In the West's views Muslim fundamentalism is associated with barbarism and fanaticism. Some Western scholars and academics have even defined Islamic fundamentalism as 'revolutionary neo-traditionalist Islamic radicalism.'

The concept of fundamentalism is not an easy one to grasp but what should be established at the very outset is, that it has been universally acknowledged, that fundamentalist movements have been formed by social, economic and political hardships. Muslim fundamentalists who have in the past suffered from a colonial experience and are suffering today from illegal occupation, whether in Palestine, Afghanistan or Iraq, have felt a threat to their core individuality. They believe that to reinforce their selfhood, to build defenses, one has to fight back against challengers. The alternative, in their eyes, to political domination.

If there is no law that is based on the principles of justice then the best solution, they believe, is to take up arms against their aggressors and fight for security in a very insecure world. Fundamentalism is not restricted to Islam only, but can be found

everywhere. Christian fundamentalism is found at the heart of American Power. Jewish fundamentalism is found in Israel.

Up until today Palestinians are suffering daily oppression from Israeli security forces. Palestinians are being branded as dangerous terrorists and fundamentalists, but the West has failed to explain why Muslim and Arab terrorism exists in the first place. Just the fact that Israel has never complied with U.N.-Resolutions 242 or 425, that call for the complete withdrawal from Arab land occupied in 1967, or Israel's illegal holding, settlement and construction in East Jerusalem, has inflamed Arabs to put up a fight

against cold injustices. Many Arab and Muslim states believe that the creation of Israel is one of the reasons for instability in the Arab world. To understand Muslim radical behavior we have to dive deeper into Muslim history and also look into the roots of violence.

Muslim fundamentalism has until today not been properly understood by external observers. Only a few Western academics, scholars, journalists and public officials have made an effort to unmask the reasons for such violent movements. They have now just recently begun to relate to the problem, examine it more carefully and disclose facts which have been hushed up deliberately by certain groups, particularly eminent policy makers and heads of states.

Today, however, trends are slowly beginning to change. Westerners are slowly coming around to understanding what has led to the sudden expansion of radical Islamic movements. Let us take the case of Algeria, once a secular state, where its people have turned to Islam and established a state based on Islamic law.

The Algerian revolution of 1962 brought to an end 130 years of French colonial rule in North Africa. It was a violent struggle that cost the lives of tens of thousands of Algerians. The first conquest of Algeria began in 1830. Christian Europe was unprepared to deal with Islam, its aim was to make Algeria less Arab and destroy the power of Islam.

The French were increasing their wealth at the expense of the Algerians. They were denigrating Islam and made it appear in the most humiliating form. The rights of

Algerian Muslims were constricted and Islamic courts were rejected in favor of French secular courts. The military in Algeria was controlled by the French and therefore there was not much that the natives could do. Western civilization was spread to the Algerians and as a result of this, the Algerians were bereft of their language, their Muslim belief and their culture.

Absorbing Western culture, the natives tried to become as French as possible. But there was still that Western antagonism … that French superiority. Algerians who became

French were still despised by the colonial power. It took the Algerians a struggle of 130 years to gain independence. Undeterred by the cruelty of the colonialists the Algerians, after driving out the French, still had the nerve to adopt the French model of government, that of secular democracy.

It was not very easy to understand the concept of democracy, but when it was finally understood in October 1991, where free elections clearly showed that the masses had decided to end the mores of the revolution's system and settled on an Islamic Republic, the rules of democracy were stopped early through a coup d'état.

The Algerians had found their own identity, their own culture and their own religion, but were deprived of their basic human right to establish that system of democracy. In January 2006 history repeated itself when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas won a sweeping victory in the first democratic Palestinian parliamentary elections in a decade.

But again the rules of democracy were stopped early because Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel could not deal with a Palestinian government which included Hamas. Also the U.S. government said, that it could not sanction a government led by Hamas. Later is was revealed in the Washington Post that the George W. Bush administration had secretly funneled $2 million into public service projects to help improve the standing of Fatah over Hamas.

Also the Iraq war, which began in March 2003 with the United States-led invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition, was illegal according to international law. Prior to the war, the U.S.-government argued that Iraq's possession and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to security. Only after the U.S.-led invasion began it was revealed that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction. America, we all know, did a great damage to Iraq and the Muslim world.

