Esra Özyürek
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691162782
- eISBN:
- 9781400852710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162782.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter concentrates on the theological aspects of Salafism that attract non-Muslims in postunification Germany. It argues that certain characteristics of Salafism, particularly its ...
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This chapter concentrates on the theological aspects of Salafism that attract non-Muslims in postunification Germany. It argues that certain characteristics of Salafism, particularly its conversionism, literalism, and anticulturalist, antinationalist stance, make it appealing to many Germans of diverse backgrounds. In these respects, it works in quite similar ways to Evangelism and Pentecostalism in fulfilling people spiritually and psychologically—aspects greatly ignored by most scholars of contemporary Islam and especially Salafism. The chapter contends that it is these characteristics of Salafism, which introduces itself as free of human interpretation and independent of national tradition, that works well in the anti-Muslim context of Germany.Less
This chapter concentrates on the theological aspects of Salafism that attract non-Muslims in postunification Germany. It argues that certain characteristics of Salafism, particularly its conversionism, literalism, and anticulturalist, antinationalist stance, make it appealing to many Germans of diverse backgrounds. In these respects, it works in quite similar ways to Evangelism and Pentecostalism in fulfilling people spiritually and psychologically—aspects greatly ignored by most scholars of contemporary Islam and especially Salafism. The chapter contends that it is these characteristics of Salafism, which introduces itself as free of human interpretation and independent of national tradition, that works well in the anti-Muslim context of Germany.
Esra Özyürek
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691162782
- eISBN:
- 9781400852710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162782.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit ...
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This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit for German/European society. It also briefly discusses the significance of Salafi communities in this context. In addition, the chapter tells the story of a moral panic over converts to Islam that swept Germany in the 2000s, which suddenly moved German converts from their previously invisible position to center stage in the media. This account highlights the most novel aspects of Islamophobia, with the reason for the panic being the fear of a potential terrorist attack.Less
This chapter offers some concluding thoughts on how German converts to Islam apply different and at times conflicting strategies in order to demonstrate how Islam is a perfect—and indeed better—fit for German/European society. It also briefly discusses the significance of Salafi communities in this context. In addition, the chapter tells the story of a moral panic over converts to Islam that swept Germany in the 2000s, which suddenly moved German converts from their previously invisible position to center stage in the media. This account highlights the most novel aspects of Islamophobia, with the reason for the panic being the fear of a potential terrorist attack.
Ian Richard Netton
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623914
- eISBN:
- 9780748653119
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623914.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This book offers a unique comparative exploration of the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity. The idea of ‘tradition’ has enjoyed a variety of senses and definitions in Islam and ...
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This book offers a unique comparative exploration of the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity. The idea of ‘tradition’ has enjoyed a variety of senses and definitions in Islam and Christianity, but both have cleaved at certain times to a supposedly ‘golden age’ of tradition from the past. In comparing the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity, this book explores the following key themes: the roles of authority, fundamentalism, the use of reason and ijtihad (independent thinking). It suggests that there has been a chain of thinkers from classical Islam to the twentieth century who share a common interest in ijtihad. Drawing on past and present evidence, and using Christian tradition as a focus for contrast and comparison, the book highlights the seemingly paradoxical harmony between tradition and ijtihad in Islam. It draws on a variety of primary and secondary sources including contemporary newspaper and journal articles, documents and letters, adding immediacy to the text, which proposes a new vocabulary for the articulation of Islam, offers original comparisons between Salafism and Lefebvrism, and articulates the yearning amongst today's Muslim and Christian traditionalists for a revival of a ‘golden age’ from whence, they believe, all good traditions derive.Less
This book offers a unique comparative exploration of the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity. The idea of ‘tradition’ has enjoyed a variety of senses and definitions in Islam and Christianity, but both have cleaved at certain times to a supposedly ‘golden age’ of tradition from the past. In comparing the role of tradition in Islam and Christianity, this book explores the following key themes: the roles of authority, fundamentalism, the use of reason and ijtihad (independent thinking). It suggests that there has been a chain of thinkers from classical Islam to the twentieth century who share a common interest in ijtihad. Drawing on past and present evidence, and using Christian tradition as a focus for contrast and comparison, the book highlights the seemingly paradoxical harmony between tradition and ijtihad in Islam. It draws on a variety of primary and secondary sources including contemporary newspaper and journal articles, documents and letters, adding immediacy to the text, which proposes a new vocabulary for the articulation of Islam, offers original comparisons between Salafism and Lefebvrism, and articulates the yearning amongst today's Muslim and Christian traditionalists for a revival of a ‘golden age’ from whence, they believe, all good traditions derive.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It ...
