Salafism is usually described as an ultraconservative, puritanical, grim and fundamentalist branch within sunni islam established on the teachings of the thcentury scholar ibn taymiyyah, whose ideas were introduced by puritanical scholar muhammed ibn abd alwahhab in the arabian peninsula during the mid18th century. Precise use of the term is needed because there is a tendency to equate it with islamism. In a subject area where difficulty of access and sheer divergence of worldviews can sometimes leave researchers seeming rather detached from their subject matter, it is encouraging to find bonnefoy telling us early on that his understanding of salafism in yemen. We have seen the impact of the arab spring on salafi groups in the middle east and gulf regions especially yemen, libya and syria. The emergence of british salafism the instrumental organization for the spread of salafism in the uk was the jamiyyat ihya minhaj as sunnah, the society for the revival of the prophetic way jimas. The siege of dammaj started in october 2011 when the houthis, a zaidiled rebel group which control the saada governorate, accused wahhabi loyal to the yemeni government of smuggling weapons into their religious center in the town of dammaj and demanded they hand over their weapons and military posts in the town. Laurent bonnefoy will be presenting his new book, salafism in yemen. Building on contemporary yemeni salafism and its relationship and interactions with ir theory and political sociology, he refer saudi arabia.
The vast majority of its adherents are peaceful theyre not violent extremists. The war in afghanistan is undoubtedly a key moment in the emergence of an armed. This is especially true in countries such as kuwait and saudi arabia where a political version of salafism, often labeled sahwa, emerged as a significant social movement. As political and jihadi salafism decline, another salafist movement has flourished in algeriapurist salafism, also called scientific salafism. In yemen, alqaedas local branch, aqap, focused mostly on terrorist attacks until 2011.
Faisal devji, st antonys college, oxford university, and author of the terrorist in search of humanity. If not addressed directly, these developments are likely to continue destabilizing the city and wider. Salafi mission calls into question saudi concept of. In the case of south and south east asia, we have given priority to the afghanpakistan area due to the. Kagan, kimberly kagan, jennifer cafarella, harleen gambhir, and katherine zimmerman al qaeda and isis. In actual fact, salafism is highly misunderstood due to its.
The salafi movement as it has developed in yemen since the early 1980s has long. In yemen, however, the main salafist trend is characterized by an apparently apolitical stance. Salafi jihadism an ideological misnomer small wars journal. Salafism is a creed focused on purifying islam from local particularities and innovations, returning to the islam of the prophet muhammad and the companions, and yemens muqbilian. We have therefore chosen to build this study around the original historical and geopolitical contexts of salafism wahhabism jihad. Salafism has been blamed for being the ideology that underpins terrorist violence.
Salafism in yemen laurent bonnefoy oxford university press. Salafism is not a single phenomenon, although it is often treated as a unified movement with branches emerging in many countries. Based on extensive research conducted in the arabian peninsula, the book takes into account the internal dynamics of the yemeni branch of the movement as well as its relationship to its complex and evolving context. Salafism in yemen transnationalism and religious identity laurent bonnefoy. Plans to open a salafi missionary centre in the yemeni province of al mahrah on the border with oman and saudi arabia raise questions about saudi. Yemeni salafism, where the ihsan association which was. Salafism in yemen provides the reader with a detailed biography of alwadii, chronicling his life and ideas through a close reading of his books and speeches. Wahhabism started as a theological reform movement, having the goal of calling dawa people to restore the real meaning of. Transnationalism and religious identity, by laurent bonnefoy. Based on extensive research conducted throughout yemen between 2001 and 2009, and particularly in the southern province of yafi, this book offers an original approach to salafism and draws a necessary counternarrative that takes into account the dynamics of the salafi movement as well as its relationship to its evolving environment, either. Examines the nonviolent salafi doctrines and everyday practices of salafism in yemen. Laurent bonnefoy focuses on the allegedly apolitical salafi doctrine but most importantly references the everyday practices.
Wahhabism, salafism and the expansion of islamic fundamentalist ideology 141 power to achieve its goals sfeir 2007, 36. It was dangerous to the west because of its bombmaking expertise but largely peripheral to yemeni politics and isolated in the remote east. Since then, some western writers and the media have failed to provide a balanced analysis or even accurate description of salafism. Then there is socalled new salafism, which embraces political participation and is epitomised by yemens largest salafist political party, alrashad union. Jan 14, 2018 it also calls into question saudi policy in yemen that is reminiscent of past failures. The salafist orientation the age of ideology between sunna.
