Salafi movement
The Salafi movement or Salafism (Arabic: السلفية, romanized: al-Salafiyya) is a revival movement within Sunni Islam,[1][2][3][4] which was formed as a socio-religious movement during the late 19th century and has remained influential in the Islamic world for over a century.[5][6][7] The name "Salafiyya" is a self-designation,[8] to call for an alleged return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (salaf), the first three generations of Muslims (the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Sahabah [his companions], then the Tabi'in, and the third generation, the Tabi' al-Tabi'in), who are believed to exemplify the pure form of Islam.[9] In practice, Salafis claim that they rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the Ijma (consensus) of the salaf, giving these writings precedence over what they claim as "later religious interpretations".[10][11] The Salafi movement aimed to achieve a renewal of Muslim life and had a major influence on many Muslim thinkers and movements across the Islamic world.[12][13]
Not to be confused with Salaf.
Salafi Muslims oppose bid'a (religious innovation) and support the implementation of sharia (Islamic law).[14] In its approach to politics, the Salafi movement is sometimes divided by Western academics and journalists into three categories: the largest group being the purists (or quietists), who avoid politics; the second largest group being the activists, who maintain regular involvement in politics; and the third group being the jihadists, who form a minority and advocate armed struggle to restore the early Islamic movement.[14] In legal matters, Salafis are divided between those who advocate ijtihad (independent reasoning) and oppose taqlid (adherence) to the four schools (madhahib) of Islamic jurisprudence, and those who remain largely faithful to them, but do not restrict themselves to the "final" edicts of any specific madhhab.
The origins of Salafism are disputed, with some historians like Louis Massignon tracing its origin to the intellectual movement in the second half of the nineteenth century that opposed Westernization emanating from European imperialism (led by Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and Rashid Rida).[15][16] However, Afghani and Abduh had not self-described as "Salafi" and the usage of the term to denote them has become outdated today.[17] Abduh's more orthodox student Rashid Rida followed hardline Salafism which opposed Sufism, Shi'ism and incorporated traditional madh'hab system. Rida eventually became a champion of the Wahhabi movement and would influence another strand of conservative Salafis.[18][19][20] In the modern academia, Salafism is commonly used to refer to a cluster of contemporary Sunni renewal and reform movements inspired by the teachings of classical theologians—in particular Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328 CE/661–728 AH).[21][22][23] These Salafis dismiss the 19th century reformers as rationalists who failed to interpret scripture in the most literal, traditional sense.[24]
Conservative Salafis regard Syrian scholars like Rashid Rida (d. 1935 CE/ 1354 AH) and Muhibb al-Khatib (d. 1969 CE/ 1389 AH) as revivalists of Salafi thought in the Arab world.[25] Rida's religious orientation was shaped by his association with Syrian Hanbali and Salafi scholars who preserved the tradition of Ibn Taymiyya. These ideas would be popularised by Rida and his disciples, immensely influencing numerous Salafi organisations in the Arab world.[24] Some of the major Salafi reform movements in the Islamic world today include the Ahl-i Hadith movement, inspired by the teachings of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and galvanized through the South Asian jihad of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid;[26][27] the Wahhabi movement in Arabia; the Padri movement of Indonesia; Algerian Salafism spearheaded by Abdelhamid Ben Badis; and others.[28]
Etymology[edit]
The term Salafi as a proper noun and adjective had been used during the classical era to refer to the theological school of the early Ahl al-Hadith movement.[29] The treatises of the medieval proto-Salafist theologian Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328 C.E/ 728 A.H), which played the most significant role in formalizing the creedal, social and political positions of Ahl al-Hadith; constitute the most widely referred classical works in Salafi seminaries.[30]
It is only in modern times that the label Salafi has been applied to a distinct movement and theological creed. Both modernists as well as traditionalists could apply the term. Both movements might have opposite approaches but advocate a belief that Islam has been altered and is in need of a return to a previous form of Islam allegedly practised by the Salafiyya. [31]
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Statistics[edit]
It is often reported from various sources, including the German domestic intelligence service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), that Salafism is the fastest-growing Islamic movement in the world.[265][266][267][268] The Salafiyya movement has also gained popular acceptance as a "respected Sunni tradition" in Turkey starting from the 1980s, when the Turkish government forged closer ties to Saudi Arabia. This paved the way for cooperation between the Salafi Muslim World League and the Turkish Diyanet, which recognised Salafism as a traditional Sunni theological school, thus introducing Salafi teachings to Turkish society. Globally, Salafisation of Islamic religious discourse occurred simultaneously alongside the rise of pan-Islamist Movements, with an emphasis on the concept of Tawhid.[269][270]
Criticisms[edit]
Criticism[edit]
Due to its approach of rejecting taqlid, Salafiyya school is considered as deviant by certain ulema (clerics) of the orthodox Sunnis like Ash'arite and Maturidite schools, who champion themselves as the Sunni Islamic orthodoxy and believe Taqlid of the four madhabs to be wajib (obligatory) for the matter of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).[287][288] Some of these Orthodox Sunni scholars also accuse Salafis of falling into certain forms of unapparent tajsim and tashbih[289][290][291] in 'Aqidah which they consider as deviation from orthodox Sunni doctrines, while clarifying that this deviancy does not expel them from the fold of Islam.[292][293]
Some scholars of the Al-Azhar University of Cairo produced a work of religious opinions entitled al-Radd (The Response) to refute various views of the Salafi movement.[294] Al-Radd singles out numerous Salafi aberrations – in terms of ritual prayer alone it targets for criticism the following Salafi claims:[295]
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