Multiculturalism represents a reaction against both liberalism and fascism that defends the rights of cultural expression for vulnerable minorities, based upon the inalienable rights and dignity of all humans to express their identity as social beings. Multiculturalism insists on the importance of multiple, co-existing, equal, cultural-identity groups to provide the cumulative essence of human civilization.

Multiculturalism rejects conformity to a single identity and demands the protection of minorities

Multiculturalism rejects individualism in liberalism, arguing that individualism denies us our dignity and rights to collective cultural self-expression. Liberals seek to liberate people from their prejudices by pulling people out of their group contexts.

Dignity as social creatures, expressed through distinctive cultures is a moral value even higher than equality. Because people define themselves in terms of their group membership, political values must reflect collective rationality. Multiculturalists understand morality in terms of the traditions, folkways and mores of groups.

Because race carries little significant meaning, culture has become a more important term for distinguishing among groups. Anthropologists conclude that all cultures are equal and all deserve protection.

The French speaking Quebecois have refused to assimilate and integrate, but instead demanded special protection and state funding to preserve their culture. The indigenous "First Nations," such as the Inuit, challenged the hypocrisy of their exclusion from state policies granting formal recognition to only the two cultures of Quebecois and English-speaking. Therefore, in 1971 the Canadian government adopted a policy of multiculturalism, which consists of a special kind of relationship adopted by the state towards different cultural communities to justify state funding for religious and first-language schools, festivals, cultural projects and book purchasing.

The intellectual and social movements associated with the Civil Rights revolution of the 1960s, including La Raza, Black Power, the American Indian Movement and the Women’s Liberation movement led to demands for a greater "cultural diversity" in the what schools teach. These groups complained that public school classes in history, literature, and social studies reflected a Eurocentric bias and even racist attitudes.

Defenders of the dignity of minority groups demanded protection for their ethnic, racial and cultural distinctions--against "oppressive assimilation." This represents the development of "identity politics" meaning defining political interests purely in terms of some group category such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion, etc.

In both Canada and the US, we see that identity groups provide resources that individuals can use in the competition for resources.

Political competition strengthens these identities and reduces the potential for people to cross boundaries between groups or to live in multiple groups at various times.

Multiculturalism is therefore a symptom of the failure of liberalism and a self-criticism within liberalism.

Religious fundamentalism represents a social movement created in reaction to crises created by: secularization, post-colonialism and globalization.

Religious fundamentalism becomes an ideology when it becomes inseparable from law and politics and attempts to regenerate and reconstruct society.

Fundamentalism consists of a set of simple principles providing exact and unambiguous definitions of identity extracted from a body of religious writings.

Fundamentalist movements originate with charismatic personality that claims the moral purity, spiritual insight and experience with struggle to reduce the complexity of scriptures to a political project.

Fundamentalists seek to take control of government to use it as an instrument of moral regeneration based on the original or classical form of the theoretical system as its core.

Fundamentalism rejects both relativism and revisionism. Fundamentalism represents more than simple conservatism or scriptural literalism.

• 1) Fundamentalism generates intense passions by stimulating contention over core values and beliefs in within,
• 2) Uses identity politics to create an "in-group" and a threatening "other," and
• 3) Convinces believers that they are fighting for the will of God against people who are actively opposing God's purposes.

The ambitions for global activity carried by Islam and Christianity as transnational religions based on a single sacred text and promising believers direct access to spiritual wisdom generate the potential for a global political movement.

Other forms of fundamentalism represent ethnic mobilizations.

Islamic fundamentalism derives from a religion based upon scriptural literalism, in predominantly conservative and sometimes xenophobic societies that are reacting to a recent history of Western dominance and ongoing globalization. Islamic fundamentalism can be quietist (seeking a renewed personal communion with Allah) but has also lead to a new political ideology called Islamism. Islamism represents a novel political entrepreneurship reacting to failed modernization, autocratic states, globalization and western ideological doctrines promoting the efficacy of political violence.

