The roots of Islamist popularity

In this article I will answer the question why, in the Islamic world, Islamist activism finds the support that it apparently does among segments of the general public of the various countries. In particular, the initial elements and circumstances that induce a person to support or even join an Islamist group are the subject of this study. After defining the notion of Islamism in the first section, I shall give an assessment of the popularity of Islamism. Following upon this, the third section will show that the conditionalities which drive a person towards an Islamist inclination or conviction cannot in the main have anything to do with the Islamic religion per se. Lastly it will be argued that these conditionalities are rather to be found in a wide array of interacting political, social, historical and economic factors.