Who exactly is a Salafist, lets turn to wiki for some answers:
Salafi movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Salafi movement, also known as the
Salafi methodology and the
Salafist movement, is a movement or
sect[1] within
Islam that takes its name from the term
salaf ("predecessors", "ancestors") used to identify the earliest Muslims, who, its adherents believe, provide the
epitome of Islamic practice.
[2][3] The popular
hadith that quotes Muhammad as saying 'The people of my own generation are the best, then those who come after them, and then those of the next generation,' is seen as a call to Muslims to follow the example of those first three generations, the
salaf.
[4]
The majority of the world's Salafis are from
Qatar,
UAE and
Saudi Arabia.
[5] 46.87% of
Qataris[5] and 44.8% of
Emiratis are Salafis.
[5] 5.7% of
Bahrainis are Salafis and 2.17% of
Kuwaitis are Salafis.
[5]
Salafis are the "
dominant minority" in Saudi Arabia.
[6] There are 4 million Saudi Salafis since 22.9% of Saudis are Salafis (concentrated in
Najd).
[5] The Salafi movement is often described as synonymous with
Wahhabism, but Salafists consider the term "Wahhabi" derogatory.
[7] At other times, Salafism has been deemed a hybrid of Wahhabism and other post-1960s movements.
[8] Salafism has become associated with
literalist,
strict and
puritanicalapproaches to Islam – and, particularly in the
West, with the
Salafi Jihadis who espouse violent
jihad against those they deem to be enemies of Islam as a legitimate expression of Islam.
[9]
Academics and historians have used the term "Salafism" to denote "a school of thought which surfaced in the second half of the 19th century as a reaction to the spread of European ideas" and "sought to expose the roots of modernity within Muslim civilization."
[10][11] However contemporary Salafis follow "literal, traditional ... injunctions of the sacred texts", looking to
Ibn Taymiyyah rather than the "somewhat freewheeling interpretation" of 19th century figures
Muhammad Abduh,
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, and
Rashid Rida.
[12][13]
Observers differ over whether Salafi are Sunni Muslims and whether they are Wahhabis. Self-described Salafis believe they are Sunni Muslims, while traditionalist Sunni critics claim that Salafis are the same as Wahhabis,
[14][15] a sect unto their own and different from orthodox (i.e. traditional) Sunni Muslims.
[14][16][17] The basis of this claim is that Salafis do not acknowledge or follow any of the four schools of thought (
Madhhab) to which other Sunni Muslims adhere. They have their own beliefs and laws, their own leaders and systems, a religion with strict and so-called extremist ways.
[14][15][16]
In the
Arab world – and possibly even more so now by Muslims in the West – the term
Ahl-as-Sunnah ("People of the
Sunnah") is frequently used instead, while the term
Ahl al-Hadith ("People of the Tradition") is often used on the
Indian subcontinent to identify adherents of Salafi ideology, though this term is used more often in the
Middle-East to indicate scholars and students of
Hadith). The
Muslim Brotherhood is differentiated from Salafi, allegedly because of its
religious innovations,
[18] but the group did include the term in the "About Us" section of its website.
[19]
It is often reported from various sources, including the German domestic intelligence service, that Salafism is the fastest-growing Islamic movement in the world.
[20][21][22][23][24]
Etymology
The popular hadith that quotes Muhammad as saying 'The people of my own generation are the best, then those who come after them, and then those of the next generation,' is seen as a call to Muslims to follow the example of those first three generations, known collectively as the
salaf[4] or "pious Predecessors" (
as-Salaf as-Saleh).
[25] They include the "Companions" (
Sahabah), the "Followers" (
Tabi‘un) and the "Followers of the Followers" (
Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in). There a number of records of the hadith
[26] it is narrated in the
Sahih al-Bukhari of
`Abd Allah ibn `Umar (a companion of Muhammad)
[27]
These have been revered in Islamic
orthodoxy and by
Sunni theologians since the fifth Muslim generation or earlier used their example to understand the texts and tenets of Islam, sometimes to differentiate the creed of the first Muslims from subsequent variations in creed and methodology (
see Madhab),
[28] to oppose religious innovation (
bid‘ah) and, conversely, to defend particular views and practices.
[29][30]
Tenets
According to at least one scholar, "temporal proximity to the Prophet Muhammad is associated with the truest form of Islam" among many Sunni Muslims
[31][32]
The terms
Salafi,
Ahl-as-Sunnah ("People of the
Sunnah") and
Ahl al-Hadith ("People of the Tradition") are all considered[
by whom?] to bear the same or similar connotation and Muslim scholars have used them interchangeably[
citation needed] throughout the ages.
Ahl al-Hadeeth is possibly the oldest recorded term for these earliest adherents,
[33] while
Ahl as-Sunnah is overwhelmingly used by Muslim scholars, including Salafi scholars, such as the
Ash'ari sect, leading to a narrower use of the term "Salafi".
[34]
Salafis view the
Salaf as an eternal model for all succeeding Muslim generations in their beliefs, exegesis, method of worship, mannerisms,
morality,
piety and conduct: the Islam they practiced is seen as pure, unadulterated and, therefore, the ultimate authority for the interpretation of the
Sunnah.
[35] This is not interpreted as an imitation of cultural norms or trends that are not part of the legislated worship of Islam but rather as an adherence to
Islamic theology.[
citation needed] Salafis reject
speculative philosophy (
kalam) that involves discourse and debate in the development of the Islamic creed.[
citation needed] They consider this process a foreign import from
Greek philosophy, alien to the original practice of Islam.[
citation needed] The
Imam Al-Dhahabi (died 748H / 1348) said:
It is authentically related from ad-Daaraqutnee that he said: There is nothing more despised by me than
kalam. I say: He never entered into
kalam nor argumentation. Rather, he was a Salafi.
