An introduction to Salafism by Jacob Olidort, Soref fellow at the Washington Institute. Includes fundamental ideas and concepts, recent history, and political implications in the modern Middle East.

1. ©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
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Salafism: ideas, recent
history, politics
Jacob Olidort, PhD
Soref Fellow, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
jolidort@washingtoninstitute.org
@jolidort

2. Overview
 Introduction: Terms and Concepts
 Emergence of Salafi Movement in the 20th Century
 Local Roots
 New political setting (1924-1961)
 Salafism ascendant(1961-1980)
 Salafis divide (1980-2001): quietists, politicos, jihadis
 Making Sense of Salafism Today (2011-2016)
 New trends, new problems
 Rethinking Salafism
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©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

3. Distinction
Brotherhood Islamism
 Nature: Political ideology, hierarchical
organizations
 Objective: To ensure that Islam is in a
position of influence, in any form and
through any means.
 Sources: Cite widely from Islamic and
Western sources, showing that Islam is in
harmony with Western institutions and ideas.
 Priority: Diminish Western influence
Salafism
 Nature: Theological and legal ideology,
meritocratic networks
 Objective: To ensure that only their inter-
pretation of Islam is the one that dominates.
 Sources: Only Islamic sources by authors who
share their worldview and typically no western
sources.
 Priority: Diminish what they see as “deviant”
Islamic influences (especially Shi‘is, Sufis) in
order to “purify” Islam.
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Salafi-Jihadis: Brotherhood Islamism + Salafism
Wahhabism: Saudi Arabia’s brand of Salafism; heavier emphasis on theology than law and bound
to Saudi monarchy and state.
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4. Types of Salafis*
 Purists (Quietists)
emphasize a focus on nonviolent methods of propagation, purification, and
education. They view politics as a diversion that encourages deviancy.
 Politicos (Harakis)
emphasize application of Salafi creed to the political arena, which they view as
particularly important because it dramatically impacts social justice and the right
of God alone to legislate.
 Jihadis
take a more militant position and argue that the current context calls for violence
and revolution.
*Definitions from Quintan Wiktorowicz, “The Anatomy of the Salafi Movement,” Studies in Conflict and
Terrorism (2006).
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The difference between different Salafi groups— jihadis, quietists
and politicos—is in the way they interpret political context,
not in their theology or legal worldviews.
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6. Terms and Concepts
 Sunni theological and legal worldview that seeks to redefine Islam as
how they imagine to have been during the time of the Prophet
Muhammad and his early followers, who witnessed his actions and life.
 Sources
 anything literally stated in the Qur’an, and in those hadith reports
(actions and statements of Prophet Muhammad) Salafis deem to
be “authentic.”
 refer only to authors they believe to have championed their
“creed” over the centuries.
 Reject anything that:
 appeared after seventh to ninth century
 was not explicitly condoned by Muhammad
 is based on anything other than Q and S
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Salafism (al-salafiyya, Ar.):
from “al-salaf al-salih” (the pious predecessors)
= sunna
(normative example of
Prophet Muhammad)
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
= Bid‘a
([reprehensible] innovation)

7. Why Salafism?7
The first three generations:
“The best of my community is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who
follow them.” – (Hadith in Bukhari 3450)
The “saved sect”:
 “…My community shall divide into 73 sects, all of whom will perish in Hellfire except for one.”
 “Which is that, Messenger of God?”
 “Whoever follows what I and my Companions follow”
(Other versions: “It is the Community”; “It is the people of the sunna and the Community.”)
(Hadith in Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Sunna 4596; Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Iman 2640)
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

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IS Destruction of Tomb of the Girl in Mosul, Iraq.
opposite: shirk
(ascribing partners [to God]) – i.e.,
anything that violates tawhid.
Aqida
creed, theological views.
Tawhid (God’s oneness*)
key principle used by Salafis to justify opposition to
other Sunnis (especially Sufis) and Shiites. Salafis divide
tawhid into the following:
 Lordship, the recognition of God’s absolute and
unique powers.
 Divinity that is worshiped and personally
submitted to by all people.
 Names and attributes literally found in Qur’an
and which cannot be ascribed to human
beings (= Islamic speculative theology)
 Sovereignty (Jihadis, political): rulers who do not
apply sharia commit grave sin and violate
God’s sovereignty.
*R. Meijer, Global Salafism, xv.
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Salafi Theology

