Islam, modernity and Islamism

This article by Tarek Mitri, a Lebanese specialist in the Christian and Muslim Arab world, offers a critical analysis of the Islamist phenomenon in the context of Western fears regarding Islam. Adopting both a sociological and political approach, the author rigorously distinguishes between Islam, Islamism and fundamentalism, notions that are frequently conflated in the European public debate. He shows that Islamism is a modern movement, born out of the legitimacy crisis of postcolonial states and the failure of secular nationalisms, and not an archaic resurgence. The article examines its two main strategies — the conquest of the state or the gradual Islamisation of society — as well as its internal contradictions. On the theological level, Mitri highlights the attempts at reinterpretation of the Shari'ah and the Dhimmah within the Islamist movement itself, opening up prospects for interreligious dialogue and coexistence between Christians and Muslims.