Islamism

Islamism, also known as Political Islam (إسلام سياسي‎‎ islām siyāsī), is an Islamic revival movement often characterized by moral conservatism, literalism, and the attempt "to implement Islamic values in all spheres of life." Islamism favors the reordering of government and society in accordance with the Shari'a. The different Islamist movements have been described as "oscillating between two poles": at one end is a strategy of Islamization of society through state power seized by revolution or invasion; at the other "reformist" pole Islamists work to Islamize society gradually "from the botto Islamism, also known as Political Islam (إسلام سياسي‎‎ islām siyāsī), is an Islamic revival movement often characterized by moral conservatism, literalism, and the attempt "to implement Islamic values in all spheres of life." Islamism favors the reordering of government and society in accordance with the Shari'a. The different Islamist movements have been described as "oscillating between two poles": at one end is a strategy of Islamization of society through state power seized by revolution or invasion; at the other "reformist" pole Islamists work to Islamize society gradually "from the bottom up". The movements have "arguably altered the Middle East more than any trend since the modern states gained independence", redefining "politics and even borders" according to journalist Robin Wright.

Islamists may emphasize the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law); of pan-Islamic political unity, including an Islamic state; and of the selective removal of non-Muslim, particularly Western military, economic, political, social, or cultural influences in the Muslim world that they believe to be incompatible with Islam.

Some observers (such as Graham Fuller) suggest Islamism's tenets are less strict, and can be defined as a form of identity politics or "support for [Muslim] identity, authenticity, broader regionalism, revivalism, [and] revitalization of the community." Following the Arab Spring, political Islam became heavily involved with political democracy, but also spawned "the most aggressive and ambitious Islamist militia" to date, ISIS.

Islamists generally oppose the use of the term, claiming that their political beliefs and goals are simply an expression of Islamic religious belief. Similarly, some experts (Bernard Lewis) favor the term "activist Islam", and some (Robin Wright) have equated the term "militant Islam" with Islamism.

Central and prominent figures of modern Islamism include Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, and Ruhollah Khomeini. Some of these proponents emphasise peaceful political processes, whereas Sayyid Qutb in particular called for violence, and those followers are generally considered Islamic extremists. Qutb however denounced the killing of innocents unlike modern extremists. ...more

Islamism Books

Radical: My Journey Out Of Islamist Extremism

The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion

Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue

The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the New Sunni Uprising

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam

عبد المنعم أبو الفتوح: شاهد على تاريخ الحركة الإسلامية في مصر 1970-1984

Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion With Radical Islam

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Quotes Tagged “Islamism”

“ No idea is above scrutiny and no people are beneath dignity. ”
― Maajid Nawaz, Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue

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“ Since I speak and write about this a good deal, I am often asked at public meetings, in what sometimes seems to me a rather prurient way, whether I myself or my family have 'ever been threatened' by jihadists. My answer is that yes, I have, and so has everyone else in the audience, if they have paid enough attention to the relevant bin-Ladenist broadcasts to notice the fact. ...more ”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch 22: A Memoir

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