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Religions
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Salafism in the West
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Salafism in the West

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 35673

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Adis Duderija

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Humanities, Griffith University, Queensland, QLD 4111, Australia
Interests: Salafism in the West; Islam and gender; western Muslims’ identity construction; progressive Islam

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Salafism both as a concept and lived reality continues to draw attention among scholars from various academic disciplines. Most of the studies on Salafism have a focus on a Muslim majority context although there are studies that explore Salafism in a Muslim minority contexts too, including that in the West. This special issue aims to bring together scholarship on any aspect of Salafism in the West from a variety of disciplinary approaches including religious studies, theology, political science and sociology of religion. Contributions on a wide range of themes will be considered. Possible themes/topics include but are not restricted to the following:

  • transnational links of Salafi groups in the West;
  • intra-Salafi diversity and fragmentation in the West;
  • (online) debates between Salafis and Sufis in the West;
  • Salafi group responses to the Islamic State and its ideology;
  • post-Salafi trajectories of ex-Salafi Muslims;
  • constructions of masculinity and femininity in Salafi literature in the West;
  • (online) debates between Salafi and Shi’i Muslims in the West;
  • indepth examinations of leading Salafi scholars and/or activists in the West;
  • Salafism in particular western nation-state contexts;
  • approaches to citizenship and political participation among Salafi groups in the West;
  • Salafi vs. mainstream Sunni apologetics/debates in the West;
  • Online engagement/presence of Salafi groups in the West.

The special issue aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the current state of the academic study of Salafism in the West.

Dr. Adis Duderija
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Salafism in the West
  • Islamic puritanism
  • Salafism and Jihadism
  • Salafism and transnational Islam
  • Salafism and gender
  • Salafism and Sufism
  • Salafism and citizenship
  • Salafism and Shi’ism
  • Salafism online