Although most Christian fundamentalists seek only personal spiritual salvation and to avoid corrupt society rather than the political regeneration of society, some seek social reform. Fundamentalists are working within the pluralistic and constitutional framework of the American political system providing campaign finance and organizing voter registration drives.

Other fundamentalist movements, relying on religion as a primordial criteria for group membership have emerged in reaction to change in national identity or the growth of a rival ethnic or religious groups. They seek to clarify or redefine national or ethnic identity.

• Militant Hinduism-- has emerged to challenge the multi-ethnic and multicultural mosaic of India. They demand the cultural conversion of other communities.
• Sikh fundamentalism has created a chain reaction of threats and resentments, and inspired demands for recognition by other identity groups by closely linking ethnic identity to religious fervor.
• Even though Buddhism purports to promote religious toleration and non-violence, in Sri Lanka, tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils has stimulated the spread of Buddhist nationalism.

A) As more people adjust to modernization, religion will decline until it becomes only one form of empty nationalist rhetoric.

B) Because religious fundamentalists adapt to and embrace modern technology while secularism and liberal culture fail to meet deep human needs or to provide authoritative values and a moral social order, religion will become more significant, even to providing the distinctive political and cultural identity for transnational power blocs.

• 1) Modernism within Islam (1840-1940) provided a foundation for the future development of Islamism by arguing for political liberation and the "open ijtihad."
• 2) This led to a revivalist movement, which argued that Muslims had lost Allah’s blessing because they had departed from the original example of life set by Mohammed and the first three generations of his followers--the "Salafi" movement. Salafis are fundamentalists, and some have become Islamists--believing that their political aims can be achieved by violence against infidel civilians.
• 3) Many of the reformers and organizers of Islamic movements began their intellectual life in Sufi movements, and because education stimulated by the modernist movements, studied political ideologies that justified violence for political aims.
• 4) Islamism represents a political ideology with specific targets for attack, a doctrine of justification, and a rational-instrumental strategy for achieving these aims, supported by sophisticated organizational resources, financing, technology and a social base.

A movement derived from Wahhabism that advocates the military conquest and conversion of the infidel on point of death is called "Islamist." Some scholars use the term "Jihadist Salafi."

Islamism represents the hybrid--combination of three different social movements:

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hasan al-Banna, provided both a stronger philosophical basis for Salafi thought and an extraordinarily effective organizational model.

The alliance between the Saudi royal family and followers of Muhammed Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab resulting in state sponsorship of a specific foundational ideological form of political Islam. This led to an extensive network of seminaries, mosques, literature publication and endowed university chairs as well as diplomatic cover for many activities.

The Deobandi puritanical reform and modernization movement, derived from the writings of Mawdudi advocating the establishment of an Islamic state, is remarkable for its intolerance of contact or influence from non-Muslims. Deobanis believe that Islam must be purged of all foreign elements and that all non-Muslims are by definition a threat to Muslims.

After the Egyptian government reacted to assassinations committed by the Muslim Brotherhood with prison time, tortures and executions, many Brothers moved to Saudi Arabia, where they joined with Wahhabis. After the Saudi government responded similarly to attacks against itself and its control over religious, many went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet infidels. In Pakistan and Afghanistan these people gained the support of the Deobandis.

Modernists--Demanded that Ijtihad (Independent investigation) be considered "open."

All mujadids (reformers) require this.

Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb--Redefined "jahiliya" to describe Muslims who by their departure from "pure" Islam have become the enemies of Islam.

Sayyid Qutb and Ayman al-Zawahiri--redefined jihad as a military conflict for political liberation, killing the infidel everywhere.

To liberate holy Saudi Arabia, land of Mecca and Medina, drive American troops out of Arabia, overthrow the Ahl Saud family and support other Islamist movements in establishing an global Islamic state.

Their strategy involved two steps: First, they created a dispersed network of independent Islamist movements by providing training, propaganda, logistics and financing until these groups could operate on their own.

Second, they believed that by provoking the West to attack Muslims, they could use the images created to mobilize a massive Muslim rebellion against corrupt and insufficiently zealous Muslim rulers. The massive political movements created would grow and sweep the globe, until Muslim rulers ruled over all men.