"Fundamentalism" we find that it root-word is Fundamental and it means the basic teachings or basic ideas of social and moral values and traditions. It is not focused on religion; it is applied on the whole society without any difference of religion, caste and race. Unfortunately there are some hidden forces that are misusing it, confusing the people and trying to manipulate world peace.

According to social scientists man is a social animal. What is the difference between an animal and a social animal? The basic difference is that a man has some social relations and values, traditions, rights and obligations. These are basic factors, which convert a social animal into a human being. In fact these factors are fundamentals of a society. The man who believes in these fundamentals is to be considered a fundamentalist. So we think that every person in every part of the world is fundamentalist, or for the sake of social harmony, peace and development every person ought to be fundamentalist.

While I think Siddiqui makes an impressive point, in the West we really don’t need to use "fundamentalist" for the outlook he describes. In fact, we already have a more than apt term that applies to a person who holds this particular viewpoint. In America they are called "conservatives."

[Note: For more on what the original "Fundamentalists" believed check out the some of the articles from the original volumes of The Fundamentals. Evangelicals may be surprised how many "fundie" doctrines they already believe while some "Fundamentalist" may be dismayed that their pet issues (i.e., KJV-only) would have been considered peculiarly irrelevant by the original "fundamentalist" scholars.]