The secular parties in Tunisia have based their whole campaigns on creating fear of the islamists.
Tunisia has seen numerous clashes between the authorities and hardline Islamists since the uprising in 2011.
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Ben Ali's repressive regime was known for its harsh oppression of all forms of Islamists.
Al-Ahmar makes some Western officials nervous because of his links with radical Sunni Islamists.
He explained how Tunisia's government was the result of "moderate Islamists and moderate secularists" coming together.
While democrats fight for change within a system, Islamists seek to alter the system itself.
Officials say the fighting was between separatists and Islamists in the southern city of Aden.
Now they are fighting back and the Islamists are falling in public opinion polls.
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In Tunisia and Morocco Islamists of a similar stripe to the Brotherhood have handsomely won elections.
As elsewhere in the region, the Islamists seem better organised than their secular rivals.
The fading of the Islamists' vision also reflects a profound ideological shift among Egypt's militants.
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But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs.
Correspondents say the loss of Kismayo will be a major blow to the Islamists.
When criticised by his Western allies, Mubarak would play up the threat posed by Islamists.
To do so leaves little room for comfort in the hearts of concerned anti-Islamists today.
France launched its operation last Friday, after the Islamists seized Konna and began advancing further south.
If instead the AKP stayed in power, that would bring Islamists closer to the mainstream.
"It's unacceptable what the Islamists have done, " said Papa Maiga, who attended the march.
French officials said it was necessary to prevent Islamists from expanding their influence in the region.
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Another problem for the Islamists is that they, too, are prey to troubling ideological doubts.
The neo-Islamists, as the reformers call themselves, claim they can reconcile western-style pluralism with Islamic teachings.
In recent years, however, some Islamists have sought power in Turkey through non-violent means.
In Kuwait's feisty but ineffectual parliament, Islamists have blocked reforms such as granting women the vote.
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Some British-based Bangladeshis are dismayed by the influence the Islamists enjoy in the diaspora.
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But despite his fame and his influential friends, most Islamists reject Mr Moussa as too secular.
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Yet Islamists seem to struggle to raise their support much above 20% of the electorate.
And of course, Islamists who threaten or commit violence need to be arrested and thrown behind bars.
They are not Islamists, they are Muslims, religious people, but the party is not an Islamist party.
He says he's offering to be an intermediary between Islamists and the United States and the West.
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