Islamofascism has emerged into the national conversation with increasing frequency and prominence since the Sept. 11 attacks. Supporters of the term claim they are using it to describe a dangerous form of radicalism. But critics say the word is offensive and ill-considered — a poorly conceived shortcut to describe a mix of Islam and politics.

The term has also become so much a part of the polemics surrounding Islam that different people — including government leaders and media outlets — mean different things by the word.

This edition of ReligionLink provides background on the term’s usage and context, and the issues surrounding it.

Why it matters

Words are powerful and can have serious, sometimes deleterious consequences. That has often been true when discussions turn to religious topics, and since 9/11 one of the most controversial religious topics is Islam. Moreover, journalists have a particular responsibility to use fair and accurate language.

Background

Islamofascism, or Islamo-fascism, is often defined as an effort to identify forms of radical Islam with 20th-century European Fascist movements, or with right-wing violence in general. The term fascist has itself become difficult to define because it is so widely invoked, experts say. And that further complicates definitions.

Somewhat related to Islamofascism is the word Islamism. The Religion Newswriters stylebook describes an Islamist as referring “to a person who seeks to use a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam to further a political agenda. These political beliefs are referred to as Islamism, in contrast to Islam, which is the name of the Muslim religion.”

The origin of the term Islamofascism is unclear, with some possible citations as early as the 1930s. Usage appears to have increased after the Iranian revolution of 1979 and into the 1990s. But the term really gained currency after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In 2005, President George W. Bush began deploying the term, along with Islamic fascists, in an effort to focus attention on the White House strategy for the “war on terror.” But the president’s use of Islamo-fascism generated such controversy and a backlash among Muslims that he stopped using it.

The term has continued, however, to resonate in conservative — and especially neoconservative — circles.

The Terrorism Awareness Project was founded in 2007 by conservative activist David Horowitz. It sponsors an annual “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” on campuses, which often generates controversy.

Norman Podhoretz is the author of the 2007 book World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism. Podhoretz is the former editor of Commentary magazine and an adjunct scholar at the Hudson Institute who is often associated with the neoconservative movement.

Stories and resources

• Read the Wikipedia entry on Islamofascism. Because Wikipedia is an open-source site, journalists should double-check references and citations. But the entry does provide a good overview of the origins and meanings of the term.
• Read two columns from The Daily Reveille, the newspaper of Louisiana State University, debating the term. The first column, “Can we stop calling everything ‘Islamofascist?’” was published Oct. 18, 2007. A response, “Why ‘Islamofascism’ correctly identifies threat,” was published on Oct. 26, 2007.
• Read a Sept. 11, 2007, post by David Bernstein at the blog Volokh Conspiracy, which has a critical discussion of the term.
• Read an Oct. 1, 2006, “On Language” column by William Safire of The New York Times, which discusses the roots and meanings of the word.
• Read a Sept. 24, 2006, New York Times story, “‘Islamo-Fascism’ Had Its Moment,” which discusses Bush’s use of the term and the controversy it generated.

ReligionLink has several editions that provide background and resources on Islam. They include:

• Covering Islam and politics
• Covering Islam 101
• Islam: a guide to U.S. experts and organizations

Also see ReligionLink’s guide to fundamentalism.

Islamic organizations

• The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent. Kareem Shora is executive director. Contact 202-244-2990, kshora@adc.org.
• The American Muslim Alliance promotes participation of Muslim Americans in the political process. The alliance is based in Newark, Calif. Agha Saeed is national chairman. Contact 510-252-9858, civilrightsforall@sbcglobal.net.
• The Council on American-Islamic Relations is the largest advocacy group for Muslims in the U.S. Contact communications director Ibrahim Hooper in Washington, D.C., 202-488-8787, ihooper@cair.com.
• The Islamic Society of North America promotes unity and leadership among Muslims. The organization is based in Plainfield, Ind. Contact president Ingrid Mattson, 317-839-8157, president@isna.net.
• The Muslim Public Affairs Council works for Muslim participation in civic life. It advocates for Muslims’ civil rights and gives Muslims a voice in the media and public affairs. It works to cultivate leadership in young Muslims and encourage a sense of ownership over their religious and national identity as Americans. The group has a $1.1 million annual budget and says it accepts no funds from overseas. It has offices in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles and several state chapters. The council is considered moderate and politically savvy and is led by first- and second-generation Americans. Contact Edina Lekovic, communications director, 213-383-3443, communications@mpac.org.
• United Muslims of America is a nonpartisan public affairs organization that works to promote the participation of Muslims in American public life, including economics, education and politics. The nonprofit organization is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Shafi Refai is president of its board of directors. Contact srefai@hotmail.com or contact@umanet.org.

