For several years Islamism has been associated with jihadism and violent extremism both in academia and in contemporary political debates. However, this association can be misleading: Islamism has much deeper roots than jihadi terrorism and it stands as a powerful and complex ideology inspiring thoughts, actions and groups all over the world. Emerging as a protest-for-justice ideology claiming freedom against Western colonisation of the Muslim world, Islamism has triggered both individual and groups worldwide since early 1900s. Almost as a sacred ideology – based on the need to revive Islam as the only saving grace for Muslims around the world – Islamism started being widely associated with violent jihadism after 9/11. Before then, Islamism was not automatically related to terrorism but to resistance.
Given that terrorists are only a small and definite portion of Islamists, this volume aims to re-focus research on Islamism beyond jihadism by collecting relevant contributions on Islamist but non-violent organisations.
More precisely, this volume seeks original contributions investigating the following issues:
- The origins of Islamism and the differences with jihadism
- The evolution of Islamism over time and places
- The role played by non-jihadist Islamist organisations in different national contexts and their appeal
Contributors are required to submit a 500-word abstract of their chapter along with a preliminary list of references and their short biography for the the editor’s consideration by 30th August 2020.
Proposals can be sent via email to elisa.orofino@anglia.ac.uk. The editor will be in contact with applicants in the months thereafter with news about the outcome of the abstract review process. Eventual submissions will comprise a 8,000 word chapter (including references and figures).
Elisa Orofino at elisa.orofino@anglia.ac.uk
William Whitehead at william.whitehead@vernonpress.com