Most Muslims are not Islamist extremists (Picture: PA)
As David Cameron sets out to tackle extremism, we want to clear something up.
They may sound similar but being a follower of Islam doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an Islamist.
You see Islam is a religion that Muslims follow, whereas Islamism is the ‘desire to impose any version of Islam over society’.
If you want to go deeper, Jihadism is the use of ‘force to spread Islamism’, as explained by reformed Islamist Maajid Nawaz who helped the prime minister with today’s extremism speech.
The degree to which someone can impose Islam over someone can differ, but Nawaz argues it’s all ‘repugnant’.
It can be something as simple as forcing someone to wear a burka, or you could go full Isis, and kill people just for being gay.
Isis are Islamist extremist (Picture: Medyan Dairieh)
Caliphates (political-religious states) are also big with Islamists, with Islamic State currently trying to get its one off the ground.
But we must point out not all Islamists use force to spread their ideology.
David Cameron delivered a speech today (Picture: PA)
David Cameron today launched a five-year plan to defeat Islamist extremism, saying it was time to counter the ideology that had attracted so many young people to Islamic State (Isis).
He argued it must be countered so Britain becomes a more cohesive nation in which young Muslims feel they have a stake.
Cameron also took on the sensitive question of the role Britain’s Muslim community should play in fighting Islamic State, arguing extreme views such as believing in a ‘Jewish conspiracy’ and opposition to ‘fundamental liberal values’ were the gateway to violence.
http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/20/whats-the-difference-between-islam-and-islamism-5304275/