Criticism of Islamism

The ideas and practices of the leaders, preachers, and movements of the Islamic revival movement known as Islamism (also known as Political Islam), have been criticized by Muslims (often Islamic modernists and liberals) and non-Muslims. Among those authors and scholars who have criticized Islamism, or some element of it, include Maajid Nawaz, Reza Aslan,Abdelwahab Meddeb,Muhammad Sa'id al-'Ashmawi,Khaled Abu al-Fadl,Gilles Kepel,Matthias Küntzel,Joseph E. B. Lumbard, and Olivier Roy.

Among the tenets of the Islamist movement that have come under criticism include: restrictions on freedom of expression to prevent apostasy from and insults to Islam; that Islam is not only a religion but a governing system; that historical Sharia, or Islamic law, is one, universal system of law, accessible to humanity, and necessary to enforcement for Islam to be truly practiced.

Explaining the development of Islamism (or at least jihadist Islamism), one critic (Khaled Abu al-Fadl) describes it as not so much an expression of religious revival and resurgence, but a phenomenon created by several factors:

According to Graham Fuller, a long-time observer of Middle Eastern politics and supporter of allowing Islamists to participate in politics, "One of the most egregious and damaging roles" played by some Islamists has been in "ruthlessly" attacking and instituting legal proceedings "against any writings on Islam they disagree with."

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