ABSTRACT
Islamic fundamentalism, as well as Islamic terrorism, is very much at odds with the general development towards a post-modern society. Thus, the requirements of post-modernism do not go down well in Muslim civilisation, where Islamic fundamentalism is both cause and effect. Islamic fundamentalism has become a major movement in all Muslim countries, supported by millions of believers in the Koran and practised in the mosques and the religious schools. Its political expression varies from one Muslim country to another, from being virtually in power to being suppressed or in jail. With 9/11, Islamic terrorism emerged as a global phenomenon, drawing its key support from Islamic fundamentalism. The chapter examines the Weber thesis about the historical conditions for modernisation and position the Muslim civilisation in relation to these conditions for a modern society. Post-modernism entails the unavoidable historicisation of the project of modernity.