[36]
Salafis believe that the
Qur'an, the
Hadith and the consensus (
ijma) of approved scholarship (
ulama) along with the understanding of the
Salaf us-salih as being sufficient guidance for the Muslim. As the Salafi
da'wa is a methodology and not a
madh'hab in
fiqh(jurisprudence) as commonly misunderstood, Salafis can come from the
Maliki,
Shafi'i,
Hanbali or the
Hanafi schools of Sunni fiqh
[37] and accept teaching of all four if supported by clear and authenticated evidence from the Sunnah. In the face of clear evidence, be it from Qur'an or Hadeeth, they support scholars' engagement in
ijtihad – if they are qualified – as opposed to total blind imitation (
taqlid). Their theological views are based on the
Athari creed as opposed to
kalam,
dialectics or any form of philosophy deemed speculative.[
citation needed]
Salafis condemn certain common practices as
polytheism (
shirk) and
tawassul of religious figures, such as venerating the graves of Islamic prophets and
saints or using amulets to seek protection.
[38] They maintain that such practices are
bid‘ah (heretical innovations) that are not permissible and should not be taught or practiced.[
citation needed] Salafis believe that Islam declined after the early generations because of religious innovations and an abandoning of what they consider to be pure Islamic teachings; and that an Islamic revival will only result through emulation of early generations of Muslims and purging of foreign influences.[
citation needed]
Salafis place great emphasis on following acts in accordance with the known
sunnah, not only in prayer but in every activity in daily life. For instance, many are careful always to use three fingers when eating, drink water in three pauses with the right hand while sitting,
[39] and make sure their
jellabiya or other garment does not extend below the ankle, thereby following the example recorded by Muhammad and his companions.[
citation needed]
Views on Taqlid (scholarly authority)
In legal matters, Salafis are divided between those who, in the name of independent legal judgement (
ijtihad), reject strict adherence (
taqlid) to the four schools of law (
madhahib) and others who remain faithful to these.
[40] Salafi scholars from Saudi Arabia are generally bound by
Hanbali fiqh and advocate following an Imam rather than understanding scripture oneself.
[41] These include Bin Baz, Salih al-Uthaymeen, Salih al-Fawzaan, Saud bin Shuraim and al-Sudais .[
citation needed] Other Salafi scholars however hold that
taqlid is unlawful since from their perspective, following a madhab without searching for direct evidence leads Muslims astray.
[42] These scholars include Rashid Rida,
[43] al-Khajnadee, Muhammad Abduh,
[44] Saleem al-Hilali and Nasir al-Din al-Albani.
[45]
At the very end of the spectrum, some Salafis hold
taqlid to be an act of polytheism.
[46]
Opposition to the use of kalam
Salafi scholars are in staunch opposition to the use of
kalam, dialectics or speculative philosophy in theology. This is because it is seen as a heretical innovation in Islam which opposes the primordial aspiration to follow the original methodology of the
Salaf us-salihwith regards to
Aqidah. Statements of the early Imams of the early Muslims are in corroboration with this such as
Abu Hanifa who prohibited his students from engaging in
kalam, stating that those who practice it are of the "regressing ones".
[47] Malik ibn Anas referred to
kalam in the Islamic religion as being "detested",
[48] and that whoever "seeks the religion through
kalam will deviate".
[49] In addition,
Shafi'i said that no knowledge of Islam can be gained from books of
kalam, as
kalam "is not from knowledge"
[50][51] and that "It is better for a man to spend his whole life doing whatever
Allah has prohibited – besides
shirk with Allah – rather than spending his whole life involved in
kalam."
[52] Ahmad ibn Hanbal also spoke strongly against
kalam, stating his view that no-one looks into
kalam unless there is "corruption in his heart"
[53] and even went so far as to prohibit sitting with people practicing
kalam even if they were defending the
Sunnah,
[54] and instructing his students to warn against any person they saw practicing
kalam.
[55]
History
Landmarks claimed in the history of Salafi
da'wah are
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (died 240 AH / 855 AD), known among Salafis as
Imam Ahl al-Sunnah and one of the three scholars commonly titled with the honorific
Sheikh ul-Islam, namely, Taqi ad-Deen
Ibn Taymiyyah (died 728 AH / 1328 AD) and
Ibn al-Qayyim (died 751 AH / 1350).
[56][57][58]
Early examples of usage
- Ibn Taymiyyah wrote: "There is no criticism for the one who proclaims the madh'hab of the Salaf, who attaches himself to it and refers to it. Rather, it is obligatory to accept that from him by unanimous agreement because the way of the Salaf is nothing but the truth."[36]
- The term salafi has been used to refer to the theological positions of particular scholars. Abo al-Hasan Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutuni (d. 995 C.E., 385 A.H.) was described by al-Dhahabi as: "Never having entered into rhetoric or polemics, instead he was salafi."[59]
- Also, al-Dhahabi described Ibn al-Salah, a prominent 12th century hadith specialist, as: "Firm in his religiosity, salafi in his generality and correct in his denomination. [He] refrained from falling into common pitfalls, believed in Allah and in what Allah has informed us of from His names and description."[60]
- In another of his works, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi said of Ibn al-Salah: "I say: He was salafi, of sound creed, abstaining from the interpretations of the scholars of rhetoric, believing in what has been textually established, without recourse to unjustified interpretation or elaboration.[61]
- In his book, Tabsir al-Muntabih, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned the ascription al-Salafi and named Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdillah ibn Ahmad Al-Sarkhasi al-Salafi as an example of its usage. Ibn Hajar then said: "And, likewise, the one ascribing to the salaf."[62]
- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also used the term, salafi in describing Muhammad ibn al-Qaasim ibn Sufyan al-Misri al-Maliki (d. 966 C.E., 355 A.H.) He said that al-Malaiki was: "Salafi al-madh'hab – salafi in his school of thought."[63]
- In the book Al-Ansaab by Abu Sa'd Abd al-Kareem as-Sama'ni, who died in the year 1166 (562 of the Islamic calendar), under the entry for the ascription al-Salafi he mentions an example or more of people who were so described in his time.[64] In commenting upon as-Sama'ni, Ibn al-Athir wrote: "And a group were known by this epithet."[65]
Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab
Main article:
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
Many Salafists today consider Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as the first figure in the modern era to push for a return to the religious practices of the
salaf as-salih.
