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Fundamentalism is seen as the major threat to world peace today a conclusion impossible to ignore since the events in New York on September But what does fundamentalism really mean Since it was coined by American Protestant evangelicals in the s the use of the term fundamentalist has expanded to include a diverse range of radical conservatives and ideological purists not all religious Fundamentalism could now mean both militant Israeli settlers as well as the Islamist radicals who oppose them it can mean Christians Hindus animal liberationists and even Buddhist nationalists Here Middle East expert Malise Ruthven investigates fundamentalisms historical social religious political and ideological roots and tackles the polemic and stereotypes surrounding this complex phenomena--one that eludes simple definition yet urgently needs to be understood.