The ideology was described in greatest detail by Sayyid Qutb who was executed by Nassar in 1965; so it has been around for awhile. What Qutb wrote about is what Islamists believe and practice today. Qutb was a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers which was influenced by Saudi Arabian Salafism. Maududi from Pakistan and a few others had the concept, but Qutb for the Sunnis and Khomeini for the Shiites firmed up the ideology. The term Westerners preferred was "Islamic Fundamentalism." This term explained the ideology to some extent to Westerners, a Fundamentalist form of Islam, like Fundamentalism is a Fundamentalist form of Christianity, but Islamists didn't like the use of a Christian term. I don't know who first coined the term Islamism but it is apt, meaning in the broadest sense a political form of Islam, an ideology and not strictly a religion. But the Islamists go further and argue that in its truest sense Islam must be considered to have a political element as well as a religious one. Islam covers the entire life and well-being of the Ummah which includes politics and the spread of Islam. The Jihad is part of it. Perhaps it has never been described quite as Sayyid Qutb described it, but his description is consistent with the Koran." Lawrence _____ From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2006 1:03 PM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: "Stand By Denmark" Rally It was my understanding that "Islamism" and "Islamisist" were terms coined after the destruction of the Towers to indicate radical fundamentalist Islam that was outside of the mainstream Islam. Am I wrong about this? Was it a term that existed in the Muslim world long prior to the Towers? If so, how was it defined by the Muslims? If westerners coin a word to describe a sect or group and then people who are not exactly in that sect or group apply the term to themselves, the word is pretty vacuous. Julie Krueger ========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: "Stand By Denmark" Rally Date: 2/25/06 2:49:00 P.M. Central Standard Time From: lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent on: No, you don't have to explain your beliefs to me. You don't have to explain anything to me. I made the assumption that any Islamist who called himself an Islamist was in reality an Islamist in accordance with the definition of Islamism. That is the way of language. If you use a term with a common definition, then that definition is to be assumed. However, if you use a common term with a common definition and want an uncommon definition to be understood, then the onus is on you to explain yourself. I didn't use the italicized words, but I felt safe to assume them. Why would someone join a discussion group and not wish to be understood? Lawrence ----Original Message----- From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Omar Kusturica Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2006 11:54 AM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: "Stand By Denmark" Rally Lawrence, I don't have to do any explaining; my beliefs are my personal matter in the end of the day, and fortunately you are not my boss. The point was not about me, it was about Islamism and that there are different kinds of Islamism. (I did use myself as an example at one point, which perhaps I ought to have avoided.) They share some features in common but that does not mean the differences are not important. Dogs and pigs are both animals yet we make a distinction between them. This is a fairly simple point and I posted the websites to illustrate it. If you want to know more about moderate or liberal Islamism (we didn't even get into the more exotic kinds such as Islamic Marxism or Islamic Anarchism), why not look at these websites ? I wish that I had the time to read all this stuff and then expound it to you, but I do have other obligations. Also, Lawrence, you might at some point consider analyzing, and perhaps exposing, your own ideological asumptions. Are you a neo-conservative ? If not, how come that you sound so much like William Cristol of Weekly Standard ? (Btw the currently prefered term is "The LOng War") ? http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/011/909rqgza.a sp __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html