ABSTRACT
It is generally accepted that there is no such thing as a uniform Islam, only many specific Islams, each shaped by the particular social milieu in which it develops. Less evident, perhaps, is the fact that Islam and the state are often specifically shaped by their relations to each other. Three basic factors shape Islamist movements and their relation to the state: ideology, the political context, and social composition. Closely related to ideology is the political context, the second factor shaping Islamist movements. In Syria, the Islamist movement has been distinctively shaped by its character as, in good part, a reaction against Ba'thism; this framework has limited its social base and given it a particularly conservative slant on Islamic ideology. The leadership of the Ikhwan of the Islamist movement shows a progression over three decades from populists challenging a privileged establishment to militant but essentially conservative conspirators who want to restore much of the former order.
