Salafism

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This article is on an Islamic movement. For the article on the group of early Muslims, see Salaf

Salafism or Salafīyyah (Arabic: سلفي‎ ​ "predecessors" or "early generations") is an puritanical fundamentalist movement within Islam. "Salafi" is an umbrella term for adherents of a particular form of Islamic revivalism who vary amongst themselves as to its definition, but share a rejection of contemporary Islamic teachings in favor of a return to the Salaf, as Islam was practiced during the first three generations of Muslims.

Salafi Muslims are often grouped together with Wahhabi Muslims, although the two movements began independently and originally held opposing views. Wahhabism rejected modern influences, while Salafism sought to reconcile Islam with modernism.[1] Use of the word "Salafi" can be very confusing, as the term has been used by several competing Islamic groups that are known by other names. It can be used to describe a general veneration of early Muslims, or it can be used as another name for political Islamism.[2] When Salafism is used as an actual name, it is of the modernist reorientation of Islam as defined by the Egyptian Mufti, Muhammad Abduh, early in the 20th century.[2] There is now intense competition between groups and individual scholars over the 'true' Salafism.

Salafis idealize an uncorrupted bygone religious community that declined due to foreign innovations (bid‘ah). They seek an Islamic revival through the purging of these influences and the emulation of the early generations. Particular emphasis is given to monotheism (tawhid), condemning many traditional practices as polytheism (shirk), and encouraging struggle (jihad) of varying degrees.[1] The sources of Salafism are said to be the Qur'an and the sunnah.[3]

Contents

Etymology

The word "Salaf" is short for "Salaf aṣ-Ṣāliḥ" (Arabic: السلف الصالح‎), meaning "(righteous) predecessors" or "(pious) ancestors."[1] In Islamic terminology, it is generally used to refer to the first three generations of Muslims: the Sahabah, the Tabi‘in and the Taba‘ at-Tabi‘in. These three generations are looked upon as examples of how Islam should be practiced.

Contemporary Salafism

The modern movement began in the mid 19th century among intellectuals at al-Azhar University, the preeminent center of Islamic learning, located in Cairo. Legal scholar L. Ali Khan describes this movement as the Second Era of Ijtihad (1875-present). Prominent among them were Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1839-1897) and Rashid Rida (1865-1935). These early reformers recognized the need for an Islamic revival, noticing the changing fortunes in the Islamic world following the Enlightenment in Europe, which they admired.[1] Al-Afghani was a political activist, whereas Abduh, an educator, sought gradual social reform. Debate continues today over the appropriate method of reform, ranging from violent political Islamism to less politicized evangelism.

The Saudi Arabian government once described itself as Wahhabi, but now claims to follow the Salafi understanding of Islam, which it claims began in Saudi Arabia in the early 19th century.[4] Al-Qaeda, a group opposed to the Saudi government, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood also claim to follow the Salafi movement.[5] Despite some similarities, the different modern groups that claim to be part of Salafism often strongly disapprove of each other and deny their Salafi character.

In the United States, Salafism has been equated by some with radicalism and terrorism in some newspaper articles, books, and public discourse. However, “Salafism” is not inherently synonymous with violence, terrorism, or radicalism. Many Salafis throughout the world are doctrinally rigid, but peaceful.

It is important to distinguish between the following groups, thought of (perhaps) as concentric circles:

  • "Jihadist Salafis" - such as the followers of al-Qaeda and like-minded local groups;
  • "Salafis" - those who believe that the imitation of the behavior of the Salaf-us-Saliheen (Prophet's Companion's Followers, and those who goes after them) should be the basis of the social order,
  • "Islamists" - a still broader category,which includes anyone who thinks that the precepts of Islam - however interpreted - should be fundamental to the political and social order; and,
  • "Discontented Muslims" - people who identify themselves as Muslims,and who are unhappy with their life prospects, with the justice of their societies,and/or with the state of the wider world.

Jihadist Salafism

The Salafi jihadist movement has attracted rootless and or committed internationalist militants. They fight for the jihad, seeking to re-create the Muslim ummah and shariat to build an Islamic community. Simultaneously conservatives and radical, they form a global network that has attracted Muslims from around the world to fight jihad in Kashmir, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. The salafi-jihadist movement in Central Asia and the Caucasus is more localized -- an expression of identity in areas such as Ferghana, villages in Daghestan, and upper Gharm valley. In Central Asia, the term "Wahabi" refers to fundamentalists who come from Pakistan or Afghanistan, but they are not necessarily a political movement. For example, Wahabis in Tajikistan do not recognize themselves as a political alignment. However, most Central Asian regimes use the term Wahabi more broadly to describe Islamic religious movements outside the states' control.

Notable modern Salafi Scholars

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Saudi Arabia

  • Former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
  • Scholar of fiqh and authored over fifty books on the subject
  • Wrote an explanation of ibn Taymiyyah's al-Aqeedat Al-Hamawiyyah and al-Aqeedat Al-Waasittiyah

Yemen

  • Muqbil bin Al-Haadi
  • Abdul Wahhab Al-Wasabi
  • Yahya Al-Hajuri

Albania

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Trevor Stanley, Understanding the Origins of Wahhabism and Salafism, Terrorism Monitor
  2. ^ a b Salafism, Encyclopaedia of the Orient
  3. ^ GlobalSecurity.org Salafi Islam
  4. ^ PBS Frontline, Interview with Ali al-Ahmed [1]
  5. ^ PBS Frontline, interview with Dr. Mamoun Fandy [2]

References

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