Islamism
noun
Is·lam·ism
is-ˈlä-ˌmi-zəm 
iz-,
-ˈla-;
ˈiz-lə-
1
: the faith, doctrine, or cause of Islam
2
: a popular reform movement advocating the reordering of government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam
Examples of Islamism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Rich and once powerful democracies are weakened in climates favoring Islamism.
—
Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Conservative Christians have flooded social media with support for Cardinal Robert Sarah to succeed the late Pope Francis because of his strong traditionalist stands on sexuality and church doctrine as well as his opposition to mass immigration and Islamism.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism.
—Nafees Hamid, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
Sisi's Egypt was also seen as a bulwark against Islamism, as the Egyptian leader had ousted and imprisoned the Muslim Brotherhood.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
But sometimes, as in the New Orleans attack, the driving ideology is radical Islamism.
—Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2025
The two leading Gulf powers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are taking a cautious approach, because Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel faction that has seized control of much of Syria, leans toward Islamism and was once affiliated with the extremist group Al Qaeda.
—Ismaeel Naar, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
Opening the Abraham Accords to these new members would help remind the world that there are many Muslim countries who favor tolerance, peace and stability and want nothing to do with the corrosive brand of Islamism that has wrecked economies and devastated communities.
—Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Syria The large question hanging over our Syria policy is whether the rebel group chiefly responsible for toppling the Assad regime, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, is sincere in its renunciation of terrorism and Taliban-style Islamism.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2024
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Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Conservative Christians have flooded social media with support for Cardinal Robert Sarah to succeed the late Pope Francis because of his strong traditionalist stands on sexuality and church doctrine as well as his opposition to mass immigration and Islamism.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism.
—Nafees Hamid, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025
Sisi's Egypt was also seen as a bulwark against Islamism, as the Egyptian leader had ousted and imprisoned the Muslim Brotherhood.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
But sometimes, as in the New Orleans attack, the driving ideology is radical Islamism.
—Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2025
The two leading Gulf powers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are taking a cautious approach, because Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel faction that has seized control of much of Syria, leans toward Islamism and was once affiliated with the extremist group Al Qaeda.
—Ismaeel Naar, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025
Opening the Abraham Accords to these new members would help remind the world that there are many Muslim countries who favor tolerance, peace and stability and want nothing to do with the corrosive brand of Islamism that has wrecked economies and devastated communities.
—Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Syria The large question hanging over our Syria policy is whether the rebel group chiefly responsible for toppling the Assad regime, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, is sincere in its renunciation of terrorism and Taliban-style Islamism.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Islamism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Islamism. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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