The secret history of yemeni salafism saleh baidhani aw. This study is divided into four geopolitical zones. While salafism is by no means a novelty, salafi movements have witnessed a strong surge over the past decades. Salafism is a broad intellectual current that varies greatly from one time to another, from one place to another, and even from one group to another. May 24, 2016 admin authors, by topic, muhammed ibn salih aluthaymeen, muslim rulers, muslim world and homes book by ibn uthaymeen, book on islam awakening, e books on islam, islamic book, islamic pdf, pdf on islamic awakening, salafi books, the islamic awakening book. Right now, however, all these multiple expressions of salafism are exposed to new pressures due to changing contexts. Deconstructing salafism in yemen combating terrorism center. Oct 23, 2014 chinese salafism and the saudi connection. Kuwait, yemen and egypt it has engaged in direct political participation and endorsed democratic elections.
Traditionally averse to involvement in political affairs, since the socalled arab spring, several salafi movements have developed political agendas and have become active in the political arena. The first work of its kind on salafism as a global phenomenon, this is an impressive collection of studies that question the received wisdom about the movement as much as they reveal the diversity of its religious and political motivations. Owing to the new process in egypt, the most significant country of the arab and african region, social groups have had a chance to do legal politics, established political. During the houthi insurgency in yemen, the government of yemen recruited over 5,000 salafi fighters to fight alongside the government. In fact, the teaching spreads in the modern muslim world under the banner of salafism instead of wahhabism.
The arab spring uprisings have significantly increased the politicisation of salafism, which is now taking on party form alnur in egypt and alrashad in yemen and is participating in elections. Conservative salafism, or scientific salafism as the latter is known in north africa. My brothers, the islamic awakening of today has pervaded all islamic countries, and all praise is for allah. Ginny hill, yemen endures, oxford university press, 2017 ginny hills book offers important insights into yemens more recent history. Dismantling the proofs for tawassul and istighatha with conclusive evidences series part 1 building structures over graves in roads to grave worship the story of the people of the cave ashab. Destroying isis and al qaeda, report one frederick w.
Salafism, which for the majority of the twentieth century remained distinctly apolitical, has become a vehicle for political and social nihilism of islamic state or daesh. Wahhabi theology treats the quran and hadith as fundamental texts as understood by alsalaf alsalih pious ancestors and developed further by many. Muslim brothers, salafists, violent jihadi fringes, sufis, and zaydi revivalists have all. Ginny hill, yemen endures, oxford university press, 2017 ginny hills book offers important insights into yemen s more recent history. In a subject area where difficulty of access and sheer divergence of worldviews can sometimes leave researchers seeming rather detached from their subject matter, it is encouraging to find bonnefoy telling us early on that his understanding of salafism in yemen was informed not only by perusing magazines. Plans to open a salafi missionary centre in the yemeni province of al mahrah on the border with oman and saudi arabia raise questions about saudi crown prince mohammed bin salahs concept of a. As khaled abou elfadl, a professor of islamic law from the us observes, the attachment of wahhabism to salafism was indeed needed as salafism was a much more credible paradigm in islam. It has to be understood, however, that this awakening must be established upon a solid foundation in terms of allahs book and sunnah of allahs messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam. But beyond these minor behaviors, salafism in yemen is characterized by its principled rejection of party politics, what they label hizbiyya that is, party spirit. In china, the hui salafi sect, and its links with saudi arabia, have a long and complex history. Abd alwahhabs followers would rigorously propagate islam and support the idea of jihad, understood as a struggle for true religion, expelling takfir the muslims who resist it lafitte 2007, 105. Politiciation of salafism in egypt uprisings rapidly spreading from tunisia to egypt, libya, syria and yemen in 2011 have become a landmark of a new period in the arab world.
