Moslem or Islamist?

Question

What is the difference between a Moslem and Islamist? A person who follows the religion of Islam is a Moslem. There are radical Moslems and fundamental Moslems. Why say Islamist?

Answer 1

A Muslim is any follower of Islam.

The term "Islamist" was first coined by the Egyptian press, to describe those who were trying to overthrow the secular government and replace with an Islamic state rule.

Today you hear the term "Islamist" used to describe any radical group of Muslims who use violence and military force to promote their ideals for setting up Islamic governments, and fighting secularism. The term "Muslim Crusader" or "Islamofascist" are synonyms for "Islamists".

Answer 2

I'm a Muslim and I have often wondered where this term came from. It is not a term found in the Qur'an or Sunnah so therefore it has nothing to do with Islam ......

The religion is called Islam and the one who follows Islam is called a Muslim. This is the name Allah has chosen for His servants, so no-one has the right to change it.

When I here all these new terms, such as Islamist, Jihadist, Fundamentalist, Wahabi and so on, I know these terms are created by non-Muslims. How do I know that? Because Muslims call themselves 'Muslims', they don't call themselves anything else, because there is no other name given in the Qur'an or Sunnah except that we should call ourselves 'Muslim' (one who submits) or 'Kafir' (one who disbelieves and denies the truth of Islam)

Answer 3

I take it you mean Muslim? A Muslim is a follower of the faith Islam. An Islamist is someone who true is a Muslim but their politics are for Sharia law or an Islamist state. A radical Muslim or a fundamental Muslim is not something that is associated with faith. I am a Muslim nothing goes in front of that word. For me to do so is like saying you are something other than a Muslim, i am not Sunni i am not radical i am not shite, i am not moderate. Islam states your a Muslim nothing else, no proceeding words. If someone is a fundamentalist or a radical there faith has nothing to do with it anyone of any faith can be a radical, fundamentalist or extremist they are nothing to do with the faith of Islam. Hope that clears it up for you.

Answer 4

I am proud to be a Muslim fundamentalist


I am a fundamentalist Muslim who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practise the fundamentals of Islam. A true Muslim does not shy away from being a fundamentalist. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim because, I know that the fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world. There is not a single fundamental of Islam that causes harm or is against the interests of the human race as a whole. Many people harbour misconceptions about Islam and consider several teachings of Islam to be unfair or improper. This is due to insufficient and incorrect knowledge of Islam. If one critically analyzes the teachings of Islam with an open mind, one cannot escape the fact that Islam is full of benefits both at the individual and collective levels.


4. Dictionary meaning of the word ‘fundamentalist’


According to Webster’s dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ was a movement in American Protestanism that arose in the earlier part of the 20th century. It was a reaction to modernism, and stressed the infallibility of the Bible, not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record. It stressed on belief in the Bible as the literal word of God. Thus fundamentalism was a word initially used for a group of Christians who believed that the Bible was the verbatim word of God without any errors and mistakes.

According to the Oxford dictionary ‘fundamentalism’ means ‘strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam’.

Today the moment a person uses the word fundamentalist he thinks of a Muslim who is a terrorist.


5. Every Muslim should be a terrorist


Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who causes terror. The moment a robber sees a policeman he is terrified. A policeman is a terrorist for the robber. Similarly every Muslim should be a terrorist for the antisocial elements of society, such as thieves, dacoits and rapists. Whenever such an anti-social element sees a Muslim, he should be terrified. It is true that the word ‘terrorist’ is generally used for a person who causes terror among the common people. But a true Muslim should only be a terrorist to selective people i.e. anti-social elements, and not to the common innocent people. In fact a Muslim should be a source of peace for innocent people.


6. Different labels given to the same individual for the same action, i.e. ‘terrorist’ and ‘patriot’


Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labeled as terrorists by the British government. The same individuals have been lauded by Indians for the same activities and hailed as ‘patriots’. Thus two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. One is calling him a terrorist while the other is calling him a patriot. Those who believed that Britain had a right to rule over India called these people terrorists, while those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule India called them patriots and freedom fighters.

It is therefore important that before a person is judged, he is given a fair hearing. Both sides of the argument should be heard, the situation should be analyzed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and then the person can be judged accordingly.


7. Islam means peace


Islam is derived from the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world.

Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam. He should be a terrorist only towards the antisocial elements in order to promote peace and justice in the society.

Answer 5

Islamist is a word that the media coined to refer to Muslims who are hard-liners or even for the religious ones so as to create an impression that Islam is something to be scared of. But in reality there is no such thing as Islamist as there is no such thing as Christianists or Judiasts. They just want to use the word because it could sound like Fascist. You know Islamophobia sells nowadays. And lambasting Islam and Muslims have become an accepted trend in our sick society...

Answer 6

I had not heard the term "Islamist" before. If I had to guess, I would say an Islamist was someone who was studying Islam, but not necessarily Muslim themselves.

BTW, I note that the Yahoo Answers spell-checker does not know the word either.

Answer 7

ISLAMIST in the west, islamist generally means a muslim who believes in establishing sharia law in society. or establishing a islamic political party. an islamist is very similar to a communist, for instance. a non-islamist muslim is someone who believes that islam should NOT be involved in politics or have any say in the matter of criminal laws. most often, such a person is of a sufi orientation. a non-islamist, when confronted by the evil pervasive in society, would say that each of us should try to make ourselves a better person and thus, if everyone did so, society would automatically rid itself of evil. this is a bit of a utopian worldview. an islamist on the other hand, would say that islamic law should be implemented as a political system or theocracy (as is the case in Iran), and when that happend, society could be cleansed of evil behavior by the threat of punishment and sharia from the authorities. so to answer your question, YES, the statement in question is true. islamists are actually a minority (maybe 20% - 30% or so) of all active muslims in the world. most active muslims tend to be more sufi oriented. ===================== laws of islam, which an islamist would normally wish to implement. - punishment for consumption or production of intoxicants - punishment for adultery and sex outside marriage - punishment for nudity in public - punishment for gambling - punishment for promoting homosexuality in public - removal of profane TV shows and cinema - removal of interest-based banking and finance - implementation of 5% charity tax for helping the poor

Answer 8

Islamist = Submission + ist = submissionist

Jihadist = Struggle + ist = strugglist.

These r just words thrown in to confuse and delude non-muslims away from Islam even further.

Answer 9

Muslims are Islamists -they are the same.

Islamist in my opinion sounds like a word that the news reporters use to make them sound like bad people.

Answer 10

It is my understanding that those who practice Islam prefer the term "Muslim." "Islamist" generally refers to a particular part of the faith, generally the more conservative part of the movement, that attempts to "implement Islamic values in all spheres of life."