America's aim was to destroy Iraq's economic, educational and war-making capacity at the expense of millions of innocent Iraqi men, women and children who were killed in that war. Today we find Iraqis, destitute and impoverished, who are forced to sell their bodies or body parts, such as their kidneys for very little money in order to survive.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children have died of malnutrition and infections as a result of the occupation of Iraq and the sad thing is that the United Nations has done nothing to minimize the human suffering of exhausted Iraqis. Once we look into history we are able to find an explanation of the rise of Muslim fundamentalism and we also begin to understand how terrorism works.

Muslim fundamentalists believe that everyday survival is a sufficient reason to establish a political system of a state that is based on God's teachings because they view existing Western powers as unjust. The best solution, they believe, is to rise up against Western powers with the aim to fight oppression, exploitation, tyranny and the unjust political manifestations.

A variety of other factors have as well led to the misconception about radicalized Arabs and Muslims. The West knows little about real-life Arabs and Muslims and has rather decided to stick to the stereotype of dirty and dangerous Arabs.

Muslims are accused of fanaticism while tolerance is, according to Western media, only to be found in the Western culture. The fact that Islam teaches tolerance, brotherly love and philanthropy is completely ignored. When we take a look at early Islamic history we discover that it is the duty of Muslims to show respect for the Christians and the Jews, "the people of the Book," as the Koran states. The radical behavior of Muslims that we are witnessing today in the occupied Palestinian territories or in Iraq is a response to injustice and oppression. Islam is not a political ideology, Islam is harmony, for Muslims seek to live a good life in peace with others.

The fundamental teachings of Islam are very progressive, for Islam is against injustice. In the seventh century, when the Prophet Mohammed, (pbuh) sent his troops to fight the infidels, he is reported to have addressed them in the following terms:

"Go in God's name for God's cause with God's aid, and act as God wishes you to act. Show no treachery or falsehood towards His commands. Mutilate no one. Show mercy to the aged, the incapable, women and children. Only when it is inevitable, cut down a tree. Grant sanctuary to any prisoner from the least to the highest, in order that they may hear the word of truth. Whoever follows that truth becomes your brother. If he refuses, release him to go to his home when peace is made."

Islam lays emphasis upon equality between races and nations, but the Western media fails to evince that particular point.

Muslim Fundamentalism however, as it is seen today, is a political movement, for Muslim fanatics are using Islam as a pretext for acts of violence. They are doing today a lot of harm to Islam. We have witnessed many terrorist attacks on Western civilization, but there is no justification for such attacks in Islam, for violence is far from the teachings of Islam.

There are numerous verses in the Koran that emphasize peace, tolerance and tranquility and strongly prohibit violence. In fact, fanaticism is even strongly disapproved of in the Koran. The Koran does not encourage violence in response to violence. There is this misconception that Muslims pose a threat to the world, but it is essential to point out that those Muslim fundamentalists are today fighting Zionism, neo-colonialism, capitalism, exploitation and oppression.

The West needs to understand that if Arabs and Muslims continue to live under war, aggression and exploitation, than this has a tremendous effect on them. They develop a kind of defensive reaction and become radicalized, needless to say that the West has through its immoral acts in the Arab and Muslim countries encouraged Muslim fundamentalists to strike back at Western institutions. One can clearly say that frustrations of defeat and unhealthy circumstances have lead to political fanaticism.

The famous Arab poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran once said: "We are all warriors in the battle of life, but some lead and others follow." This assertion raises a fundamental question: Who leads and who is being led?

The proclamation: "Islam rules and is not being ruled," has become the motto of Muslim fundamentalists, but Muslims need to understand that violence is not at all a solution to deal with problems. Muslims would be well advised to follow the path of wisdom, patience and tolerance and the West would be well advised to grant Muslims, whether Palestinians, Afghanis or Iraqis, a long period of uninterrupted peace and help with their developments.

It is high time to search for a common language for the development of a Muslim-Christian-Jewish dialogue in order to restore peace and stability in the Arab and Muslim world.

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Nadwa Arar is an Alumni of SOAS, London University and author of the novel, "A Reunion in Damascus - East-West dialogue."