Islamism’s contradictions stem from the class base of its petty bourgeois cadres.

Evidence

Islamism, then, both mobilizes popular bitterness and paralyzes it; both builds up people’s feelings that something must be done and directs those feelings into blind alleys; both destabilizes the state and limits the real struggle against the state. The contradictory character of Islamism follows from the class base of its core cadres. The petty bourgeoisie as a class cannot follow a consistent, independent policy of its own. This has always been true of the traditional petty bourgeoisie—the small shopkeepers, traders and self-employed professionals. They have always been caught between a conservative hankering for security that looks to the past and a hope that they individually will gain from radical change. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 354

Categorization

• XREF: Class-based explanation of Islamism connects to Grosfoguel’s structural analyses and Marxian petty-bourgeois theory the reader already engages. — connects to: Ataturk’s secularization was a class struggle against the old Islamic ruling order — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 302; Class position determines whether Islamists adopt moderate or radical tactics — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 346; Ideological signs carry opposing class accents and become sites of struggle (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Class position determines whether Islamists adopt moderate or radical tactics #expands (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 346
• Ideological signs carry opposing class accents and become sites of struggle #expands (0.50)