Islamic Fundamentalism

The disappearance of bipolar system following the disintegration of the Soviet :union:, has also changed many strategic concepts. Central Asia, as a part of the Soviet empire, has become an arena for regional and global challenges after these transformations. The region, already faced with various political, economic, social and cultural problems, soon became a location for the activities of Islamic fundamentalists, which in turn intensified regional crisis. Different socio-political problems made the ground for these activities. The basic question of this paper is: What is the role of NATO enlargement and its effects on security provision in Central Asia? This paper tries to answer that, “what role can NATO play in Central Asia in order to provide security in this region specially after September 11th and the following events”. Based on current security issues in Central Asia, America has seriously emphasized on socio-economic reforms under the” Greater Middle East” framework. Central Asian leaders are obliged to control political, social and economic crisis to prevent terrorist acts and reduce public dissatisfaction. Political transformations following the Soviet :union: collapse have clearly revealed that the roots of threat and instability in Central Asia are essentially internal. Sooner or later, leaders of these states have to resolve these threats, based on a clear understanding of regional sociopolitical realities.

Islamic fundamentalism is a thought school in the Islamic World which is manifested in the formation of Islamic fundamentalist groups and different violent actions. The Horn of Africa is a region for Islamic fundamentalist movements. From past to present, the most active fundamentalist Islamic groups in the region are AIAI, ICU and Al-Shabab group. The most important issue in this relation is the relation between Islamic fundamentalism and geopolitics. This research is theoretical from viewpoint of the nature and method and also is descriptive-analytic in terms of its approach. The research data gathering procedure is based on library findings. The research analyzed the relation between Islamic fundamentalism and geopolitics with the investigation of Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Horn of Africa. The research main question is that what is the relation between geopolitics and the formation of Islamic fundamentalism in the Horn of Africa? The research findings showed that Islamic fundamentalism is in geopolitical thought and the leaders of Islamic fundamentalist groups not only follow geopolitical thought in their goals and utopias, but also the causes and roots of the formation of Islamic fundamentalist groups have geopolitical burden, and six geopolitical roots can be characterized for the formation of Islamic fundamentalist groups.