Defining Islamism

Prof. Bassam Tibi

Some scholars and historians trace the birth of Islamism and modern day Islamist movements, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, to the Muslim Brotherhood and to the ideological foundations it laid. As such, the Islamist ideology and worldview stands at the base of murderous terror acts, such as the September 11th attacks and the July 7th, 2005, London bombings, as well as horrific acts committed in the Middle East, including the genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq and the murder of thousands of innocent people in this region, the majority of whom were Muslim themselves.

How is Islamism defined and what are its main principles? How do Islamists abuse Islam?

References

• Tibi, Bassam, Islamism and Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012).

• Tibi, Bassam, Islam in Global Politics: Conflict and Cross-Civilizational Bridging (New York: Routledge, 2012).