> [!note] New — 2026-03-20 ![[assets/covers/fanaticism.jpg]] Fanaticism is not a theological problem but an attitudinal one. Jabbour's diagnostic cuts across religious lines: fanatics in any tradition are primarily driven by hate, a sense of superiority, and self-righteousness. They demonise those who disagree with them and tend toward legalism and hypocrisy. The particular theology they hold is secondary; the psychological structure is the same whether the fanatic is Muslim, Christian, or secular. ## The misreading that sustains it ==The standard Western reading of Islamic extremism is that certain theological commitments — about jihad, about the nature of divine command, about the relationship between religion and political power — produce violence. Jabbour's counter-claim is that this has it backwards: the theology is recruited by the attitude, not the other way around. A person organised around hate and superiority will find, in any sufficiently large religious tradition, the texts and doctrines they need to legitimate that attitude. Remove the theology and the attitude remains; change the theology and the fanatic finds new justifications.[^jabbour-crescent-p85]== ==The practical implication is significant for cross-cultural engagement. If Islamic fanaticism were primarily theological, the solution would be correct doctrine. If it is primarily attitudinal — structured around contempt, self-righteousness, and the demonisation of the other — then the solution is the same transformation of character that genuine formation requires in any tradition. Fanaticism and [[Legalism]] are related pathologies: both replace actual goodness with the performance of superiority.== ## Appearances - [[The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross (2012)|*The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*]], Nabeel T. Jabbour (2012) - Ch. 6 'The Driving Force of Assumptions', p. 85 ## Related [[Legalism]] · [[Ethnocentrism]] · [[Discipleship]] · [[Power of Ideas]] [^jabbour-crescent-p85]: [[The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross (2012)]], p. 85 · 'I believe that fanatics are not primarily driven by theology but by an attitude of hate, superiority and self-righteousness. They demonize whoever does not agree with them, and they tend to be legalistic and hypocritical.'