[66] His evangelizing in the
Arabian Peninsula during the 18th century was a call to return to the practices of the early Muslims. His works, especially
Kitab at-Tawhid, are still widely read by Salafis around the world today and the majority of Salafi scholars still cite them frequently.
[67] After his death, his views flourished under his descendants (the
Al ash-Sheikh) and the generous financing of the
House of Saud, initiating the current worldwide Salafi movement.[
citation needed]
The vast majority of Salafis reject the label "Wahhabi" because they consider it unfounded and an object of controversy,
[68] holding that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab did not establish a new school of thought but restored the Islam practiced by the earliest generations of Muslims.[
citation needed] Followers of Salafiyyah consider it wrong to be called "Wahhabis" as the 17th Name of God is
al-Wahhab ("the Bestower"), so to be called a "Wahhabi" denotes the following of a person other than what is meant to be followed in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
[69] Wahhabism has been called a "belittling" and derogatory term for Salafi,
[70] while another source defines it as "a particular orientation within Salafism,"
[37] an orientation some consider strongly apolitical,
[71][72] and yet another describes it as a formerly separate current of Islamic thought that appropriated "language and symbolism of Salafism" until the two became "practically indistinguishable" in the 1970s.
[73] Critics of Wahhabiyya,
Hamid Algar and
Khaled Abou El Fadl, argue that while the two interpretations had distinct differences, they effectively merged in the 1970s and early 1980s when Saudi oil-export funding "co-opted" Salafism, and "melded" their ideologies.
[74]
Trevor Stanley states that while the origins of the terms
Wahhabism and
Salafism "were quite distinct" – "Wahhabism was a pared-down Islam that rejected modern influences, while Salafism sought to reconcile Islam with modernism" – they both shared a rejection of "traditional" teachings on Islam in favor of a direct, more puritan interpretation. Stéphane Lacroix, a fellow and lecturer at
Sciences Po in
Paris, also affirmed a distinction between the two: "As opposed to Wahhabism, Salafism refers here to all the hybridations that have taken place since the 1960s between the teachings of Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab and other Islamic schools of thought.
Al-Albani’s discourse can therefore be a form of Salafism, while being critical of Wahhabism."
[8]
The migration of Muslim Brotherhood members from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and
Saudi King Faisal's "embrace of Salafi
pan-Islamism resulted in cross-pollination between Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab's teachings on
tawhid, shirk and
bid‘ah and Salafi interpretations of the sayings of Muhammad.
[75]
Contemporary Salafism
Salafism is attractive to its adherents because it underscores Islam's universality.
[76] It insists on affirmation of the literal truth as understood by its apparent meaning of Qur'anic scripture and Hadeeth,
[76] yet may challenge
secularism by appropriating secularism's traditional role of defending the socially and politically weak against the powerful.
[77]
There have been several Salafi movements attempting to challenge the stereotypes widely adopted by societies that often lead to profiling and discriminating against those who embrace the Salafi belief and lifestyle.
Costa Salafis founded in 2011 by
Mohammad Tolbais one of the groups that aim at bridging gaps with others from different backgrounds and beliefs and is increasingly becoming a media favorite in
Egypt.[
citation needed]
Views on extremism
In recent years, Salafi methodology has come to be associated with the jihad of extremist groups that advocate the killing of innocent civilians. The Saudi scholar,
Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen considered suicide bombing to be unlawful
[78][79] and the scholar Abdul Muhsin al-Abbad wrote a treatise entitled:
According to which intellect and Religion is Suicide bombings and destruction considered Jihad?.
[80] Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani stated that "History repeats itself. Everybody claims that the Prophet is their role model. Our Prophet spent the first half of his message making da’wa, and he did not start it with jihad".
[81]
Some Salafi scholars appear to support extremism and acts of violence. The Egyptian Salafi cleric Mahmoud Shaaban "appeared on a religious television channel calling for the deaths of main opposition figures Mohammed ElBaradei – a Nobel peace prize laureate – and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy."
[82][83] The popular salafi preacher
Zakir Naik speaking of
Osama bin Laden, said that he would not criticise bin Laden because he had not met him and did not know him personally. He added that, "If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him," and that "If he is terrorizing America – the terrorist, biggest terrorist – I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I don’t know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong."
[84]
Some other Islamic groups, particularly some
Sufis, have also complained about extremism among some Salafi. It has been noted that the Western association of Salafi ideology with violence stems from writings "through the prism of security studies" that were published in the late 20th century and that continue to persist.
[85]
Trends sometimes associated with Salafism
According to at least one observer,
[86] Salafism can be divided into three trends, one focusing on education and missionary work to solidify the tawhid prior to any political movement (sometimes called Madkhalism); another focusing on re-establishing a caliphate through the means of evolution, but not violence (sometimes called Salafist activism); and a third sharing similar political goals as the second group, but engaging in violent Jihad (sometimes called Salafi jihadism and/or Qutbism).
[87]
Purists, Madkhalism
"Purists" are Salafists who focus on non-violent
da'wah, education, and "purification of religious beliefs and practices". They dismiss politics as "a diversion or even innovation that leads people away from Islam".
[88]
Madkhalism is a term typically referring to the strain of Salafists viewed as supportive of
authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.
