The past thirty years have witnessed the rise of political parties and other formal groups in the Middle East and elsewhere with Islamic agendas, a phenomenon that has both surprised and frightened many in the West. Events from the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 to the attacks of September 11, 2001, have led some to conclude that the United States is on a collision course with Islam, the religion of one-fifth of the world's population. This sourcebook aims to enhance our understanding of the Islamist phenomenon by presenting some forty documents, written by Islamists themselves, which shed light on the origins, goals, and practices of Islamic-focused groups and movements throughout the Muslim world. Each document is identified and analyzed as to its significance. The documentary section of the work is followed by an extensive bibliography and reference guide of relevant print and electronic resources Islamism: A Documentary and Reference Guide provides firsthand accounts of the most important periods in the rise of radical Islam: BLTheological Foundations of Islamism -- The writings of the early Islamic revivalist thinkers who are influential among Islamists today. BLIslamist Thinkers and Movements -- The writings of those leaders who, since the 1920s, influenced movements and organizations calling for the establishment of Islamic states. BLGlobal Jihad -- beginning in the 1980s and through the 1990s, writers merged political radicalism with religious revivalism to promote the most radical form of Islamism that we see today. Each translation, many of them created for this book, has an introductory essay by the editor to place the work in its historical context.