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This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It focuses on the history of the Islamic University of Medina (IUM), founded in 1961 to offer fully-funded religious instruction to mostly non-Saudi students. It demonstrates that this Saudi state-backed missionary initiative built on political, cultural, and social transformations tracing back to the late Ottoman period. It goes on to show that, just as the IUM sought to extend the authority and influence of the Wahhabi religious establishment into distant Muslim communities, its own operation was both enabled and influenced by migrants from across the Islamic world who came to work and study on its campus. Moreover, the university’s missionary project was further complicated insofar as it was refracted through the agency of the itinerant students who were expected to convey its Wahhabi-inflected message. The book argues that the complex history of such projects of Wahhabi “religious expansion” is best understood as involving a series of unequal transactions within the terms of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows of spiritual capital, material capital, religious migrants and social technologies. This analytical framework suggests new ways of thinking about the evolution of Wahhabism, the rise of Salafism in locations around the world, and the forms of power and agency at stake in border-spanning struggles to steer the future course of the Islamic tradition.Less
This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It focuses on the history of the Islamic University of Medina (IUM), founded in 1961 to offer fully-funded religious instruction to mostly non-Saudi students. It demonstrates that this Saudi state-backed missionary initiative built on political, cultural, and social transformations tracing back to the late Ottoman period. It goes on to show that, just as the IUM sought to extend the authority and influence of the Wahhabi religious establishment into distant Muslim communities, its own operation was both enabled and influenced by migrants from across the Islamic world who came to work and study on its campus. Moreover, the university’s missionary project was further complicated insofar as it was refracted through the agency of the itinerant students who were expected to convey its Wahhabi-inflected message. The book argues that the complex history of such projects of Wahhabi “religious expansion” is best understood as involving a series of unequal transactions within the terms of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows of spiritual capital, material capital, religious migrants and social technologies. This analytical framework suggests new ways of thinking about the evolution of Wahhabism, the rise of Salafism in locations around the world, and the forms of power and agency at stake in border-spanning struggles to steer the future course of the Islamic tradition.
Henri Lauzière
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231175500
- eISBN:
- 9780231540179
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175500.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others ...
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Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others argue Salafism is an anti-innovative and antirationalist movement of Islamic purism that dates back to the medieval period yet persists today. Though they contradict each other, both narratives are considered authoritative, making it hard for outsiders to grasp the history of the ideology and its core beliefs. Introducing a third, empirically based genealogy, The Making of Salafism understands the concept as a recent phenomenon projected back onto the past, and it sees its purist evolution as a direct result of decolonization. Henri Lauzière builds his history on the transnational networks of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1894–1987), a Moroccan Salafi who, with his associates, participated in the development of Salafism as both a term and a movement. Traveling from Rabat to Mecca, from Calcutta to Berlin, al-Hilali interacted with high-profile Salafi scholars and activists who eventually abandoned Islamic modernism in favor of a more purist approach to Islam. Today, Salafis tend to claim a monopoly on religious truth and freely confront other Muslims on theological and legal issues. Lauzière’s pathbreaking history recognizes the social forces behind this purist turn, uncovering the popular origins of what has become a global phenomenon.Less
Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others argue Salafism is an anti-innovative and antirationalist movement of Islamic purism that dates back to the medieval period yet persists today. Though they contradict each other, both narratives are considered authoritative, making it hard for outsiders to grasp the history of the ideology and its core beliefs. Introducing a third, empirically based genealogy, The Making of Salafism understands the concept as a recent phenomenon projected back onto the past, and it sees its purist evolution as a direct result of decolonization. Henri Lauzière builds his history on the transnational networks of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1894–1987), a Moroccan Salafi who, with his associates, participated in the development of Salafism as both a term and a movement. Traveling from Rabat to Mecca, from Calcutta to Berlin, al-Hilali interacted with high-profile Salafi scholars and activists who eventually abandoned Islamic modernism in favor of a more purist approach to Islam. Today, Salafis tend to claim a monopoly on religious truth and freely confront other Muslims on theological and legal issues. Lauzière’s pathbreaking history recognizes the social forces behind this purist turn, uncovering the popular origins of what has become a global phenomenon.
