Islamism, DEFINED
Definitions
Islamism has been defined as:
- "the belief that Islam should guide social and political as well as personal life" (Sheri Berman);[3]
- the belief that Islam should influence political systems (Cambridge English Dictionary);[37]
- "the [Islamic] ideology that guides society as a whole and that [teaches] law must be in conformity with the Islamic sharia", (W E. Shepard);[5]
- a combination of two pre-existing trends
- movements to revive the faith, weakened by "foreign influence, political opportunism, moral laxity, and the forgetting of sacred texts";[38]
- the more recent movement against imperialism/colonialism, morphed into a more simple anti-Westernism; formerly embraced by leftists and nationalists but whose supporters have turned to Islam.[38]
- a form of "religionized politics" and an instance of religious fundamentalism that imagines an Islamic community claiming global hegemony for its values (Bassam Tibi);[39]
- "political movement that favors reordering government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam" (Associated Press stylebook)[4][40]
- a political ideology which seeks to enforce Islamic precepts and norms as generally applicable rules for people's conduct; and whose adherents seek a state based on Islamic values and laws (sharia) and rejecting Western guiding principles, such as freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, artistic freedom and freedom of religion (Thomas Volk);[41]
- a broad set of political ideologies that utilize and draw inspiration from Islamic symbols and traditions in pursuit of a sociopolitical objective—also called "political Islam" (Britannica);[42]
- "[... has become shorthand for] 'Muslims we don't like.'" (Council on American–Islamic Relations—in complaint about AP's earlier definition of Islamist)[40]
- In "Western popular discourse generally uses 'Islamism' when discussing the negative or 'that-which-is-bad' in Muslim communities. The signifier, 'Islam,' on the other hand, is reserved for the positive or neutral." (David Belt);[43]
- a movement so broad and flexible it reaches out to "everything to everyone" in Islam, making it "unsustainable" (Tarek Osman);[44]
- an alternative social provider to the poor masses;
- an angry platform for the disillusioned young;
- a loud trumpet-call announcing "a return to the pure religion" to those seeking an identity;
- a "progressive, moderate religious platform" for the affluent and liberal;
- ... and at the extremes, a violent vehicle for rejectionists and radicals.[44]
- an Islamic "movement that seeks cultural differentiation from the West and reconnection with the pre-colonial symbolic universe", (François Burgat);[2]
- "the active assertion and promotion of beliefs, prescriptions, laws or policies that are held to be Islamic in character," (International Crisis Group);[25]
- a movement of "Muslims who draw upon the belief, symbols, and language of Islam to inspire, shape, and animate political activity;" which may contain moderate, tolerant, peaceful activists or those who "preach intolerance and espouse violence", (Robert H. Pelletreau);[45]
- "All who seek to Islamize their environment, whether in relation to their lives in society, their family circumstances, or the workplace ...", (Roy Olivier).[46]