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Islamism, Islamist, Islamiste, Islamicist |
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The term Islamist was adapted from the French term Islamiste, replacing the term Islamicist that was previously in use in the English language.1
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1 Translator's note, Gilles Kepel, The Prophet and Pharaoh. |
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Islamism is an umbrella term commonly applied to a variety of Islamic movements that are actually quite diverse. Examples of movements commonly grouped under the 'Islamist' heading are Saudi Wahhabism, al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Taliban and less militant Muslim groups. Sometimes the term is used so broadly as to include the revolutionary doctrine of the Iranian regime (a radical form of Shi'ism). |
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The most useful definition of Islamism is encapsulated in the synonym 'Political Islam', which refers to those political movements that treat Islam as their political ideology. Indeed, |
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This definition differentiates Islamism from secular political groupings such as socialism and from mainstream/traditional Islam, which does not treat the Islamic scriptures as a blueprint for political theory. The term Islamism does not necessarily imply militancy. |
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Aside from the term's utility as an umbrella term where it is unclear to what theory a particular group or individual subscribes, lumping together very different groups under the heading of Islamism can lead to confusion by implying that Wahhabism, the Taliban and the Salafis of al-Qaeda constitute an ideologically homogeneous wing of Islam. In fact, Wahhabism is a form of neo-Hanbali Islamic Revivalism, the Taliban is a debased form of Hanafism and many radical Salafis actually reject the division of Sunni Islam into madhhabs (such as Hanbalism and Hanafism). |
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| Author |
Trevor Stanley |
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| Citing this page | This is a dynamic reference. Details may be added, deleted or changed without notice. If you intend to cite this page, PWHCE advises making a copy and recording the date of download for your own reference.
Sample citation:
Trevor Stanley, Definition: Islamism, Islamist, Islamiste, Islamicist, Perspectives on World History and Current Events, July 2005. URL: http://www.pwhce.org/islamism.html Downloaded: | |
| See Also | Shirk, tawhid, takfiri. | |