Roman Loimeier
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748695430
- eISBN:
- 9781474427050
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748695430.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Based on twelve case studies (Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and the Comoros), this books provides the first comprehensive analysis of Muslim ...
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Based on twelve case studies (Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and the Comoros), this books provides the first comprehensive analysis of Muslim movements of reform in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. It looks at patterns and peculiarities of different traditions of Islamic reform, considering both Sufi- and Salafi-oriented movements of reform in their respective historical and regional contexts. It stresses the importance of the local context to explain the different trajectories of development. The books studies the social, religious, and political impact of these reform movements in both historical and contemporary times and asks why some movements of reform have become successful as popular mass movements, gaining influence among African middle class groups, while others failed to attract substantial audiences. It considers jihad-minded movements in contemporary Mali, northern Nigeria and Somalia and looks at modes of transnational entanglement of movements of reform. Equally, the book discusses the biographies of major reformist scholars and addresses the importance of generational dynamics in the development of movements of reform. Against the background of a general inquiry into what constitutes “reform”, the text responds to the question of what “reform” actually means for Muslims in contemporary Africa.Less
Based on twelve case studies (Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and the Comoros), this books provides the first comprehensive analysis of Muslim movements of reform in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. It looks at patterns and peculiarities of different traditions of Islamic reform, considering both Sufi- and Salafi-oriented movements of reform in their respective historical and regional contexts. It stresses the importance of the local context to explain the different trajectories of development. The books studies the social, religious, and political impact of these reform movements in both historical and contemporary times and asks why some movements of reform have become successful as popular mass movements, gaining influence among African middle class groups, while others failed to attract substantial audiences. It considers jihad-minded movements in contemporary Mali, northern Nigeria and Somalia and looks at modes of transnational entanglement of movements of reform. Equally, the book discusses the biographies of major reformist scholars and addresses the importance of generational dynamics in the development of movements of reform. Against the background of a general inquiry into what constitutes “reform”, the text responds to the question of what “reform” actually means for Muslims in contemporary Africa.
Kishwar Rizvi
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469621166
- eISBN:
- 9781469624952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469621166.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the dissemination of political and religious ideology throughout the Muslim world. The Kingdom, a proponent of the Salafi Sunni doctrine, is ...
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the dissemination of political and religious ideology throughout the Muslim world. The Kingdom, a proponent of the Salafi Sunni doctrine, is legitimized by its guardianship of the holiest sites in Islam, the Kaʿba in Mecca and the holy mosque of the Prophet, Muhammad, in Medina. The government is an active patron of mosque building in Saudi Arabia and has contributed financially to the construction of mosques and Islamic schools around the world. One of the most interesting examples is the Faisal Mosque (Vedat Dalokay,1986), which King Faisal gifted to the Pakistani nation. The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque (2008) by Azmi Fakhouri in downtown Beirut may also be viewed as a diplomatic gift by the Kingdom; nonetheless, it is clearly responsive to the political and architectural history of Lebanon. On the domestic front, architects such as Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil designed mosques in Jeddah and Medina to make clear references to Mamluk architecture, but the Grand Mosque in the capital, Riyadh, eschews historicism in favor of a nativist aesthetic deriving from local Najdi architecture.Less
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays an important role in the dissemination of political and religious ideology throughout the Muslim world. The Kingdom, a proponent of the Salafi Sunni doctrine, is legitimized by its guardianship of the holiest sites in Islam, the Kaʿba in Mecca and the holy mosque of the Prophet, Muhammad, in Medina. The government is an active patron of mosque building in Saudi Arabia and has contributed financially to the construction of mosques and Islamic schools around the world. One of the most interesting examples is the Faisal Mosque (Vedat Dalokay,1986), which King Faisal gifted to the Pakistani nation. The Muhammad al-Amin Mosque (2008) by Azmi Fakhouri in downtown Beirut may also be viewed as a diplomatic gift by the Kingdom; nonetheless, it is clearly responsive to the political and architectural history of Lebanon. On the domestic front, architects such as Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil designed mosques in Jeddah and Medina to make clear references to Mamluk architecture, but the Grand Mosque in the capital, Riyadh, eschews historicism in favor of a nativist aesthetic deriving from local Najdi architecture.
