It’s time to rethink how we view Salafism

A new book by ANU researcher Dr Raihan Ismail takes a new look at Salafism, offering a fresh perspective and dispelling certain misconceptions.

Salafism is a revivalist movement in Islam that calls for an end to corruption and a return to authenticity. Though its emergence can be traced back for some time, the attention it has received has grown relatively recently, especially after the September 11 attacks in the United States, owing to its perceived links to extremist violence. This focus though on its role in extremism, and a wider body of research that focuses much on the practice of Salafism within country specific contexts belies a more complex, more nuanced story that is crucial to understanding its influence on Muslim societies.

“As many scholars have pointed out, the movement is not a monolith,” says Dr Raihan Ismail, a researcher in the ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies. She is the author of the new book Rethinking Salafism, published by Oxford University Press.

“There are two non-violent trends within the movement: the quietist and activist streams. The quietist stream advocates loyalty to the state, regardless of who the state is.  The activist trend challenges political leaders to pursue Islamist and other reforms, without engaging in violence. The book questions these categorisations.”

While useful categorisations, Dr Ismail argues that the quietest and activist categorisation is limited, and only works when looking at the relationship between Salafism and the state. Yet to understand Salafi theology more broadly, this typology isn’t enough. The book explores the political and theological positions of Salafi clerics on a number of issues across countries, and the formation and development of transitional networks of clerics that exist across different countries, using examples from Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

“The networks are fostered through shared ideals and solidarity among clerics who are of similar political persuasions. Interestingly, although some issues are only local matters, the networks of clerics internationalise the issues. For example, clerics in Egypt and Kuwait vocally supported Saudi Arabia’s long-standing ban on women driving, despite the fact that a ban is out of the question in both countries,” says Dr Ismail. “Salafi clerics who advocate for more progressive approaches to social and sectarian issues have received intense scrutiny from within Salafism. The scrutiny is often transnational in nature as the clerics attempt to gatekeep ‘authentic’ Salafi ideals. Even when dealing with groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Salafi clerics (quietist and activist) condemn these groups through transnational activities including organising anti-ISIS conferences etc.  Quietists and activists, through their networks, also blame each other for being the cause of violent extremism.”

Readers of Rethinking Salafism will find a new understanding of the history of Salafism and the various movements that have emerged with in it, and gain a new appreciation for the many facets of a movement that is far more complex that simple labels demonstrates, and goes far beyond popular focus on extremism.

Rethinking Salafism is available from Oxford University Press, you can find out more here.  

Story by Adam Spence