English

Noun

Islamism ‎(countable and uncountable, plural Islamisms)

1. The religious system of Muslims; Islam, Mohammedanism. [from 17th c.]
   • 1827, Walter Scott, The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte:

     ‘There is no God but God, and Mahommed is his prophet’. A confession of faith which is in itself a declaration of Islamism.

   • 1852, Washington Irving, Tales from the Alhambra:

     They were the outposts and frontiers of Islamism.

2. A popular reform movement advocating the reordering of government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam.[from 20th c.]
   • 2012, Malise Ruthven, ‘Reason & Religion’, Literary Review, issue 399:

     Tibi makes an absolute distinction between Islamism, which he regards as a totalitarian political ideology resembling Nazism and communism, and Islam, the religion to which he adheres.

Synonyms

• Muslimism
• (Muslim fundamentalism): quran thumping

Translations

References

• Martin Kramer, Coming to Terms: Fundamentalists or Islamists?, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2003, pp. 65-77.

English

Proper noun

islamism

1. (rare) Alternative letter-case form of Islamism