Mohammad Hassan Khalil
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796663
- eISBN:
- 9780199933082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796663.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Rashid Rida (d. 1935) was, in effect, the spokesperson for the modern Salafi movement. On the topic of salvation, Rida builds on the writings of his predecessors, and submits that God will deliver ...
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Rashid Rida (d. 1935) was, in effect, the spokesperson for the modern Salafi movement. On the topic of salvation, Rida builds on the writings of his predecessors, and submits that God will deliver righteous non-Muslims. Rida also favors the view that all of humanity will one day be saved. This chapter highlights Rida’s arguments for inclusivism and universalism, and also surveys the writings of various modern scholars, such as the exclusivist proclamations of Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966); the arguments for pluralism offered by Farid Esack, Reza Shah-Kazemi, Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988), Abdulaziz Sachedina, Mahmoud Ayoub, and others; and counterarguments by inclusivists, particularly Muhammad (Gary) Legenhausen and Tim Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad). The chapter concludes with “Closing Thoughts.” Rashid Rida (or: Muhammad Rashid Rida, Rasheed Rida).Less
Rashid Rida (d. 1935) was, in effect, the spokesperson for the modern Salafi movement. On the topic of salvation, Rida builds on the writings of his predecessors, and submits that God will deliver righteous non-Muslims. Rida also favors the view that all of humanity will one day be saved. This chapter highlights Rida’s arguments for inclusivism and universalism, and also surveys the writings of various modern scholars, such as the exclusivist proclamations of Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966); the arguments for pluralism offered by Farid Esack, Reza Shah-Kazemi, Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988), Abdulaziz Sachedina, Mahmoud Ayoub, and others; and counterarguments by inclusivists, particularly Muhammad (Gary) Legenhausen and Tim Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad). The chapter concludes with “Closing Thoughts.” Rashid Rida (or: Muhammad Rashid Rida, Rasheed Rida).
Francesco Cavatorta and Fabio Merone (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190274993
- eISBN:
- 9780190662998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190274993.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
The book analyzes in detail the ideological and organizational changes that occurred within the broader Salafi movement after the Arab uprisings. While scholarship had long recognized the divisions ...
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The book analyzes in detail the ideological and organizational changes that occurred within the broader Salafi movement after the Arab uprisings. While scholarship had long recognized the divisions within Salafism, this volume looks at the ways in which the extraordinary events of the Arab uprisings have led to a profound rethink of such divisions. Focusing on the developments that have characterized Salafi movements across a number of Arab countries, the contributors to this volume underline changes and continuities in both ideology and political praxis. Popular participation in the uprisings forced Salafism to contend with the rise of people’s power and different movements chose different paths to respond to such challenges. In particular, the volume focuses on what can be termed increased politicization on the part of Salafis across the region as a response to the uprisings. While traditional Salafism shied away from institutional politics and organized forms of social and political participation, the uprisings saw the emergence of parties and movements willing to “sacrifice” tradition and engage with and through political institutions.Less
The book analyzes in detail the ideological and organizational changes that occurred within the broader Salafi movement after the Arab uprisings. While scholarship had long recognized the divisions within Salafism, this volume looks at the ways in which the extraordinary events of the Arab uprisings have led to a profound rethink of such divisions. Focusing on the developments that have characterized Salafi movements across a number of Arab countries, the contributors to this volume underline changes and continuities in both ideology and political praxis. Popular participation in the uprisings forced Salafism to contend with the rise of people’s power and different movements chose different paths to respond to such challenges. In particular, the volume focuses on what can be termed increased politicization on the part of Salafis across the region as a response to the uprisings. While traditional Salafism shied away from institutional politics and organized forms of social and political participation, the uprisings saw the emergence of parties and movements willing to “sacrifice” tradition and engage with and through political institutions.
