Judaism, Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions which trace their origins to Abraham. All three religions are riddled with contradictions and differences which are based on different interpretations of the Torah, the Bible and the Koran. Tens of millions of people have died as a result of clashes between these three monotheistic faiths and intractable disputes within these three separate religious traditions.
In the 21st century all three religions are splintered into a myriad of groups ranging from the ultraorthodox to the ultraliberal. These divisions are based on differing interpretations of the content of their holy books. There is absolutely no doubt Judaism, Christianity and Islam are religions that are ultimately based on faith.
On the other hand Islamism, although derived from Islam, is not a religion. It is essentially a fascist ideology that uses violence to enforce its interpretations of the Koran on non-believers both within and outside the Islamic tradition. An Islamist group which captures territory, transform that territory into a theocracy that uses the law to enforce their particular brand of Islamic fascism on the population.
Islamists are divided into a myriad of factions. These factions use different strategies and use different interpretations of the Koran to create their new world. They are willing to use violence and are willing to die in the struggle to enforce their pseudo-religious peccadilloes on the people in and outside the territory they control. The Taliban in Afghanistan, Daesh in Syria and Iraq, the theocracies in Saudi Arabia and Iran are examples of different Islamist movements.
Like all fascist movements, they are belligerent and violent and are happy to use all the means at their disposal to enforce their particular interpretation of the Koran on everybody else. It’s no accident more Muslims have died at the hands of the Islamists than other people. The leaders in Islamist societies range from the Saudi Royal Family in Saudi Arabia to the Mullahs in Iran and Afghanistan and self-appointed strongmen in the newer Islamist manifestations. In every one of these examples power is centralised in the hands of one person or a small coterie. Islamism has much more in common with European fascism than any other ideology. Whether race, nationalism or religion is the calling card of a fascist ideology, fascism is fascism. It needs to be resisted at every turn by those of us who wish to create an inclusive egalitarian community.