Localising Salafism

The political transition in 1991 and the new regime’s policy towards the ethnic and religious diversity in Ethiopia have contributed to increased activities from various Islamic reform movements. Among these, we find the Salafi movement which expanded rapidly throughout the 1990s, particularly in the Oromo-speaking south-eastern parts of the country. This book sheds light on the emergence and expansion of Salafism in Bale. Focusing on the diversified body of situated actors and their role in the process of religious change, it discusses the early arrival of Salafism in the late 1960s, follows it through the Marxist period (1974-1991) before discussing the rapid expansion of the movement in the 1990s. The movement’s dynamics and the controversies emerging as a result of the reforms are discussed, particularly with reference to different understandings of sources for religious knowledge and the role of Islamic literacy.

With a particular focus on the role of situated actors, this book sheds light on the emergence and expansion of Salafism in Bale, Ethiopia from the late 1960s, through the Marxist period (1974-1991) before discussing the rapid expansion and fragmentation of the movement in the 1990s until 2006.

Salafism is a fundamentalist Sunni vision of Islam that is growing in popularity in many countries. In this book, Mohamed-Ali Adraoui focuses on quietist Salafism, which he calls a study in contradictions. Strongly opposed to political action, terrorism, and the overthrow of established regimes, quietist Salafism insists on restructuring Islamic norms with the fervor of a revivalist and fundamentalist ethic. Quietist Salafis seek the purification of culture and religious renewal through a "de-militantization" of the Islamic corpus. Adraoui explores the Salafis' individual trajectories, their relationship with politics, and their vision of the world and of modernity, in order to understand how quietist Salafis negotiate their social identities and religious obligations in the Western context. What does the increasing presence of Islamic movements in the global space mean? Adraoui draws parallels between the French case and that of Muslim countries, and argues that the spread of quietist Salafism is partially a result of the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia. Quietist Salafism, he argues, is resonant of Saudi Arabia's efforts to promote a legitimist, anti-anarchist, and counter-revolutionary conception of Islam, after having long legitimized and reinforced the Islamist forces and Jihadist movements when it was in its geopolitical interests to do so. Salafism Goes Global sheds light on a dynamic of globalization that is taking place in the margins.

Examines how Salafism, a globally influential Muslim movement, is reshaping religious authority in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

Examines the entrenchment of Salafism in Lebanese society while also highlighting the movement's transnational links to the Persian Gulf.

This book addresses the issue of one of the most visible and debated currents in contemporary radical Islam. It sheds light on the history, the fundamental principles, and the political and religious translations of Salafism and explains current events involving Salafist actors in an objective and dispassionate manner. The author explains with precision the different contemporary Salafist mobilizations by illustrating them with specific cases while shedding light on the main debates related to this mode of understanding of the Muslim religion, such as its potential role in triggering certain forms of violence, the way to compare it to other fundamentalist versions in other religions, or the way to describe, in terms of social sciences, the main concepts and discourses that can be observed in this current of Islam today.

1. Introduction -- 2. Deconstructing Salafism -- 3. Transnational solidarity of Salafi ʻulama: the politics of Islamism -- 4. Transnational networks of Salafi ʻulama: the debate over the Sunni-Shiʻa divide -- 5. Transnational networks of Salafi ʻulama: haraki/quietist unity in the face of Jihadi Salafism? -- 6. Transnational networks of ʻulama: contesting the social sphere -- 7. Conclusion -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography.

'Salafism' and 'jihadi Salafism' have become significant doctrinal trends in contemporary Islamic thought yet the West has largely failed to offer a sophisticated and discerning definition of these movements. The contributors to Global Salafism carefully outline not only the differences in the Salafi schools but the broader currents of Islamic thought that constitute this trend as well. They examine both the regional manifestations of the phenomenon and its shared, essential doctrines. Their analyses highlight Salafism's inherent ambivalence and complexities - the 'out-antiquing the antique' that has brought Islamic thought into the modern age while maintaining its relationship to an older, purer authenticity. Emphasising the subtle tensions between local and global aspirations within the 'Salafi method', Global Salafism investigates the movement like no other study currently available.