Islamization or Islamification (pejorative Muhammadization) is the process of a society's conversion to the religion of Islam. In contemporary usage, it may refer to the perceived imposition of an Islamist social and political discourse on a society with a tradition of a more varied interpretation of Islam. The English synonyms, muslimization and arabization, in use since before 1940 (e.g. , Waverly Illustrated Dictionary) convey a similar meaning.