[89][90][91] Taking its name from the controversial Saudi Arabian cleric
Rabee Al-Madkhali, the movement lost its support in Saudi Arabia proper when several members of the
Permanent Committee (the country's clerical body) denounced Madkhali personally.
[92] Influence of both the movement and its figureheads have waned so much within the Muslim world that analysts have declared it to be a largely European phenomenon.
[92]
Salafist activism
It has sometimes been described as a third strain of the global movement, being different from the Salafist Jihadists by eschewing violence and from the Salafist Madkhalists by engaging in modern political processes.
[93] Due to numerical superiority, the movement has been referred to the mainstream of the Salafist movement at times.
[91] This trend, sometimes called "politicos", see politics as "yet another field in which the Salafi creed has to be applied" in order to safeguard justice and "guarantee that the political rule is based upon the Shari'a".
[88]
"It’s very simple. We want
sharia. Sharia in economy, in politics, in judiciary, in our borders and our foreign relations."
—Mohammed Abdel-Rahman, the son of
Omar Abdel-Rahman,
Time magazine. October 8, 2012
[94]
Salafist jihadism
Main article:
Salafist jihadism
"Salafi Jihadism" was a term coined by
Gilles Kepel[95][96] to describe those self-claiming Salafi groups who began developing an interest in jihad during the mid-1990s. Practitioners are often referred to as "Salafi jihadis" or "Salafi jihadists". Journalist
Bruce Liveseyestimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 0.5 percent of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims (i.e., less than 10 million).
[95] However, those who take their actions beyond the limits of the
shari'ah (such as terrorist attacks against civilians) are seen as deviant and not true Salafis.
Another definition of Salafi jihadism, offered by Mohammed M. Hafez, is an "extreme form of
Sunni Islamism that rejects
democracy and
Shia rule." Hafez distinguished them from apolitical and conservative Salafi scholars (such as
Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani,
Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen,
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz and
Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh), but also from the
sahwa[
disambiguation needed] movement associated with
Salman al-Ouda or
Safar Al-Hawali.
[97]
An analysis of the
Caucasus Emirate, a Salafi jihadist group was made in 2014 by Darion Rhodes.
[98] It analyzes the group's strict observance of
tawhid and its rejection of
shirk,
taqlid,
ijtihad, and
bid'ah, while believing that jihad is the only way to advance the cause of Allah on the earth.
[98]
Qutbism
Qutbism is a movement which has, at times, been described both as a strain of Salafism and an opposing movement,
[70] providing the foil to Madkhalism in that the movement is typically found in radical opposition to the ruling regimes of the Middle East.
[89] Qutbism has, at times, been associated with the above-mentioned Salafist Jihadist trend.
[93]
Despite some similarities, the different contemporary self-proclaimed Salafist groups often strongly disapprove of one another and deny the other's Islamic character.
[99]
Comparison with other movements
Main article:
Islamism
Some Salafi Muslims often preach disengagement from Western activities, and advocate being apolitical and being against any form of extremism, "even by giving them an Islamic slant."
[100] Instead, it is thought that Muslims should stick to traditional activities, particularly Dawah. Nevertheless, Salafis do not preach willful ignorance of civil or state law.[
citation needed] While preaching that the Sharia takes precedence, Salafi Muslims conform to civil or state law as far as they are required, for example in purchasing mandatory auto insurance.[
citation needed]
Arab Spring
Salafi have been notable following insurrections in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. In the
2011–12 Egypt parliamentary elections, the
Islamist Bloc led by the
Al-Nour Party managed to receive 27.8% of the vote despite only "a few months of party politicking experience", gaining 127 of the 498 parliamentary seats contested and forming the second-largest bloc in the parliament.
[101] According to Ammar Ali Hassan of al-Ahram, while Salafis and the
Muslim Brotherhood agree on many issues such as the need to "Islamize" society and restricting private property rights by legally requiring all Muslims to give alms, the former has nevertheless rejected the flexibility of the latter on the issue of whether women and Christians should be entitled to serve in high office, as well as its relatively tolerant attitude towards Shia Iran.
[102]
Criticism
Salafism has been recently criticized by Professor
Khaled Abou El Fadl of the
UCLA School of Law. El Fadl argues that the Salafi methodology "drifted into stifling apologetics" by the mid-20th century, a reaction against "anxiety" to "render Islam compatible with modernity," by its leaders earlier in the century.
[103] He attacks those who state "any meritorious or worthwhile modern institutions were first invented and realized by Muslims". He argues the result was that "an artificial sense of confidence and an intellectual lethargy" developed, according to Abou El Fadl, "that took neither the Islamic tradition nor" the challenges of the modern world "very seriously."
[104]
According to the
As-Sunnah Foundation of America, the Salafi and Wahhabi movements are strongly opposed by a long list of
Sunni scholars.
[105] The Saudi government has been criticised for
damaging Islamic heritage of thousands of years in Saudi Arabia.
[106][107]Though Salafis when told about this were as opposed to it as other Muslims.
[108] The Salafi movement has been linked by
Marc Sageman to some terrorists group around the world.
[109]
Salafism in China
Salafism is opposed by a number of
Hui Muslims Sects in China such as by the
Gedimu, Sufi
Khafiya and
Jahriyya, to the extent that even the fundamentalist
Yihewani (Ikhwan) Chinese sect, founded by
Ma Wanfu after Salafi inspiration, condemned Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing as heretics when they attempted to introduce Salafism as the main form of Islam. Ma Debao established a Salafi school, called the
Sailaifengye (Salafi)
menhuan in
Lanzhou and
Linxia. It is completely separate from other
Muslim sects in China.
[110] Muslim Hui avoid Salafis, even if they are family members.
[111] The number of Salafis in China are not included on percentage lists of Muslim sects in China.
