Islamism and the construction of a new global social cosmos

Islamism is a multifaceted, multivariant, continuously changing global phenomenon. Constituted by a diverse and complex range of actors and groups, Islamism's origin is in the response to the crisis of modernity-a general state of existential disenchantment characterised by meaninglessness, de-rootedness, futurelessness, hopelessness, depravity, material and spiritual deprivation, and declining social and economic living standards produced from ill-conceived ideas of modernity and ongoing deficiencies in social, economic, and political key institutions and processes. The term Islamism refers to a religious ideology that advocates that public and political life should be guided by Islamic principles with a holistic reading of Islam as a complete way of life. Different local and international currents and thoughts take Islamists in separate directions but what unites them is the focus on Islam. For all versions of Islamism and for all Islamists, Islam is God's prescribed complete way of life and shari'a is an immutable divine law. Islamists believe that Islam has an important role to play in eliminating the unending woes of the modern world through its total rearrangement. They seek to bring about universal equality, prosperity, and enchantment through Islamisation of the modern world. They want to transform it into a new global social cosmos; one in which Allah and not humans reign supreme. Using nonviolent means of the power of persuasion through daʿwah or tarbiyah (preaching) and awareness-raising campaigns and employing liberal and human rights discourse, gradual Islamisation of the political discourse, highlighting the socio-political and economic "needs" of the populations, organizing social welfare and education programs Islamists first seek to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim masses and then gradually saturate the modern world with Islamic symbols and activities, socio-economic and political processes, and religious institutions.