Islamism arose in the twentieth century as Muslim reformers and organizations sought to create and implement a comprehensive social, economic, and political order rooted in Islam and in opposition to Western secularism. Already in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood emerged in Egypt as the first major Islamist organization, but it was not until the 1970s that political Islam became a major force in the Middle East.

DEFINE: Provides a working definition of Islamism as a twentieth-century movement opposing Western secularism.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 248