MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

2
207
to see that fundamentalism is also engaged in politics to a great extent. The types
of fundamentalist attitudes and acts vary considerably; they can include hostility to
homosexuals, prejudice against women, separation of sexes, prejudice against ethnic
or racial minorities, or violent acts such as mobbing, street fights, assassinations or
suicide bombings.
A fanatic is someone marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense, uncritical
devotion 33 to a cause, and excessive intolerance of opposing views. Being a fan of something
or somebody is different from being a fanatic. Many people are fans of football
clubs, pop singers, movies or trends. Their behaviours can be viewed as unusual or
unconventional by others, but they do not necessarily violate social norms. 34 Similarly,
fanaticism is a kind of obsession that rejects any doubt or questioning of the phenomenon
which is liked, worshipped and loved. This behaviour is not specific to religions
and it is possible to see fanatics in many aspects of life. Fanaticism often implies intolerance,
the violation of human rights and the use of violence for the achievement of its
goals.
In terms of religious fanaticism, it is possible to argue that fundamentalist groups justify
violence with fanaticism. It then becomes an extreme form of religious fundamentalism
in which the acts of the religious fanatic go well beyond social norms and formal
laws, and reach a violent level. One aspect of both phenomena which is always underestimated
is that religious fundamentalism and fanaticism often harm not only
others who are perceived as threats but also members of the same religious belief, for
example women.
Problems are often caused by the inappropriateness of state structures and administrations,
and their consequent inability to take into account and deal with religious
diversity. To ensure religious pluralism, nation states are often recommended to: 35
guarantee freedom of conscience and religious expression (by allowing all religions
to develop in identical conditions; by facilitating observance of religious
rites and customs, for example, of marriage, dress or holy days; by ensuring
freedom and equal rights of education to all citizens regardless of their religious
belief; and by ensuring fair and equal access to the public media for all religions);
promote education about religions (by encouraging schools to teach the comparative
history of different religions, stressing their origins, the similarities in
some of their values and the diversity of their customs, traditions and festivals);
promote better relations with and between religions (by engaging in dialogue
between religions, theologians, philosophers and historians); and
promote the cultural and social expression of religions (by ensuring equal
conditions for the maintenance and conservation of religious buildings and
other assets of all religions; by safeguarding cultural traditions and different
religious festivals).
Q: Can you think of ways of ensuring and valuing religious pluralism in
your daily life or in international youth activities?
Many recent efforts to ensure religious pluralism refer to inter-religious or inter-faith
dialogue, which is also assigned priority within Euro-Mediterranean relations between
the region’s religions: notably Islam, Christianity and Judaism. To the extent that conflicts
increasingly have religious associations, the promotion of inter-religious dialogue and
Themes