Their Millenarianism…and Ours

Over the last three posts, I’ve been exploring whether the concept of millenarianism will help explain the Arab/Islamic contribution to the wars in the Middle East. To review, millenarianism is a type of religious or quasi-religious experience where there is a belief in some kind of supernatural revolutionary change in society that usually is set off by the arrival of a charismatic leader. The charismatic leader either self-declares as a messianic figure, is appointed as such, or heralds the coming of a messiah or the transformation of society/the world. Millenarianism declares the current mundane world as a fallen, corrupt world which will be washed away either actively or passively by the coming of the messianic era.

A discussion of the motivations of Islamicist militants without the benefit of self-revealing interviews has suggested that recognizable rational political motivations are present in many but their willingness to sacrifice themselves and the religious beliefs that surround this suggest a millenarian tendency. In this case, the ideal type of a rational political actor might engage in a war but would do so to claim territory for themselves or their immediate group. In the case of the Islamic militants it appears as though the violence and revenge exacted upon their perceived oppressors is the payment they are seeking. They act as though the greatness of their cause is such that they will sacrifice everything.

It is the degree of self-sacrifice combined with the lack of planful middle or longer term political strategy that makes the “millenarian” label appropriate for Islamicist militants. Millenarians discount the present in the hopes for a future that is not only rewarding but is a state of bliss for all believers. It is this “carelessness” as well as a propensity to act on the metaphysical belief structure where the “end is neigh” that is the hallmark of a millenarian.

The current government of Iran, Hezbollah (or Hizbullah) and Al Qaeda and affiliates are most notable examples of what I have termed earlier “violent anti-Western Islamic millenarianism” in preference over the usual terms “Islamic fundamentalist”, “Islamic radicals”, “Islamicist terrorists”, and most recently “Islamic fascists”. But I think locating millenarianism solely in the Islamic world is not to get a complete understanding of the history nor the millenarian impulse as it lives on throughout the world. In fact, I think it’s effectiveness as a term for exactly the phenomena that unfold in the Islamic world will be severely hampered if one does not take an generalized view of how millenarianism has become part of the human condition.

Before entering into a general discussion of what an thorough analysis of millenarianism might look like, let’s review non-Islamic millenarianism today. Most notably and actively, Christian fundamentalists in the United States actively and openly discuss an endtime scenario in fiction and from the pulpit. The millenarian scenario in the extremely popular “Left Behind” books is all about the preparations and aftermath of a Christian inspired Second Coming scenario. There are philo-Semitic, philo-Zionist elements in Christian fundmentalism that are not an expression of a particular appreciation for Jewish people or the Jewish religion. The common millenarian scenario current in the Christian fundamentalist community is that the final conflict between good and evil will start in the Middle East and involves the military conflict between Israel and Arab countries. As one observes President Bush and his greater than average pro-Israeli stance (to the long-term detriment of Israeli security), one wonders the degree to which born again Christian millenarianism has not influenced his partisanship. It is difficult to underestimate the power and influence of millenarian beliefs in current Christian fundamentalism.

Fundamentalist Protestants are not the only religion with current manifest millenarian tendencies. Many Orthodox Jewish sects and even some less religious Jews, have sparked the settler movement in Israel that is motivated or justified largely by Biblical literalism. Many religious Jews are pre-occupied with the return of the Messiah, which plays a central role in Jewish religious thinking. The claiming of ancient parts of Judea that are not part of the current State of Israel by religious Jews and the settler phenomenon are not often couched openly in millenarian terms though the behavior of these religio-political actors is similar to other religious extremists in that current secular agreements are for them pre-empted by religious or pseudo-religious law.

The sense of religious mission which has informed Israeli expansion into the West Bank and Gaza, inflaming tensions with the Arab neighbors and Palestinians may not be specifically millenarian but the religious character of the activity of these zealots was not lost on the Arabs in the surround territories and countries. While responsibility can be found on all sides, the Israeli government’s accommodation of settler demands and preferential treatment of them made the emergence of religious extremism among the Palestinians that much more likely.

With the justified perception that additionally, the US government stood behind Israel’s own version of religious extremism and the late 20th century Jewish version of millenarianism, the current anti-Western Islamic millenarianism was given an additional impetus.  This is not your typical assertion made by some apologists for Arab extremism or fashionable left wing anti-Semites that Israel forced Palestinians or Arabs to act as they have.  Only that the regional power had a role in calling forward increasingly religious responses to its own support of religious extremism.

Currently, Islamicists are more openly and aggressively millenarian in their actions.  But to discuss millenarianism, means to be able to look in on the role of irrational religious commitments on all sides.  In another post, I will look on how examining the legacy of millenarianism will lead to a view of a potential solution to the increasingly grave situation in the Middle East.

Advertisement