ISLAMIC CULTURAL NATIONALISM
The protection of regional languages as a way of resisting globalization is just one part of a larger movement
that interests geographers and other scholars. The movement, known as cultural nationalism, is an effort to
protect regional and national cultures from the homogenizing impact of globalization, especially from the
penetrating influence of U.S. culture. Figures 5.24 and 5.25 provide a picture of two widespread aspects of U.S.
culture--films and television. Many other U.S. products also travel widely outside of U.S. borders (Figure
5.26). While many products of U.S. culture are welcomed abroad, many others are not. France, for example,
has been fighting for years against the "Americanization" of its language.
Nations can respond to the homogenizing forces of globalization and the spread of U.S. culture in any number
of ways. Some groups attempt to seal themselves off from undesirable influences. Other groups attempt to legislate
the flow of foreign ideas and values, as in some Muslim countries.
After Christianity, Islam possesses the next largest number of adherents worldwide--about 1 billion. The map
in Figure 5.27 shows the relative distribution of Muslims throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia; Figure 5.28
shows the heartland of Islamic religious practice,
The Islamic world includes very different societies and regions, from Southeast Asia to Africa. Muslims
comprise over 85 percent of the populations of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey, and most of the newly independent republics of
Central Asia and the Caucasus (including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan). In Albania,
Chad, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, Muslims make up 50 to 85 percent of the population. In India, Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia, China, Greece, Slovenia, Thailand, and the Philippines, significant Muslim minorities exist.
Islam is an Arabic term that means "submission,specifically submission to God's will. A Muslim is a member of
the community of believers whose duty is obedience .: submission to the will of God. As a revealed religion, m
recognizes the prophets of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, but Muhammad is considered the last
prophet and God's messenger on Earth. The Qur'an, the principal holy book of the Muslims, is considered the
word of God as revealed to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel beginning in about A.D. 610. There are two
fundamental sources of Islamic doctrine and practice: the Qur'an and the Sunna. Muslims regard the Qur'an as
directly spoken by God to Muhammad. The Sunna is not a written document, but a set of practical guidelines to
behavior. It is effectively the body of traditions that are derived from the words and actions of the prophet
Muhammad.
White Islam holds that God has four fundamental functions--creation, sustenance, guidance, and Judgment--