[112] The
Kuomintang Sufi Muslim General
Ma Bufang, who backed the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Muslims, persecuted the Salafis and forced them into hiding. They were not allowed to move or worship openly. The Yihewani had become secular and Chinese nationalists; they considered the Salafiyya to be "heterodox" (
xie jiao) and people who followed foreigners' teachings (
waidao). After the
Communists took power, Salafis were allowed to worship openly again.
[113]
German government's statement on Salafism
German government officials
[114] have stated that Salafism has a strong link to terrorism but have clarified that not all Salafists are terrorists. The statements by German government officials criticizing Salafism were televised by
Deutsche Welle during April 2012.
[115][116]
(also called
Kotebism,
Qutbiyya, or
Qutbiyyah) is a faction within
Islam, with roots to the thoughts of the late
Sayyid Qutb, a Muslim, and figurehead of the
Muslim Brotherhood (he was executed in 1966). It has been described as advancing the ideology of
jihadism, i.e. propagating "
offensive jihad," - waging jihad in conquest
[1] - or "armed jihad in the advance of
Islam"
[2]
Qutbism has gained widespread attention due to its perceived influence on
Islamic extremists, and terrorists such as
Osama bin-Laden. Muslim extremists “cite Sayyid Qutb repeatedly and consider themselves his intellectual descendants.”
[2]
While referred to as Qutbists or
Qutbiyyun, (singular
Qutbee or
Qutbi), this group of Muslims rarely call themselves by such; the name originated from and is used by the sect's opponents.
Tenets
Sayyid Qutb
The main tenet of Qutbist ideology is that the Muslim community (or the Muslim community outside of a vanguard fighting to reestablish it) "has been extinct for a few centuries"
[3] having reverted to Godless ignorance (
Jahiliyya), and must be reconquered for Islam.
[4]
Qutb outlined his ideas in his book
Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (aka
Milestones). Other important principles of Qutbism include:[
citation needed]
- Adherence to Sharia as sacred law accessible to humans, without which Islam cannot exist
- Adherence to Sharia as a complete way of life that will bring not only justice, but peace, personal serenity, scientific discovery, complete freedom from servitude, and other benefits
- Avoidance of Western and non-Islamic "evil and corruption," including socialism and nationalism.[5]
- Vigilance against Western and Jewish conspiracies against Islam
- A two-pronged attack of 1) preaching to convert and 2) jihad to forcibly eliminate the "structures" of Jahiliyya[6]
- The importance of offensive Jihad to eliminate Jahiliyya not only from the Islamic homeland but from the face of the earth
Spread of Qutb's ideas
Qutb's message was spread through his writing, his followers and especially through his brother,
Muhammad Qutb, who moved to
Saudi Arabia following his release from prison in Egypt and became a
professor of
Islamic Studies and edited, published and promoted his brother Sayyid's work.
[7][8]
Anwar al-Awlaki
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who went on to become a member of the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad, was one of Muhammad Qutb's students
[9] and later a mentor of
Osama bin Laden and a leading member of al-Qaeda.
[10] and had been first introduced to Sayyad Qutb by his uncle, Mafouz Azzam, who had been very close to Sayyad Qutb throughout his life and impressed on al-Zawahiri "the purity of Qutb's character and the torment he had endured in prison."
[11] Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work
Knights under the Prophet's Banner.[12]
Osama bin Laden is reported to have regularly attended weekly public lectures by
Muhammad Qutb, at
King Abdulaziz University, and to have read and been deeply influenced by Sayyid Qutb.
[13]
Late Yemeni Al Qaeda leader
Anwar al-Awlaki has also spoken of Qutb's great influence and of being "so immersed with the author I would feel Sayyid was with me... speaking to me directly.”
[14]
History of the word "Qutbee"
Following Qutb's death Qutbist ideas spread throughout Egypt and other parts of the Arab and Muslim world, prompting a backlash by more traditionalist and conservative Muslims, such as the book
Du'ah, la Qudah (Preachers, not Judges) (1969). The book, written by MB Supreme Guide
Hassan al-Hudaybi, attacked the idea of
Takfir of other Muslims (but was ostensibly targeted not at Qutb but at Mawdudi, as al-Hudaybi had been a friend and supporter of Qutb).
[15]
Like the term "Wahhabi", Qutbee is used not by the alleged Qutbees to describes themselves, but by their critics.
[16]
Takfir
The most controversial aspect of Qutbism is
Takfir, Qutb's idea that Islam is "extinct." According to
Takfir, with the exception of Qutb’s Islamic vanguard, those who call themselves Muslims are not actually Muslim.
Takfir was intended to shock Muslims into religious re-armament. When taken literally,
Takfir also had the effect of causing non-Qutbists who claimed to be Muslim in violation of Sharia law, a law that Qutb very much supported. Violating this law could potentially be considered
apostasy from Islam: a crime punishable by
death according to Qutbis.
[17]
Because of these serious consequences, Muslims have traditionally been reluctant to practice
takfir, that is, to pronounce professed Muslims as unbelievers (even Muslims in violation of Islamic law).
[18] This prospect of
fitna, or internal strife, between Qutbists and "takfir-ed" mainstream Muslims, was put to Qutb by prosecutors in the trial that led to his execution,
[19] and is still made by his Muslim detractors.
[20][21]
Qutb died before he could clear up the issue of whether jahiliyya referred to the whole "Muslim world," to only Muslim governments, or only in an allegorical sense,
[22] but a
serious campaign of terror—or "physical power and jihad" against "the organizations and authorities" of "jahili" Egypt—by insurgents observers believed were influenced by Qutb, followed in the 1980s and 1990s.
[23] Victims included Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat, head of the counter-terrorism police Major General Raouf Khayrat, parliamentary speaker Rifaat el-Mahgoub, dozens of European tourists and Egyptian bystanders, and over one hundred Egyptian police officers.
