Formulation of the claim
Religious symbols can turn into material for political mobilization and mass rallying, and are used to confer legitimacy on action.
Explanation
Arkoun views religious symbols here as elements that can be strategically invested in within modern fundamentalist movements, rather than as fixed and closed meanings. These symbols are drawn out of their religious field to operate in another field: mobilization and stirring up.
This means that symbolic value does not remain confined to signification, but enters into a mobilizing mechanism that makes it useful in producing support and consolidating collective action. For this reason, the idea is linked in Arkoun’s work to the question of turning religion into a driving force in the public sphere.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom belongs to Arkoun’s reading of modern fundamentalist movements as movements that are adept at using religion’s symbolic capital in contexts of conflict and legitimation. It helps reveal how symbols are transferred from their religious meaning to their mobilizing function within a political discourse.
This idea is connected to what Arkoun is careful to emphasize in the book: that understanding the fundamentalist phenomenon does not stop at observing the stated discourse, but also traces the mechanisms by which religious symbols and language are used to build power and influence.
Limits of the claim
The atom does not mean that every use of religious symbols is necessarily political, nor that it alone explains all forms of fundamentalist mobilization. It simply points to the capacity of these symbols to be employed as a resource for rallying support and securing legitimacy.