When many Westerners today think of Islamism, they have images of a violence-prone form of Islamic fundamentalism. It is true that some versions of Islamism have adopted violent tactics. Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon are Islamist organizations that sometimes resort to violence to achieve their political objectives. Al-Qaeda is another, though members of Hamas and Hezbollah have distanced themselves from al-Qaeda’s tactics and political strategy. But plenty of other Islamist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Justice and Development Party in Turkey, have endeavored to pursue a more peaceful course, even if violence has played a role at times in these movements.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 249