Roel Meijer (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199333431
- eISBN:
- 9780190235680
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199333431.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This Introduction offers an exposé of the main characteristics of Salafist history and doctrine, and the main debates that have centered on the movement. The introduction explains quietist, political ...
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This Introduction offers an exposé of the main characteristics of Salafist history and doctrine, and the main debates that have centered on the movement. The introduction explains quietist, political and jihadi Salafism and especially focuses on the relation between Salafism and politics.Less
This Introduction offers an exposé of the main characteristics of Salafist history and doctrine, and the main debates that have centered on the movement. The introduction explains quietist, political and jihadi Salafism and especially focuses on the relation between Salafism and politics.
Roel Meijer (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199333431
- eISBN:
- 9780190235680
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199333431.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Salafism has attracted a lot of attention lately. This is because it appeals to Muslims who believe that through Salafism they gain direct access to the truth. In contrast to the Muslim Brotherhood, ...
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Salafism has attracted a lot of attention lately. This is because it appeals to Muslims who believe that through Salafism they gain direct access to the truth. In contrast to the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafism concentrates on theology and the purification of doctrine. It takes its name from the first three generations of Muslims after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the pious forefathers, al-salaf al-salih. These first generations, as the closest companions to Muhammad, are considered to be the fountain of pure knowledge of Islam. Salafism is perhaps the most rapidly expanding current within Islam, both in the Muslim world and in Europe and the United States, where it appeals to young people who find a deterritorialized and deculturalized Islam more attractive than the traditional Islam of their parents, which tends to be influenced by non-Islamic local customs. In this anthology the three forms of Salafism are extensively analyzed. These are: apolitical, quietist Salafism, whose adherents focus on the purification of Islam and live strictly according to Hadith and the Qur’an; political Salafism, which mixes the Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood with Salafism; and Jihadi Salafism, which focuses on jihad. Salafism has been promoted especially by Saudi Arabia and is also called Wahhabism.Less
Salafism has attracted a lot of attention lately. This is because it appeals to Muslims who believe that through Salafism they gain direct access to the truth. In contrast to the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafism concentrates on theology and the purification of doctrine. It takes its name from the first three generations of Muslims after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the pious forefathers, al-salaf al-salih. These first generations, as the closest companions to Muhammad, are considered to be the fountain of pure knowledge of Islam. Salafism is perhaps the most rapidly expanding current within Islam, both in the Muslim world and in Europe and the United States, where it appeals to young people who find a deterritorialized and deculturalized Islam more attractive than the traditional Islam of their parents, which tends to be influenced by non-Islamic local customs. In this anthology the three forms of Salafism are extensively analyzed. These are: apolitical, quietist Salafism, whose adherents focus on the purification of Islam and live strictly according to Hadith and the Qur’an; political Salafism, which mixes the Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood with Salafism; and Jihadi Salafism, which focuses on jihad. Salafism has been promoted especially by Saudi Arabia and is also called Wahhabism.
Virginie Collombier and Olivier Roy (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190864545
- eISBN:
- 9780190943271
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190864545.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
Across the Muslim world, from Iraq and Yemen, to Egypt and the Sahel, new alliances have been forged between the latest wave of violent Islamist groups –– including Islamic State and Boko Haram –– ...
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Across the Muslim world, from Iraq and Yemen, to Egypt and the Sahel, new alliances have been forged between the latest wave of violent Islamist groups –– including Islamic State and Boko Haram –– and local tribes. But can one now speak of a direct link between tribalism and jihadism, and how analytically useful might it be? Tribes are traditionally thought to resist all encroachments upon their sovereignty, whether by the state or other local actors, from below yet by joining global organizations such as Islamic State, are they not rejecting the idea of the state from above? This triangular relationship is key to understanding instances of mass ‘radicalization’, when entire communities forge alliances with jihadi groups, for reasons of self-interest, self-preservation or religious fervor. If Algeria’s FIS or Turkey’s AKP once represented the ‘Islamisation of nationalism’, have we now entered a new era, that of the ‘tribalization of globalization’?Less
Across the Muslim world, from Iraq and Yemen, to Egypt and the Sahel, new alliances have been forged between the latest wave of violent Islamist groups –– including Islamic State and Boko Haram –– and local tribes. But can one now speak of a direct link between tribalism and jihadism, and how analytically useful might it be? Tribes are traditionally thought to resist all encroachments upon their sovereignty, whether by the state or other local actors, from below yet by joining global organizations such as Islamic State, are they not rejecting the idea of the state from above? This triangular relationship is key to understanding instances of mass ‘radicalization’, when entire communities forge alliances with jihadi groups, for reasons of self-interest, self-preservation or religious fervor. If Algeria’s FIS or Turkey’s AKP once represented the ‘Islamisation of nationalism’, have we now entered a new era, that of the ‘tribalization of globalization’?
