhile it appears in diverse forms and aspects. This article seeks to study a new aspect of Islamic fundamentalism. The research conducted by thematic analysis method among Sunni Kurds in Iran. The samples were selected by purposive sampling method and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings show that they try to implement Islamic extremist beliefs and behaviours as a way of life in their individual and social lives, rather than being extremist and military pragmatists. In their everyday life, they emphasize on the hijab (Islamic code of dressing) of women and girls, avoiding bank loans because of its usury, very limited and controlled personal and family relationships, resistance to modern lifestyles and other beavers which are considered as Islamic lifestyle, as they understand it.

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Ethical Approval Statement

The research was conducted with approval from Kharazmi University. All interviewees have been anonymised and gave consent to be interviewed for the purposes of this research.

Disclosure of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Iran National Science Foundation [96015468].