Nowadays, the Islamic religion extends across most of North Africa and the Middle East. It has a strong influence in these regions, and a number of different Islamic groups and denominations are present in these regions. In this essay it will be evaluated whether or not the use of the term “Islamism” can be used for all these movements/groups. Furthermore, the essay will make a structured distinction between violent and non-violent Islamist groups. Roger explains that these groups must either make Islam more modern to work alongside the West in democracy, or defend the culture in their religion by creating a “protective umbrella” (Roger, 2004, p158). It is best to first define the term “Islamism” and its links to Islam. The term "Islamism" is a development of the Islamic religion. This requires us to delve deeper into Islam and select certain parts of the religion that define “Islamism”. Islamism is today considered more of an ideology than a religion. It contains social, political and religious aspects. In addition, Islamism is much more structured than other religious denominations of Islam. This is easily noticed because it is consistent and easily perceptible (Mozzafari 2007). Further definition shows that Islamism “brings all elements of social, economic and political life into harmony with what its followers believe to be “true Islam” (Richards 2013, p363). Firstly, in the essay, the ideas of peaceful Islam will be examined, esp. “new Islamists”. Richards describes one of the groups of "new Islamists" as the Egyptian intellectuals. These people are called “Salafists”, they follow the prophet Muhammad. These Islamists are interested in smaller aspects of life, for example the state of how...... middle of paper ...... democratic means. Works Cited Fuller, Graham E. “The Future of Political Islam.” Foreign Affairs. Flight. 81, no. 2 (March/April 2002) 48-60. Richards, Alan and John Waterbury. A Political Economy of the Middle East, Boulder, CO/Oxford: Westview, third edition 2008: 362-384.Owen, Roger. State, power and politics in the making of the modern Middle East, London: Routledge, (3rd ed.) 2004: 154-177.Mozaffari, M. (2007). What is Islamism? History and definition of a concept. Totalitarian movements and political religions. 8 (1), p17-33. Green, J. (.). In Islam, what is a covenant with Allah? Available: http://people.opposingviews.com/islam-covenant-allah-4766.html. Last accessed March 20, 2014. Hardy, R. (2003). Islam and the West: Bridging the Gap. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/special/islam/3182669.stm. Last seen on March 20 2014.