Islamism is a name for a set of political and religious ideas: the belief that Islam should shape law, government, and public life more strongly, not only private prayer. It is an -ism — a way of thinking — not a person. The person is an Islamist. The word came into English in the 1700s from French islamisme, made the same way French made christianisme and judaïsme. At first it could just mean the religion of Islam. Today, in news and in university writing, it usually means this political project. Though actually, scholars do not all draw the line in the same place, and some Muslims dislike the word because it can make ordinary faith sound like a political plan. It is a heavy, formal word. It is not the same as Islam, which is the religion itself, and not the same as Muslim, which is a person who follows that religion.