Benjamin F. Soares
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748622856
- eISBN:
- 9780748670635
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748622856.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, African Studies
Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa ...
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Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa and in Mali in particular. It also considers some of the ways reformists and those within the Sufi tradition they criticize have certain shared objectives and values. At the same time, it points to the influence of reformist discourses on the Sufi tradition in spite of their limited success.Less
Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa and in Mali in particular. It also considers some of the ways reformists and those within the Sufi tradition they criticize have certain shared objectives and values. At the same time, it points to the influence of reformist discourses on the Sufi tradition in spite of their limited success.
Anabel Inge
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190611675
- eISBN:
- 9780190611705
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190611675.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The spread of Salafism—often called ‘Wahhabism’—in the West has intrigued and alarmed observers since 9/11. Many see it as a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that subjugates women and fuels ...
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The spread of Salafism—often called ‘Wahhabism’—in the West has intrigued and alarmed observers since 9/11. Many see it as a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that subjugates women and fuels Jihadist extremism. According to this view, Salafi women—many of whom wear the niqab—are the unwilling victims of a patriarchal, fanatical version of Islam. Yet, in Britain, growing numbers of educated women—often converts or from less conservative Muslim backgrounds—are actively choosing to embrace Salafism’s literalist beliefs and strict guidelines. These prescribe, for example, full veiling, wifely obedience, and seclusion from nonrelated men.So how do young British women reconcile such demands with their desire for fulfilling careers, university degrees, and suitable husbands? How do their beliefs affect their love lives and other relationships? And why do they become Salafis in the first place?Anabel Inge has gained unprecedented access to Salafi women’s groups in the United Kingdom to provide the first in-depth and vivid account of their lives. Drawing on more than two years of fieldwork and interviews in London, she probes the reasons for Salafism’s appeal among young Somalis, Afro-Caribbean converts, and women from other backgrounds.She explains how Salafism offers much-needed, textually anchored guidelines for women concerned by the religious and moral uncertainties of life in a liberal, multifaith society. And she reveals how the women’s lives are fraught with personal dilemmas. This is a ground-breaking and lucid account, rich in ethnographic detail. It will be of interest to policy-makers, journalists, scholars, and general readers.Less
The spread of Salafism—often called ‘Wahhabism’—in the West has intrigued and alarmed observers since 9/11. Many see it as a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that subjugates women and fuels Jihadist extremism. According to this view, Salafi women—many of whom wear the niqab—are the unwilling victims of a patriarchal, fanatical version of Islam. Yet, in Britain, growing numbers of educated women—often converts or from less conservative Muslim backgrounds—are actively choosing to embrace Salafism’s literalist beliefs and strict guidelines. These prescribe, for example, full veiling, wifely obedience, and seclusion from nonrelated men.So how do young British women reconcile such demands with their desire for fulfilling careers, university degrees, and suitable husbands? How do their beliefs affect their love lives and other relationships? And why do they become Salafis in the first place?Anabel Inge has gained unprecedented access to Salafi women’s groups in the United Kingdom to provide the first in-depth and vivid account of their lives. Drawing on more than two years of fieldwork and interviews in London, she probes the reasons for Salafism’s appeal among young Somalis, Afro-Caribbean converts, and women from other backgrounds.She explains how Salafism offers much-needed, textually anchored guidelines for women concerned by the religious and moral uncertainties of life in a liberal, multifaith society. And she reveals how the women’s lives are fraught with personal dilemmas. This is a ground-breaking and lucid account, rich in ethnographic detail. It will be of interest to policy-makers, journalists, scholars, and general readers.