National sources

• David E. Bernstein is a professor at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va., and posts at the Volokh Conspiracy blog, where he wrote about Islamofascism. Contact 703-993-8089, dbernste@gmu.edu.
• James Carroll is an author and Boston Globe columnist who dissected problems with the association of Islam and fascism in a Jan. 21, 2008, op-ed in The New York Times, “Islamofascism’s ill political wind.” Contact Carroll through his agent, Donald Cutler, at 978-745-4600, dbookmark@covad.net.
• Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad is professor of the history of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her scholarly interests include Muslims in the West, Islamic revolutionary movements, 20th-century Islam and the intellectual, social and political history of the Arab world. Contact 202-687-2575, haddady@georgetown.edu.
• David Horowitz is a self-described conservative and founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Terrorism Awareness Project. The project sponsors an annual “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” on campuses. Contact 818-849-3470, info@horowitzfreedomcenter.org.
• Mark Juergensmeyer is director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies and professor of sociology and religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is an expert on religious violence and is author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Contact 805-893-7898, juergens@global.ucsb.edu.
• Frederick W. Kagan is a widely read military historian and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., who is associated with the neoconservative movement. Kagan has said he prefers the term Islamist to Islamofascist. Contact 202-862-5925, fkagan@aei.org.
• Hussein Rashid is a visiting professor of Islam at the religion department at Hofstra University and a prolific blogger and commentator on Islam in America. He has written about “Islamophobia,” for example in this June 3, 2009, column for the Web site Religion Dispatches. Contact 516-463-6584, hr@husseinrashid.com or MHussein.Rashid@hofstra.edu.
• Stephen Schwartz is executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, which says it promotes moderate Muslim views. Schwartz has taken credit for coining or popularizing the term. Contact 202-232-1750, schwartz@islamicpluralism.org.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Robert William Hefner is an anthropology professor and associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston University, where he directs the program on Islam and civil society. His specialty is religion and politics in Southeast Asia and the Muslim world, with a particular focus on Islam, democratization and violence. He directed a multicountry Pew project called “Civil Democratic Islam,” on prospects and policies for civic pluralism and democracy in the Muslim world. Contact 617-558-2786, rhefner@bu.edu.
• Andrew March is an assistant professor of political science at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. He is at work on a book about Islam and citizenship in liberal democracies and is an expert on Islam and democracy. Contact 203-432-4178, Andrew.march@yale.edu.

IN THE EAST

• John L. Esposito is founding director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, where he teaches religion, Islamic studies and international affairs. He is an expert on Islam and its history, modernizing trends and forces, radicalism, terrorism, democracy, foreign policy and politics. Contact 202-687-8375, jle2@georgetown.edu.
• Fawaz A. Gerges is a professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. Gerges has served as a senior analyst and regular commentator for ABC News and a commentator for NPR’s Morning Edition. Areas of expertise include Islam and the political process, Islamist and jihadist movements, Arab politics, American foreign policy in the Middle East, the modern history of the Middle East, history of conflict, diplomacy and foreign policy. He did several years of field research on relations between the Islamists, jihadis and the West, particularly the United States, in several Middle Eastern countries. Contact 914-395-2299, fgerges@slc.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im is a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, where he teaches international law and comparative constitutional law, international institutions and Islamic law. His research includes human rights in cross-cultural perspectives, constitutionalism in Islamic and African countries, Islam and politics. Contact 404-727-1198, aannaim@emory.edu.
• Peter P. Mandaville is an associate professor of government and politics and co-directs the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. His expertise is in international politics and Islam. His current research is on the role of Muslim organizations and leadership in Europe and North America; madrassas and education in the Muslim world; and social/political development in the Muslim world. Contact 703-993-1054, pmandavi@gmu.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Joel Gordon is a history professor at the University of Arkansas. He is an expert on religion and politics in the Arab world. Contact 479-575-4755, joelg@uark.edu.
• Reem Meshal is an assistant professor of Islamic studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She specializes in religious fundamentalism and nationalism, including within the Muslim world. Contact 225-578-2220, rmeshal@lsu.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Mohammed Ayoob is a professor of international relations at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He is the author of The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World (2007). Contact 517-353-3538, ayoob@msu.edu.
• Juan Cole is a history professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he teaches a course on Islam in global politics. He is the author of a book on politics and religion in Iran and another on the politics and history of Shiite Islam. His latest book is Engaging the Muslim World. Contact 734-763-1599, jrcole@umich.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Allen Hertzke is a visiting senior research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. He is on leave from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where he is a professor of political science and director of religious studies. Hertzke has taught courses on religion in American politics, religion in global politics, American political institutions and political philosophy. Contact 202-419-4550, ahertzke@pewforum.org.
• M. Hakan Yavuz is an assistant professor in the political science department at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He has written about Islamic movements in Turkey and Kurdish nationalism in Turkey. Contact 801-585-7986, hakan.yavuz@poli-sci.utah.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Juan E. Campo is an associate professor of religious studies at University of California, Santa Barbara. He has served as co-director of the UCSB Center for Middle East Studies. He specializes in the comparative study of Islam, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, and teaches courses on religion, politics and society in the Persian Gulf region. Contact 805-893-7136, jcampo@religion.ucsb.edu.
• Khaled Abou El Fadl is an internationally recognized law professor and a fellow in Islamic law at the University of California, Los Angeles. His courses include human rights and terrorism. Contact 310-825-4841, abouelfa@law.ucla.edu.