Many also died among those who had been deceived by their own fanatical leaders and those who were carrying out the orders of their foreign patrons and sponsors.

Invariably, fundamentalists dismiss religious critiques of their views as evidence that religious authorities have been corrupted by hostile influences.

Through the glorious ages of that 16th century, when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind.

First, he admitted that eventually a Palestinian state would emerge something unthinkable for dyed in the wool ideological hawks.

When we signed the Declaration of Principles with the PLO, and the world welcomed our progress with a shower of blessings and warm wishes, the fanatics responded with a hail of threats and violence.

Nor is the Jewish state of Israel, where Messianic fanatics and religious nationalists have embraced a political theology that questions the very legitimacy of the democratic institutions, immune from this phenomenon.

These fanatics also believe that a return to the gold standard is inevitable as hyperinflation ensues from central banks debasement of paper money.

Those who give credence to the rumor point to an early decision of his cabinet to allocate 17 million to renovate the Jamkaran mosque, where devotees of the 12th Imam have prayed for centuries.

Serbian militant nationalists in the UNPAs are using their military might not only for attacking Croatian civilian and military targets, but also to terrorize moderate Serbs who refuse to follow their radical policy.

Radical Palestinians want to destroy Israel, while radical Israelis demand control over the entire West Bank, through either continued occupation or even (according to a tiny minority) a forcible removal of the Palestinian population.

There have always been fanatical individuals ready to die and kill in the name of their beliefs. But they seem far more dangerous nowadays as a result of technological advances that have democratized bomb making.

Moreover, Ethiopia s proximity to strife torn Yemen (where violentjihadis are congregating) just across the Red Sea, is complicating the country s foreign policy because of its role in working to keep Somalia out of Islamist control.

More open trade, economic growth, education, development of civil society institutions, and gradual increases in political participation might help strengthen the mainstream over time, as could the way Muslims are treated in Europe and the US. Equally important will be whether Western policies toward the Middle East satisfy mainstream Muslims or reinforce the radicals narrative of a war against Islam.

These zealots are not fundamentalists in any common sense of the term, since Hinduism is a religion without fundamentals there is no Hindu pope, no Hindu Sabbath, no single Hindu holy book, and no such thing as a Hindu heresy.

Instead, the most common interpretation has been that the world has entered a new era characterized by conflict within a particular civilization, namely Islam, with fundamentalist Muslims as much at war against moderates as against the West.