[24] Other factors (such as economic dislocation/stagnation and rage over President Sadat's policy of reconciliation with Israel) played a part in instigating the violence,
[25] but Qutb's takfir against
Jahiliyyah (or
jahili) society, and his passionate belief that
Jahiliyya government was irredeemably evil played a key role.
[26]
Muslim criticism
While
Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq [Arabic: معالم في الطريق] (Milestones) was Qutb's manifesto, other elements of Qutbism are found in his works
Al-'adala al-Ijtima'iyya fi-l-Islam [Arabic: العدالة الاجتماعية في الاسلام] (
Social Justice in Islam), and his Quranic commentary
Fi Zilal al-Qur'an[Arabic: في ظلال القرآن] (In the shade of the Qur'an). Ideas in (or alleged to be in) those works also have come under attack from traditionalist/conservative/Wahhabi Muslims. They include
- Qutb's assertion that slavery is now illegal under Islam, as its lawfulness was only temporary, existing only "until the world devised a new code of practice, other than enslavement." Traditionalist critics maintain `Islaam has affirmed slavery ... And it will continue so long as Jihaad in the path of Allaah exists."` (Shaikh Salih al-Fawzaan) [27]
- Proposals to redistribute income and property to the needy. Opponents claim they are "socialist" and innovations of Islam.[28][29][30] (Though Qutb was in favor of "social justice", he strongly disapproved of socialism - even of "Islamic socialism" - seeing it as compromise with jahiliyya.[citation needed])
- Describing Moses as having an "excitable nature" - this allegedly being "mockery," and "mockery of the Prophets is apostasy in its own,'" according to Shaikh ‘Abdul-Azeez Ibn Baz.
- Dismissing fiqh or the schools of Islamic law known as madhhab as separate from "Islamic principles and Islamic understanding."[31]
- Desiring to unite the four schools of Islamic law into one school - allegedly an innovation.[32]
- Favoring the overthrow of tyrants, when Islam teaches that "when you cannot correct a wrong thing be patient! Allah ... will correct it."[20]
Accusations against Qutbism include some that may contradict what Qutb actually said, such as one alleging that Qutb believed "Christians should be left as Christians--Jews as Jews," since he believed in
hurriyatul-i'tiqaad (freedom of belief).
[33]
Qutb may now be facing criticism representing his idea's success or Qutbism's logical conclusion as much as his idea's failure to persuade some critics. Writing before the
Islamic revival was in full bloom, Qutb sought Islamically-correct alternatives to European ideas like Marxism and socialism and proposed Islamic means to achieve the ends of social justice and equality, redistribution of private property, political revolution. But according to Olivier Roy, contemporary "neofundamentalist refuse to express their views in modern terms borrowed from the West. They consider indulging in politics, even for a good cause, will by definition lead to
bid'a and
shirk (the giving of priority to worldly considerations over religious values.)"
[34]
There are, however, some commentators who display an ambivalence towards him, and Roy notes that "his books are found everywhere and mentioned on most neo-fundamentalist websites, and arguing his "mystical approach", "radical contempt and hatred for the West", and "pessimistic views on the modern world" have resonated with these Muslims.
[35]
Science and learning
On the importance of science and learning, the key to the power of his
bête noire, western civilization, Qutb was ambivalent. He wrote that
Muslims have drifted away from their religion and their way of life, and have forgotten that Islam appointed them as representatives of God and made them responsible for learning all the sciences and developing various capabilities to fulfill this high position which God has granted them.
... and encouraged Muslims to seek knowledge.
A Muslim can go to a Muslim or to a non-Muslim to learn abstract sciences such as
chemistry,
physics,
biology,
astronomy,
medicine,
industry,
agriculture,
administration (limited to its technical aspects), technology, military arts and similar sciences and arts; although the fundamental principle is that when the Muslim community comes into existence it should provide experts in all these fields in abundance, as all these sciences and arts are a sufficient obligation (Fard al-Kifayah) on Muslims (that is to say, there ought to be a sufficient number of people who specialize in these various sciences and arts to satisfy the needs of the community). (Qutb,
Milestones p.109)
On the other hand, Qutb believed some learning was forbidden to Muslims and should not be studied, including:
principles of
economics and
political affairs and interpretation of historical processes...
origin of the universe, the origin of the life of man...
philosophy, comparative religion...
sociology (excluding statistics and observations)...
Darwinist biology ([which] goes beyond the scope of its observations, without any rhyme or reason and only for the sake of expressing an opinion...). (Qutb,
Milestones p.108-110)
and that the era of scientific discovery (that non-Muslim Westerners were so famous for) was now over:
The period of resurgence of
science has also come to an end. This period, which began with the
Renaissance in the sixteenth century after Christ and reached its zenith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, does not possess a reviving spirit. [Qutb,
Milestones p.8]
However important scientific discovery was, or is, an important tool to achieve it (and to do everything else) is to follow
Sharia law under which
blessings fall on all mankind, [and] leads in an easy manner to the knowledge of the secrets of nature, its hidden forces and the treasures concealed in the expanses of the universe. [Qutb,
Milestones p.90]
Qutbism and non-Muslims
Other elements of Qutbism deal with non-Muslims, particularly Westerners, and have drawn attention and controversy from their subjects, particularly following
9/11. Though their terminology, issues and arguments are different from those of the Islamic traditionalists, Westerners also have criticism to make.
Islamic law and freedom
Qutbism postulates that sharia-based society will have an almost supernatural perfection, providing justice, prosperity, peace and harmony both individually and societally.
[36]
Its wonders are such that the use of
offensive jihad to spread sharia-Islam throughout the non-Muslim world will not be aggression but "a movement... to introduce true freedom to mankind." It frees humanity from servitude to man because its divine nature requires no human authorities to judge or enforce its law.
