History of Islam

 

Islamism (Islamist+-ism; also Arabic: إسلام سياسي‎ ʾIslām siyāsī , lit., "Political Islam" is a set ofideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system, and that modern Muslims must return to the roots of their religion by uniting politically against non-Muslims. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary. Leading Islamist thinkers emphasized the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law); of pan-Islamic political unity; and of the elimination of non-Muslim, particularly Western military, economic, political, social, or cultural influences in theMuslim world, which they believe to be incompatible with Islam.Some observers 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".Many of those described as "Islamists" oppose the use of the term, and claim that their political beliefs and goals are simply an expression of Islamic religious belief. Similarly, some experts favor the term activist Islam, militant Islamorpolitical Islam instead.