9. Salafi Law9
 Oppose taqlid (adherence to the Sunni schools of Islamic
law – madhhab). Salafis deride this as “blind emulation”
and “madhhab-partisanship”`
 Insist on direct application of practices and ideas in
hadith reports deemed to be “authentic” (i.e. “proven”
that the Prophet Muhammad said them)
 Reject entire tradition and methods of Islamic
jurisprudence since much of this draws on analogical
reasoning, deemed by Salafis to be foreign to Islam.
= Bid‘a
([reprehensible] innovation)
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10. Quietist vs.Jihadi?10
Takfir – excommunication of other Muslims
Under what conditions does one’s Muslim status change?
Failure to adhere to Salafi theological and legal principles equals
 explicit rejection of Islam
or
 reasons such as misunderstanding, lack of exposure
to Salafi ideas, laziness
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©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
PART I
Emergence of Salafism
in the 20th Century

12. Muhammad , b. Ali al-Shawkani
(d. 1834)
Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi
(d. 1750)
Rashid Rida
(d. 1935)
Salih al-Fullani
(d. 1803)
Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti
(1887-1976)
Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
(d. 1792)
Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi
(d. 1762)
Salafism: Local Roots
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Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Replaced by colonial powers and Western-style states
 New questions about religious authority in
absence of Islamic government
 Renewed skepticism of legal schools (madhhabs), as
well as institutions and figures of “official Islam” (seen
as pawns of Western-states)
Lingering Ottoman concerns over rise of Saudi Arabia
 Suspicion of local Salafi communities as being
proxies, labeled “Wahhabis”
For guide to authentic Islamic
governance of society, one
must consult sources directly.
Salafism: Political Setting 1924−1961
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Both new Western governments
and any of their institutions are
foreign imports, thus
“innovation,” and cannot be
trusted for proper guidance.

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Saudi Arabia’s largesse, and competition for regional
dominance as center of Islamic world
 King Faisal opens Islamic universities, media stations and
Wahhabi institutes around the world.
Failure of Arab Nationalism as political ideology
(with 1967 defeat) and rise of Islamism
 New context for raising awareness of broader socio-political
relevance of Islam, especially after 1979.
Crackdowns on Muslim Brotherhood, seen as political threat
 Salafis, who refrain from political sphere, begin vilifying
MB-like groups for “distracting” from tawhid.
‘Abd al-’Aziz bin Baz (d.
1999), Vice Chancellor
of Islamic University of
Medina (first Saudi
Islamic university,
opened in 1961); later
Grand Mufti of Saudi
Arabia.
Salafism Ascendant 1961−1980
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Saudi soldiers at the Ka‘ba
in Mecca
Siege of Mecca (1979) led by hadith-oriented messianic cult
 Albani’s strain of Salafism implicated, Salafi
teachings held suspect.
Arab fighters returning from Afghanistan (1980s)
 Emergence of local jihadi hubs;
renewed suspicion of Salafism
U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia, first Gulf War (1990-1991)
 “Awakening” movement, inspires Salafi
political opposition
Salafis Divide 1980−2001
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Osama bin-Laden

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PART II
Making Sense of Salafism
Today (2011−present)

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 Crossover between the three categories of Salafis (purists,
politicos, jihadis) as regional conflicts assume sectarian aspects.
 Some Salafis violate ideological principles by forming political
parties (e.g., Egypt, Gulf States), with some arguing that this is
justified as a way of perpetuating their mission of purification
and education (al-tasfiya wa-l-tarbiya)
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
New Trends, New Problems

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The Quietist Continuum
Politically-inclined quietists
weigh in on current events and politics
through their theological and legal
worldview, but resist becdirect
involvement.
Politicos JihadisQuietists
Absolutist/Madkhali quietists
refrain on principle from commenting
on any aspect of political sphere and
counsel obedience to ruler. Adhere to
commentary on religious teachings,
personal observance.
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Rethinking Salafism

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D. Commins, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
B. Haykel, Revival and Reform in Islam: The Legacy of Muhammad al-Shawkani (Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press, 2003).
T. Hegghammer and S. Lacroix, “Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-
’Utaybi Revisited,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, 39 (2007): 103−122.
S. Lacroix, Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia, trans.
George Holoch (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011).
R. Meijer, Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement (New York: Columbia University
Press/Hurst Publishers, 2009).
J. Olidort, “The Politics of ‘Quietist’ Salafism,” Brookings Analysis Paper, Project on U.S. Relations with
the Islamic World (February 2015).
Q. Wiktorowicz, “Anatomy of the Salafi Movement,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 29 (2006):
207−239.
©2016 The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
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