Yafa Shanneik
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780748696888
- eISBN:
- 9781474412230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748696888.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter explores the experiences of Muslim women, both migrants and converts, in Ireland. For migrant Muslim women an attachment to the particular cultural understanding of Islam in their ...
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This chapter explores the experiences of Muslim women, both migrants and converts, in Ireland. For migrant Muslim women an attachment to the particular cultural understanding of Islam in their countries of origin is dominant. Irish converts likewise do not constitute a monolithic entity but also espouse various understandings of Islam, from Salafism to cultural definitions of Islam of the converts’ spouses. This part discusses how Muslim women of different ethnic and national backgrounds and socio-economic and educational status relate to and interact with Irish society. The different types of “diaspora spaces” Muslim women carve out in Irish society are examined. The nature of these spaces depends on the sectarian-cum-ideological orientations (Salafi, Ikhwani, Shii etc.) and the reasons for migration and settlement (asylum, education, professional training, labour migration etc.) of these women.Less
This chapter explores the experiences of Muslim women, both migrants and converts, in Ireland. For migrant Muslim women an attachment to the particular cultural understanding of Islam in their countries of origin is dominant. Irish converts likewise do not constitute a monolithic entity but also espouse various understandings of Islam, from Salafism to cultural definitions of Islam of the converts’ spouses. This part discusses how Muslim women of different ethnic and national backgrounds and socio-economic and educational status relate to and interact with Irish society. The different types of “diaspora spaces” Muslim women carve out in Irish society are examined. The nature of these spaces depends on the sectarian-cum-ideological orientations (Salafi, Ikhwani, Shii etc.) and the reasons for migration and settlement (asylum, education, professional training, labour migration etc.) of these women.
Joas Wagemakers
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190274993
- eISBN:
- 9780190662998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190274993.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
The chapter revisits the classic categorization of Salafism Quintan Wiktorowicz put forth in 2006 and challenges the way in which it has been employed. Focusing on theological readings of the ...
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The chapter revisits the classic categorization of Salafism Quintan Wiktorowicz put forth in 2006 and challenges the way in which it has been employed. Focusing on theological readings of the categories, the chapter asserts that insufficient attention has been paid to their flexibility. Rather than constituting fixed categories, the divisions within Salafism are contingent on how different movement and leaders read the political reality they live in. Following the Arab uprisings, the flexibility of the categories and the possibility for ordinary members and movements alike to move across them has increased significantly. This in turn affects the way in which scholars and policy-makers should understand Salafism more broadly.Less
The chapter revisits the classic categorization of Salafism Quintan Wiktorowicz put forth in 2006 and challenges the way in which it has been employed. Focusing on theological readings of the categories, the chapter asserts that insufficient attention has been paid to their flexibility. Rather than constituting fixed categories, the divisions within Salafism are contingent on how different movement and leaders read the political reality they live in. Following the Arab uprisings, the flexibility of the categories and the possibility for ordinary members and movements alike to move across them has increased significantly. This in turn affects the way in which scholars and policy-makers should understand Salafism more broadly.
Nathan Spannaus
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190251789
- eISBN:
- 9780190251802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190251789.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam, Religion and Society
Qursawi’s reformist project focuses on tahqiq as a means of ensuring religious correctness, against the predominance of taqlid, which he saw as perpetuating misguidance, and of questioning ...
