Islamism as an Ideology

Submitted by Ludvikus (United States), Feb 8, 2022 at 10:20

Dear Dr. Daniel Pipes,

I picked up here, and elsewhere your easy use of the notion of "ideology," which, frankly was not a part of my active vocabulary. So I did some research, and here is what I discovered:

First, here is a selected block quote from our American English Miriam-Webster dictionary:

What Does ideology Mean?
Ideology has been in use in English since the end of the 18th century and is one of the few words whose coiner we can identify. The French writer A. L. C. Destutt de Tracy proposed it as a term to designate the "science of ideas," and in that sense the word was quickly borrowed into English. Though ideology originated as a serious philosophical term, within a few decades it took on connotations of impracticality thanks to Napoleon, who used it in a derisive manner. Today, the word most often refers to "a systematic body of concepts," especially those of a particular group or political party.

So it seems that - thanks to Napoleon (I), it carries a pejorative meaning.

However, reading Britannica online we have this further info [Block Quote]:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-Louis-Claude-Comte-Destutt-de-Tracy

"Antoine-Louis-Claude, Comte Destutt de Tracy, French philosopher, (born July 20, 1754, Bourbonnais, France—died March 9, 1836, Paris), French philosopher, soldier, and chief Idéologue, so called for the philosophical school of Idéologie, which he founded."

"Born into a noble family that originated in Scotland, Destutt de Tracy became colonel of the Penthièvre regiment before being elected to the States General of 1789. He was promoted to brigadier early in 1792 but soon resigned his commission. He was imprisoned for nearly a year under the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. An associate member of the French Institut National, he was also a member of the French Academy (1808), a senator during the reign of Napoleon I, and a peer after the restoration of the monarchy."

"... His Commentaire sur l'esprit des lois de Montesquieu (Commentary and Review of Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws), written in 1808, was translated and revised in 1811 by the American statesman Thomas Jefferson, with whom Destutt de Tracy corresponded."

So, if we go by our American Founding Father (and 2nd President, Thomas Jefferson, is "Ideology" a good thing?

It seems that by calling Islamism an "Ideology," one intends to strip it of its legitimate Religious statute - it becomes another Political view - which Napoleon Bonaparte disparaged?

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