№ 1 - 2002
Mirsky G.I.
“Political Islam” and Western Society

In this article, by a well-known orientalist, features of modern Islamic fundamentalism are investigated. The subject discussed is the reasons of the outbreak of the Islamic radicalism; and referred viewpoints maintained by Western scholars, experts in Islam, are in this connection analyzed, too. The author holds that Islam cannot be considered weapons of fight of the poor and the rich; neither is it a purely religious phenomenon, in no way, thus, fight waged by Islam against Christianity. It’s rather the globalization process perceived as Americanization that can be considered the reason.