Theme 3: Religious Authority Provides a Powerful Platform for Resistance

Religious institutions and authorities have provided one of the most consistent platforms for resistance to imposed modernization. They have institutional networks, doctrines, language, and identities that resonate with traditional populations. Khomeini in Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the BJP in India, evangelical Christians in the United States and Latin America, and ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel all illustrate this pattern. Maria should not see this as unique to Islam; it is a global pattern.