World Almanac of Islamism 2011

“Islamism” is a word which may be unfamiliar to many. It is used here “to describe movements, groups and individuals which harness religious values and ideals to serve a larger political agenda aimed at spreading or imposing Islamic law, either locally, regionally or internationally”. It is worth lingering on this point for this is not a book on Islam as a purely religious or cultural phenomenon. There is now a much sharper political orientation to some varieties of Islam as the five Cataloguing‐in‐Publication headings make clear: Islam and world politics; World politics – 1989‐; Radicalism – religious aspects; Islamic fundamentalism;...