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 1666 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Innovators—A Glimpse on Sufi-Salafi Polemics
by Hazim Fouad
Religions 2020, 11(3), 144; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel11030144 - 20 Mar 2020
Viewed by 7953
Abstract
In western public discourse, as well as in parts of academia, Sufism and Salafism are sometimes portrayed as arch enemies in Islam. However, so far, very few studies have analyzed in detail the polemics between Sufis and Salafis in a western setting. This [...] Read more.
In western public discourse, as well as in parts of academia, Sufism and Salafism are sometimes portrayed as arch enemies in Islam. However, so far, very few studies have analyzed in detail the polemics between Sufis and Salafis in a western setting. This article tries to fill this gap by providing a snapshot of the critique of Salafism by the Sufi Nāẓimiyya order, as well as the response from the British Salafi spectrum. It will argue that although both protagonists would perceive themselves in the same way as outlined above, in fact both groups are influenced by each other with regard to the benchmark of what constitutes “authentic Islam”, as well as the ways in which arguments are portrayed as legitimately grounded in Islamic thought. These insights may help in better understanding the complexities of contemporary intra-Muslim debates and representations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Salafism in the West)
16 pages, 356 KiB  
Article
“True, Masculine Men Are Not Like Women!”: Salafism between Extremism and Democracy
by Susanne Olsson
Religions 2020, 11(3), 118; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel11030118 - 10 Mar 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4055
Abstract
Whether we should understand Salafism in general as a security threat, as extremist, and as un-democratic and of concern to authorities is a debated question. In the article, this policy-oriented objective is addressed through an analysis of a specific non-violent Salafi ideology in [...] Read more.
Whether we should understand Salafism in general as a security threat, as extremist, and as un-democratic and of concern to authorities is a debated question. In the article, this policy-oriented objective is addressed through an analysis of a specific non-violent Salafi ideology in Sweden, which is compared to the Swedish government’s definition of gender equality. The basic argument in this article is that we can use words like “extreme” as relational concepts, which makes them analytically useful, i.e., when the benchmark is clearly defined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Salafism in the West)
13 pages, 236 KiB  
Article
French Salafists’ Economic Ethics: Between Election and New Forms of Politicization
by Mohamed-Ali Adraoui
Religions 2019, 10(11), 635; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel10110635 - 18 Nov 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2518
Abstract
This article sheds light on the way in which activities such as the production and consumption of wealth are conceptualized, interpreted and put into practice within quietist Salafist communities in France. Unlike their jihadi and politicized counterparts, quietist Salafis in lands where Islam [...] Read more.
This article sheds light on the way in which activities such as the production and consumption of wealth are conceptualized, interpreted and put into practice within quietist Salafist communities in France. Unlike their jihadi and politicized counterparts, quietist Salafis in lands where Islam is the minority religion are required to emigrate to where Islam is majoritarian. As this article highlights, however, migrating is not necessarily a physical process. What is interesting to underline is that most French Salafists do not perform the Hijra, and favor, for instance, economic strategies allowing them to break with the rest of French society and live in ‘isolation’ rather than leaving France for good. Although framed as a religious duty, physical migration has been rare among French Salafist communities, whereas other forms of social rupture are emerging. The article explores in detail such economic strategies on the basis of the acceptance of neo-liberal principles allowing for what one can call an internal process of migration/isolation from French society. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Salafism in the West)
22 pages, 327 KiB  
Article
Bilal Philips as a Proponent of Neo-Traditional Salafism and His Significance for Understanding Salafism in the West
by Adis Duderija and Ghulam Rasool
Religions 2019, 10(6), 371; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel10060371 - 05 Jun 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 12153
Abstract
This article aims to explain the ideas and the significance of Dr. Bilal Philips, a prominent ‘Salafi‘preacher, a major proponent of Neo-Traditional Salafism, and how his writings and activities can aid us in understanding the dynamics regarding the nature of Salafism in the [...] Read more.
This article aims to explain the ideas and the significance of Dr. Bilal Philips, a prominent ‘Salafi‘preacher, a major proponent of Neo-Traditional Salafism, and how his writings and activities can aid us in understanding the dynamics regarding the nature of Salafism in the West as a discursive tradition with deep roots in the Islamic intellectual history, as well as an element of global Salafi movements. As such, the article focuses primarily on identifying and analyzing Philips’ ideas on what constitutes a proper approach to interpreting the Qur’ān and Sunna in the light of the Islamic legal and exegetical tradition. After discussing the reasons why the ideas of Philips are significant for understanding Salafism in the West, the article focuses on his views on the conceptual relationship between sunna and hadīth, the broader hermeneutic characterization of the main four Sunni schools of thought (madhāhib), and issues pertaining to the correct methodology of Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr). The article also discusses the internal factionalism and the contentedness of the category of Salafism among western Salafis by examining one critique levelled at Philips by his fellow Salafis residing in the West, with the view of not only understanding and situating the views of Philips more accurately but also to provide an avenue to understand the internal Salafi dynamics in the West in particular. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Salafism in the West)
18 pages, 252 KiB  
Article
Interpretations of al-wala’ wa-l-bara’ in Everyday Lives of Salafis in Germany
by Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf, Mira Menzfeld and Yasmina Hedider
Religions 2019, 10(2), 124; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel10020124 - 20 Feb 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7361
Abstract
Salafis’ everyday lives, social relations, and attitudes towards both Muslims and non-Muslims are often shaped implicitly or explicitly by the theological concept of al-wala’ wa-l-bara’ (“loyalty and disavowal”). It indicates whom to be loyal to on the one hand, and whom to disavow [...] Read more.
Salafis’ everyday lives, social relations, and attitudes towards both Muslims and non-Muslims are often shaped implicitly or explicitly by the theological concept of al-wala’ wa-l-bara’ (“loyalty and disavowal”). It indicates whom to be loyal to on the one hand, and whom to disavow on the other hand—or from which persons, deeds, and practices one should distance oneself. However, within the highly heterogeneous spectrum of Salafi orientations, beliefs, and religious practices, interpretations of al-wala’ and al-bara’ differ as well as its actual relevance and its implications for concrete life situations. This article explores how Muslims in Germany who identify themselves with non-violent, so-called ‘purist Salafism’ perceive and practice social relations, social closeness, or separation in their everyday lives by drawing implicitly or explicitly on principles of loyalty and disavowal. Based on qualitative interviews and participant observations (data gathered between 2014 and 2018), we shed light on how individuals’ ideas of loyalty and disavowal intersect with issues of identity, belonging, inclusion, and exclusion. The article thus shows how local interpretations and implementations of a Salafi core concept are strongly interwoven with realities of everyday life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Salafism in the West)
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