ABSTRACT
The use of the term Islamic fascism and Islamofascism by both politicians (including the president of the United States) and publicists in various countries has created a minor storm and led to a search for the origins of the term. I have been among those mentioned in this context in some Arab media and the Wikipedia; this is less than half correct but it is probably true that I was among the first to explore the origins of the term clerical fascism and its meaning. In Fascism: Past Present Future (Oxford University Press, 1996) I noted that the term “fundamentalism” was imperfect for a variety of reasons, but in the present context it had come to represent a radical, militant fanatical movement trying to impose its beliefs on others by means of force. I also wrote,
