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Islamism

Islamism

6 8.6
A political movement that wants the government to follow the rules and ideas of Islam
  • noun
  • /ˈɪzləmɪzəm/
: islamismo
  • Should the growth of Islamism be seen as a reaction to dismal living conditions and frustrated hopes?
  • radical Islamism
  • rise of Islamism
  • growth of Islamism

This was at the time when Islamism as we know it, political Islam was growing.

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Examples

  • Analysts fear a rising tide of Islamism is threatening to silence women's voices and undermine their rights.

  • Analysts fear a rising tide of Islamism is threatening to silence women's voices and undermine their rights.

  • Should people be worried about Islamism and, and is there a plan?

  • I think the rise of Islam and Islamism is a major, major issue.

  • Top officials did not consider terrorism or radical Islamism a high priority.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Just as Islamism casts a cloud over the Egyptian revolution, so it does throughout the region.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The general movement in the Middle East is away from the United States and towards Islamism, radical Islam, totalitarian Islam.

  • Few will dispute that Islamism in its "moderate" form is now in retreat.

  • As a movement distinct from the religion of Islam itself, Islamism traces back to Egypt.

Surface Forms

Islamism singular
Islamisms plural

Morphology

Islamism = Islam (semi-transparent) = Islam + ism

The word is transparently built from 'Islam' plus '-ism', but the resulting sense refers specifically to a political ideology associated with Islam rather than simply the religion itself.

Etymology

Islamism comes from Islam, the name of the religion in Arabic, and the ending -ism, which means a 'system' or 'belief' as in Buddhism or socialism. Because Islam originally means 'submission' to God, Islamism refers to a political or social movement that wants government and society to follow Islamic ideas.