ity or nationality (Masoud, p. 128).
In reviewing the history of Islamism it becomes clear that the turn to the defense of Islamic identity has followed a pattern in which the reduction of external threat and the rise of inspiring alternative identities places Islamism on hold until a new threat arises. An example of this is the finalization of colonialism's decline after World War II and the rise of nationalism in the Middle East. Nationalist movements seemed to promise that Islamic identity would be safeguarded by self-rule and it was not until this promise was negated by the persistence of authoritarian regimes in the region (governments perceived as client states of the superpowers, it should be noted) that religious revivalism and reform came again to seem like the means of correcting the problems that plagued the Islamic countries. In response to threats, however, the various Islamist movements have always held varying sectarian notions, different methods, and a whole range of affiliations with ethnic and national interests. Even these ind
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