To watch the Arab world’s political transformation over the past year has been, in part, to track the inexorable rise of Islamism. Islamist groups—that is, parties favoring a more religious society—are dominating elections. Secular politicians and thinkers in the Arab world complain about the “Islamicization” of public life; scholars study the sociology of Islamist movements, while theologians pick apart the ideological dimensions of Islamism. This March, the US Institute for Peace published a collection of essays surveying the recent changes in the Arab world, entitled “The Islamists Are Coming: Who They Really Are.”
The Internationalist
Comments
What this essay avoids discussing is the type of society that Islamists are trying to construct. Does a society (including its government) built on the Koran have room for Christians, Jews, atheists, gays, independent women, hedonists, etc.? I doubt it. There may be different strategies for achieving Islamist goals but that does not imply that Islamists are tolerant and respect diversity.
Islamist is just a euphemism for doctrinaire Muslim. We don't like to use the term doctrinaire Muslim because it carries with it an acknowledgement that the doctrine of Islam is something to be concerned about, and that is so un-PC.