[37]
Vigilance against conspiracies
Qutbism emphasizes the (alleged) evil designs of Westerners and Jews against Islam, and the importance of Muslims not trusting or imitating them.
The West
In Qutb's view, for example, Western
Imperialism is not, as Westerners would have Muslims believe, only an
economic exploitation of weak peoples by the strong and greedy.
[38] Nor were the medieval
Crusades, as some historians claim, merely an attempt by Christians to reconquer the formerly Christian-ruled, Christian holy land to which some historians disagree because the crusaders slaughtered Arab Christians too.[
citation needed]
Both were different expressions of the West's "pronounced... enmity" towards Islam, including plans to "demolish the structure of Muslim society."
[39] Imperialism is "a mask for the crusading spirit."
[40]
Examples of Western malevolence Qutb personally experienced and related to his readers include an attempt by a "drunken, semi-naked... American agent" to seduce him on his voyage to America, and the (alleged) celebration of American hospital employees upon hearing of the assassination of Egyptian Ikhwan Supreme Guide
Hasan al-Banna.[
citation needed]
Qutb's Western critics have questioned whether Qutb was likely to arouse interest of American intelligence agents (as he was not a member of the Egyptian government or any political organization at that time), or whether many Americans, let alone hospital employees, knew who Hasan al-Banna or the Muslim Brotherhood were in 1948.
[41]
Jews
The other anti-Islamic conspirator group, according to Qutb, is "World Jewry," which he believes is engaged in tricks to eliminate "faith and religion", and trying to divert "the wealth of mankind" into "Jewish financial institutions" by charging interest on loans.
[42] Jewish designs are so pernicious, according to Qutb's logic, that "anyone who leads this [Islamic] community away from its religion and its Quran can only be [a] Jewish agent", causing one critic to claim that the statement apparently means that "any source of division, anyone who undermines the relationship between Muslims and their faith is by definition a Jew".
[43]
Western corruption
Further information:
Sex segregation and Islam
Qutbism emphasizes a claimed Islamic moral superiority over the West, according to Islamist values. One example of
"the filth" and
"rubbish heap of the West." (Qutb,
Milestones, p. 139) was the "animal-like" "mixing of the sexes." Qutb states that while he was in America a young woman told him
The issue of sexual relations is purely a biological matter. You... complicate this matter by imposing the ethical element on it. The horse and mare, the bull and the cow... do not think about this ethical matter... and, therefore, live a comfortable, simple, and easy life.
[44]
Critics complain that this opinion was wildly unrepresentative and the incident highly improbable. Even at the height of the sexual revolution in America 30 years later, most Americans would disagree with his statement, but at the time of his visit to America, sex out of wedlock, let alone "animal-like" promiscuity, was rare, with the overwhelming number of Americans married as virgins or that only had premarital sex with their future spouse.
[45]
Muslim Brotherhood
Controversy over Qutbism is in part an expression of the disagreement of two of the main tendencies of the Islamic revival: the more traditional
Salafi Muslims, and the more radically active Muslim groups associated with the
Muslim Brotherhood,
[46] the group Qutb was a member of for about the last decade and a half of his life.
Although Sayyid Qutb was never head (or "Supreme Guide") of the
Muslim Brotherhood,
[47] he was the Brotherhood's "leading intellectual,"
[48] editor of its weekly periodical, and a member of the highest branch in the Brotherhood, the Working Committee and of the Guidance Council.
[49]
After the publication of
Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq, (
Milestones), opinion in the Brotherhood split over his ideas, though many in Egypt (including radicals outside the Brotherhood) and most Brethren in other countries are said to have shared his analysis "to one degree or another."
[50] In recent years his ideas have been embraced by radical Islamists groups
[51] while the Muslim Brotherhood has tended to serve as the official voice of Islamist moderation.
(
Arabic:
السلفية الجهادية) is a
jihadist movement or ideology among
Salafi (from
salaf, "ancestors") Muslims. The term was coined by scholar
Gilles Kepel[1][2] to describe the beliefs of
Salafi who became interested in violent jihad starting in the mid-1990s. Practitioners are often referred to as "Salafi jihadis" or "Salafi jihadists". They are sometimes described as a variety of Salafi,
[3] and sometimes as separate from "good Salafis"
[1] whose movement is a "precursor" of Salafist jihadism.
[2]
The majority of Salafis are from
Qatar,
UAE and
Saudi Arabia.
[4] 22.9% of all
Saudis are Salafis (concentrated in
Najd).
[4] 46.87% of
Qataris[4] and 44.8% of
Emiratis are Salafis.
[4] 5.7% of
Bahrainis are Salafis and 2.17% of
Kuwaitis are Salafis.
[4]
History and definition
Author and academic Gilles Kepel writes that the Salafis whom he encountered in Europe in the 1980s were "totally apolitical". But by the mid-1990s he met some who felt jihad in the form of "violence and terrorism" was "justified to realize their political objectives". The combination of
Salafi alienation from all things non-Muslim—including "mainstream European society"—and violent jihad created a "volatile mixture".
[1] "When you're in the state of such alienation you become easy prey to the jihadi guys who will feed you more savory propaganda than the old propaganda of the Salafists who tell you to pray, fast and who are not taking action".
[1]
According to Kepel, Salafist jihadism combined "respect for the sacred texts in their most literal form, ... with an absolute commitment to jihad, whose number-one target had to be America, perceived as the greatest enemy of the faith."
[5]
Salafist jihadists distinguished themselves from salafis they term "sheikist", so named because—the jihadists believed—the "sheikists" had forsaken adoration of God for adoration of "the oil sheiks of the Arabian peninsula, with the Al Saud family at their head". Principal among the sheikist scholars was
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz -- "the archetypal court ulema [
ulama al-balat]". These allegedly "false" salafi "had to be striven against and eliminated," but even more dangerous was the
Muslim Brotherhood, who were believed by Salafi Jihadists to be excessively moderate and lacking in literal interpretation of holy texts.
