A Critical Assessment on Political Islam and Political Islamism

Public discussions on the terms and concepts of “Political Islam” and “Political Islamism” are being conducted throughout Europe—often highly emotional. Ultimately, this debate is one of integration policy, in which the limits and possibilities of political participation for the Muslim minorities are being renegotiated. The fundamental question that is being passionately debated is whether, and if so in what framework, legitimate political participation under explicitly Islamic auspices can or must be made possible within the liberal democratic frame of Western societies. Opponents and proponents of political activity by Muslim actors in European societies are often irreconcilably opposed to each other.