Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Motivated by Islamic beliefs, particularly in the political sphere (e.g. a supporter of the introduction of sharia law).
  • adjective dated Relating to Islam, particularly orthodox Islam.
  • noun A person who espouses Islamic fundamentalist beliefs.
  • noun A person who specializes in Islamic studies.
  • noun dated A Muslim, particularly an orthodox Muslim.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Islam +‎ -ist. First attested in the mid-1980s in English. First usage is in 1855 here: H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity (1864) IX. xiv. iii. 108

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Examples

  • If this outlook takes hold as Arab countries reshape their politics, the term "Islamist" will deserve its pejorative meaning.

    Philip Seib: Islamists Facing Tests Philip Seib 2011

  • Although most political observers in this region take Ghannouchi at his word, any political party or individual with the label "Islamist" attached is viewed with great suspicion in the West.

    Philip Seib: Islamists Facing Tests Philip Seib 2011

  • Its especially annoying that Obama seemed to go out of his way to not use the term Islamist (militant or otherwise) for the most part, and instead painstakingly called them violent extremists who pervert Islam.

    Biden, Dodd, Richardson Rap Obama For Anti-Terror Speech 2009

  • I have used the term Islamist until now, but is worth at least debating whether using the term is a good idea.

    The War on Terror 2007

  • Look, Janet "from-another-planet" Napolitano has forbade the use of the term Islamist terrorist or Muslim terrorist within the Department of Homeland Security.

    Latest Articles 2009

  • German authorities intensified their search for al-Qaeda linked terrorist suspects over the weekend after foiling what they described as an Islamist plot to detonate a large bomb in a crowded public area in the vicinity of Düsseldorf.

    World Watch 2011

  • BERLIN—German authorities intensified their search for al Qaeda-linked terrorist suspects over the weekend after foiling what they described as an Islamist plot to detonate a large bomb in a crowded public area in the vicinity of Düsseldorf, one of the country's largest cities.

    German Authorities Intensify Search for Terrorist Suspects David Crawford 2011

  • But if DHS had issued a report about jihadist groups or what we call Islamist terrorist groups, there would have been an outcry.

    CNN Transcript Jun 10, 2009 2009

  • Now suddenly Tunisia's formerly outlawed Islamic Party Ennahda it has dropped the designation "Islamist", has won a plurality in the elections to the Constituent Assembly on October 23.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Dr. Charles G. Cogan 2011

  • Three people were killed in the restive northwestern province of Idlib, where the military has carried out campaigns against what it calls Islamist insurgents.

    NYT > Home Page By ANTHONY SHADID 2011

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