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Qursawi’s reformist project focuses on tahqiq as a means of ensuring religious correctness, against the predominance of taqlid, which he saw as perpetuating misguidance, and of questioning conventional positions on the divine attributes and the timing of the isha (night) prayer. It is not fundamentalist or scripturalist, but rather relies on established Hanafi-Maturidi forms of reasoning and methods of interpretation, tied to sound sources of religious knowledge—scripture and authoritative consensus. This chapter presents the underlying logic and approach of his reformism as a coherent whole within the postclassical scholarly tradition. It also compares Qursawi’s thought with that of the 18th-century reformers in Voll’s Hijaz network, arguing that while Qursawi has no connection with this network, the similarities show how reform can be (independently) articulated in different settings. Qursawi’s reformism is ultimately shaped by the Central Asian scholarly tradition and the circumstances under Russian imperial rule.Less
Qursawi’s reformist project focuses on tahqiq as a means of ensuring religious correctness, against the predominance of taqlid, which he saw as perpetuating misguidance, and of questioning conventional positions on the divine attributes and the timing of the isha (night) prayer. It is not fundamentalist or scripturalist, but rather relies on established Hanafi-Maturidi forms of reasoning and methods of interpretation, tied to sound sources of religious knowledge—scripture and authoritative consensus. This chapter presents the underlying logic and approach of his reformism as a coherent whole within the postclassical scholarly tradition. It also compares Qursawi’s thought with that of the 18th-century reformers in Voll’s Hijaz network, arguing that while Qursawi has no connection with this network, the similarities show how reform can be (independently) articulated in different settings. Qursawi’s reformism is ultimately shaped by the Central Asian scholarly tradition and the circumstances under Russian imperial rule.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s ...
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This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s borders in the course of the twentieth century — and it situates the Islamic University of Medina as a key institution in relation to such dynamics. It establishes the contours of the Salafi and Wahhabi traditions, before setting out the historiographical framework employed throughout the remainder of the book. The latter is grounded in a particular conception of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows — both within and across borders — of material capital, spiritual capital, religious migrants and social technologies. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the historical narrative and arguments that run through the book.Less
This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s borders in the course of the twentieth century — and it situates the Islamic University of Medina as a key institution in relation to such dynamics. It establishes the contours of the Salafi and Wahhabi traditions, before setting out the historiographical framework employed throughout the remainder of the book. The latter is grounded in a particular conception of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows — both within and across borders — of material capital, spiritual capital, religious migrants and social technologies. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the historical narrative and arguments that run through the book.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was ...
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This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was fraught with tensions, occurring as it did in the context of a process of state-building within an occupied territory with its own religious traditions quite different from those of the Wahhabi heartlands of Najd. The chapter argues that this period saw the consolidation of numerous strategies — including not only material investment but also cultural appropriation, hegemonic modification of religious discourse, and the recruitment of migrants from across the Middle East to lend legitimacy to Wahhabi proselytizing — which would later become central to the role of education in expanding Saudi religious influence beyond the Peninsula. These arguments are illustrated with reference to the content and styles of teaching that developed in the Saudi Scholastic Institute in Mecca.Less
This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was fraught with tensions, occurring as it did in the context of a process of state-building within an occupied territory with its own religious traditions quite different from those of the Wahhabi heartlands of Najd. The chapter argues that this period saw the consolidation of numerous strategies — including not only material investment but also cultural appropriation, hegemonic modification of religious discourse, and the recruitment of migrants from across the Middle East to lend legitimacy to Wahhabi proselytizing — which would later become central to the role of education in expanding Saudi religious influence beyond the Peninsula. These arguments are illustrated with reference to the content and styles of teaching that developed in the Saudi Scholastic Institute in Mecca.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the role of the Islamic University of Medina’s non-Saudi students, as religious migrants, bearers of spiritual capital accumulated on its campus and mediators of its ...
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This chapter explores the role of the Islamic University of Medina’s non-Saudi students, as religious migrants, bearers of spiritual capital accumulated on its campus and mediators of its Wahhabi-influenced message. It considers their experiences in Medina and their trajectories after graduation. It argues that agency exercised by these students, as well as efforts by an array of religious authorities and lay actors around the world to contest their authority to speak in the name of Islam, have contributed to determining the ways in which the impact of the IUM project has played out in diverse locations. This suggests that, while Saudi religious and political elites may be able to exert religious influence abroad through the IUM, that influence does not necessarily constitute control.Less
This chapter explores the role of the Islamic University of Medina’s non-Saudi students, as religious migrants, bearers of spiritual capital accumulated on its campus and mediators of its Wahhabi-influenced message. It considers their experiences in Medina and their trajectories after graduation. It argues that agency exercised by these students, as well as efforts by an array of religious authorities and lay actors around the world to contest their authority to speak in the name of Islam, have contributed to determining the ways in which the impact of the IUM project has played out in diverse locations. This suggests that, while Saudi religious and political elites may be able to exert religious influence abroad through the IUM, that influence does not necessarily constitute control.
