Islamismi

Islamismi, or Islamism, is a political ideology that seeks to organize public life and state policy according to Islamic principles. It aims to embed religious norms in law and governance and to shape political institutions through Islamic concepts. It is a political movement, not merely personal faith, and it is distinct from Islam as a religion or from all Muslims.

Modern Islamism arose in the 20th century amid anti-colonial movements, debates over modernization, and questions of national identity. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, became an influential model for political activity grounded in Islamic ideals. Jamaat-e-Islami, established in 1941, and other revivalist currents spread across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Islamism spans a spectrum from nonviolent groups seeking electoral participation to militant factions that reject parliament.

Common themes include the belief that Islam should guide law and public life, critique of secular liberalism, emphasis on moral governance and social welfare, and calls to implement sharia to varying degrees. Islamists differ on democracy, minority rights, gender equality, and the relation between religious authority and the state, producing a range of strategies from political participation to social activism.

In contemporary politics, Islamism remains influential but contested. Some parties have moderated and entered government, while others have faced repression. In Turkey, the ruling party is often described as Islamist-leaning, though it frames itself as conservative democratic. In several countries, Islamist organizations operate legally or semi-legally; in others they are banned. The term and its uses remain debated among scholars and policymakers.