[5] Iyad El-Baghdadi describes Salafism as "deeply divided" into "mainstream (government-approved, or Islahi) Salafism", and Jihadi Salafism.
[3]
Another definition of Salafi jihadism, offered by Mohammed M. Hafez, is an "extreme form of
Sunni Islamism that rejects
democracy and
Shia rule." Hafez distinguished them from apolitical and conservative Salafi scholars (such as
Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani,
Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen,
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz and
Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh), but also from the
sahwa movement associated with
Salman al-Ouda or
Safar Al-Hawali.
[6]
According to Mohammed M. Hafez, contemporary jihadi Salafism is characterized by "five features":
- immense emphasis on the concept of tawhid (unity of God);
- God's sovereignty (hakimiyyat Allah), which defines right and wrong, good and evil, and which supersedes human reasoning is applicable in all places on earth and at all times, and makes unnecessary and un-Islamic other ideologies such as liberalism or humanism;
- the rejection of all innovation (Bid‘ah) to Islam;
- the permissibility and necessity of takfir (the declaring of a Muslim to be outside the creed, so that they may face execution);
- and on the centrality of jihad against infidel regimes.[6]
According to Michael Horowitz, Salafi Jihad is an ideology that identifies the "alleged source of the Muslims’ conundrum" in the "persistent attacks and humiliation of Muslims on the part of an anti-Islamic alliance of what it terms ‘Crusaders,’ ‘Zionists,’ and ‘apostates.’"
[7]
Al Jazeera journalist Jamal Al Sharif describes Salafi Jihadism as combining "the doctrinal content and approach of Salafism and organisational models from
Muslim Brotherhood organisations. Their motto emerged as ‘Salafism in doctrine, modernity in confrontation’".
[8]
Antecedents of Salafism jihadism include Islamist author
Sayyid Qutb, who developed "the intellectual underpinnings" of the ideology. Qutb argued that the world had reached a crisis point and that the Islamic world has been replaced by pagan ignorance of
Jahiliyyah.
The group
Takfir wal-Hijra, who kidnapped and murdered an Egyptian ex-government minister in 1978, inspired some of "the tactics and methods" used by Al Qaeda.
[1]
Numbers
Journalist Bruce Livesey estimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 1 percent of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims (i.e. less than 20 million).
[1]
Leaders, groups and activities
Its leaders included Afghan jihad veterans such as the Palestinian
Abu Qatada, the Syrian
Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, the Egyptian Mustapha Kamel, known as
Abu Hamza al-Masri and later
Osama bin Laden. The dissident Saudi preachers
Salman al-Ouda and
Safar Al-Hawali, were held in high esteem by this school.
Murad Al-shishani of the
The Jamestown Foundation states there have been three generations of Salafi-jihadists: those waging jihad in
Afghanistan,
Bosnia and
Iraq. As of the mid-2000s, Arab fighters in Iraq were "the latest and most important development of the global Salafi-jihadi movement".
[9] These fighters were usually not Iraqis, but volunteers who had come to Iraq from other countries, mainly
Saudi Arabia. Unlike in earlier Salafi jihadi actions "a significant constituency of Egyptians" was not among the volunteers.
[9]According to Bruce Livesey Salafist jihadists are currently a "burgeoning presence in Europe, having attempted more than 30 terrorist attacks among
E.U. countries" from September 2001 to the beginning of 2005".
[1]
According to Mohammed M. Hafez, in Iraq jihadi salafi are pursuing a "system-collapse strategy" whose goal is to install an "Islamic emirate based on
Sunni dominance, similar to the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan." In addition to occupation/coalition personnel they target mainly Iraqi security forces and
Shia civilians, but also "foreign journalists, translators and transport drivers and the economic and physical infrastructure of Iraq."
[6]
2011
In 2011, Salafi jihadists were actively involved with protests against
King Abdullah II of Jordan,
[10] and the kidnapping followed by a swift murder of Italian
peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni in
Hamas-controlled
Gaza Strip.
[11][12]
Groups
Salafist jihadists groups include
Al Qaeda,
[3] the now defunct Algerian
Armed Islamic Group (GIA),
[5] and prior to 2009,
Kashmir-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba.[
citation needed] According to Mohammed M. Hafez, "as of 2006 the two major groups within the jihadi Salafi camp" in Iraq were the Mujahidin Shura Council and the Ansar al Sunna Group.
[6] There are also a number of small jihadist Salafist groups in
Azerbaijan.
[13] Jund Ansar Allah is, or was, an armed Salafist jihadist organization in the
Gaza Strip. On August 14, 2009, the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh
Abdel Latif Moussa, announced during Friday sermon the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the Palestinian territories attacking the ruling authority, the
Islamist group
Hamas, for failing to enforce
Sharia law. Hamas forces responded to his sermon by surrounding his Ibn Taymiyya mosque complex and attacking it. In the fighting that ensued, 24 people (including Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa himself), were killed and over 130 were wounded.
[14]
In the North Caucasus region of Russia, the
Caucasus Emirate retains a hard-line Salafist-takfiri jihadist ideology. They are immensely focused on upholding the concept of
tawhid, and fiercely reject any practice of
shirk,
taqlid,
ijtihad and
bid'ah. They also believe in the complete separation between the Muslim and the non-Muslim, by propagating
Al Wala' Wal Bara' and declaring
takfir against any Muslim who is a mushrik (polytheist) and does not return to the observance of tawhid and the strict literal interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah as followed by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions (Sahaba).
[15]
In Syria, the group
Jabhat al-Nusra has been described as possessing "a hard-line Salafi-Jihadist ideology" and being one of "the most effective" groups fighting the regime.
[16]
