Political Islam and Islamism are terms used interchangeably to describe Islamic parties and movements that have risen to preeminence since the 1960s in opposition to “secular” states. In this editorial for Religions, Senior Fellow Jocelyne Cesari argues that political Islam entails multiple forms of Islamic governance and is thus broader and more complex than Islamism, which refers to Islamic political parties. The editorial introduces a special issue of Religions on “Political Islam in World Politics,” guest edited by Cesari. The special issue is an attempt to offer a synthesis of the several decades of research on Islamism and to open new venues for the broadening of political Islam beyond Islamism. A full-text PDF is provided courtesy of Religions.
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