Islamist Political Activism In Jordan: Moderation, Militancy, And Democracy

While democracy has proven to be a fragile and elusive form of politics in the modern Arab world, Islamist movements have flourished -- ranging from grass-roots pro-democracy activism to militant jihadism and terrorism. Whether Arab politics witnesses more political liberalization in the near future will depend in large part on the nature of Islamist movements, as well as ruling regimes’ reactions to them. This article examines the broad range of Islamist alternatives within one of the more liberalizing Arab states -- the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan -- with a view to understanding the depth and breadth of Islamist forms of political mobilization.