The article describes the process of emergence and development of the world, monotheistic religion of Islam, the emergence of directions in it (Sunnism, Shiism, Kharijism), schools of Moslem law (in Sunni Islam: Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali), ideological currents (traditionalism, modernism, Salafism ), numerous Sufi tarikats, as well as the so-called. “Political Islam”. In other words, modern Islam is complex in its structure, one might say, kaleidoscopic. In the context of “political Islam”, Islamism has developed, which today is considered by Islamic scholars in two versions: moderate and radical Islamism. Within the framework of the latter, religious and political extremism and terrorism are distinguished under the guise of Moslem dogma. In this regard, it is relevant to study the nature and evolution of Islamism.
Islam, Islamism; confessions; modernism; political Islam; Salafism; Sufism; traditionalism.