Doctrines the islamic states brand of jihadisalafism. Saudi arabia and the regionalization of yemens conflict. The author provides the general audience with a fresh look into the influence of transnational actors and flows of ideas as well as the unique character of yemeni society. Plans to open a salafi missionary centre in the yemeni province of al mahrah on the border with oman and saudi arabia raises questions about saudi crown prince mohammed bin salahs concept of a moderate form of islam the questions are prompted by the fact that prince mohammed has. Sep 29, 2017 the rise of salafi militias in the yemeni city of taiz has contributed to the now frequent outbursts of violence there between ostensibly progovernment factions. The pivotal question of who or what group qualifies as salafi remains in dispute. The evolution of militant salafism in taiz sanaa center. If not addressed directly, these developments are likely to continue. Salafism means practicing islam on the basis of the correct precedents, namely, the koran, the authentic and sound sayings and practices ascribed to the prophet muhammad and the understanding of the religion as it existed among the salf. It has also helped foster an environment conducive to extremist groups such as alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap. What is salafism and who are the muslims referred to as salafis. The product of years of fieldwork, salafism in yemen is a ground ences the everyday practices of alwadiis breaking study. Saudi arabias conflict with iranianbacked houthi rebels, a zaydi shiite muslim sect with roots in a region bordering the kingdom, dates to saudi employment of salafism to counter the group in the 1980s. Expert analysis november 2015 the current situation in yemen.
As the salafis refused, houthi rebels responded by. Salafism is an unfolding transformative movement within sunni islam, first rising to prominence in the second half of the twentieth century and then providing the ideological foundations for further radical islamist movements of the late twentieth and early twentyfirst centuries. It had roots in the 18thcentury wahhabi movement that originated in the najd region of modernday saudi arabia. Directorategeneral for external policies of the union directorate b policy department study the involvement of salafismwahhabism in the support and supply of arms to rebel groups around the world abstract. Salafism in yemen draws on impressive arabic language skills and extensive fieldwork. Deconstructing salafism in yemen combating terrorism. Salafism is actually quite a broad and expansive islamic tradition. Juneau, 2010 and mitreski, 2015 alrasheed and vitalis 2004 argue that the history of saudi arabianyemeni relations for many is a chronicle of antagonism, conflicts, and border disputes p. Chinese salafism and the saudi connection the diplomat. Associate fellow, middle east and north africa program. Yemens muslim brotherhood and the perils of powersharing. Over the last decade or so salafism has become one of the wests new pol. Salafism, as it emerged in yemen, is characterized beyond the way the people dress, beyond the way the people speak, the salafis speak themselves, what i label as minor behaviors. The center targeted zaydi adherents and converted them to salafism.
Such a conflation ignores the diversity of views within salafi trends toward. Unlike the other two types, this movement does not oppose the government and does not publicly preach for an islamic state. Emphasises the local context for salafism in yemen. The party, which in 2012 became the first salafist party established in yemen, was established at alahsan charity, a salafist organisation with links to wadii. Secondly, saudi arabia supported the spread of salafism in northern yemen, to counter the zaydiyya along the saudi border, financing the opening of salafi madrasat in the territorial core of zaydism.
Professor ahmad moussalli, january 30, 2009 unbelievers. Salafism ascendant1961 1980 salafis divide 1980 2001. Yemens application of sharia, an adult woman is not recognized as a full person before the court. Salafism in yemen is a deeply researched and longwaited attempt to present new narrative discipline of international relations. Researchers and specialized experts discuss in this book these transformations its nature, size, depth, and different dimensions, as well as its consequences on the. The majority of muslim scholars rejected the wahhabi definition of shirk and tawhid. The salafi movement, also called salafist movement, salafiya, and salafism, is a reform branch or revivalist movement within sunni islam that developed in egypt in the late 19th century as a response to western european imperialism. The rise of salafi militias in the yemeni city of taiz has contributed to the now frequent outbursts of violence there between ostensibly progovernment factions. Salafism has gained international notoriety with the rise of al qaeda and this book offers a new interpretation. Most leading salafi clerics in yemen have built their doctrine on a rejection of. Its basic proposition is that legitimacy, whether in the. Lets start with wahhabism, which considers itself to be the true salafist movement. In the middle east, salafism has gained prominence during the last two decades. Yemen, alqaeda and americas war in arabia new york, 2014.
The salafi movement, also called the salafist movement, salafiya, and salafism, is a reform branch or revivalist movement within sunni islam that developed in egypt in the late 19th century as a response to western european imperialism. This is especially true in countries such as kuwait and saudi arabia where a political version of salafism, often labeled sahwa, emerged as a significant social movement 1. Her monograph includes a concise summary of the 2011 uprising in yemen and its aftermath. Transnationalism and religious identity columbia university press, 2011 and coeditor of jeunesses. Salafism in general is a misunderstood term in the public domain, but so is its association with violence.