An Extremist Version of Islam: A Brief Introduction to Salafism (Salafiyya)
An Extremist Version of Islam: A Brief Introduction to
Salafism (Salafiyya)
by Cenap Çakmak
Salafism attracts a great deal
of attention amongst both
the Muslim and non-Muslim
world, largely because it
is associated with jihadist ideologies and religious
extremism. The fact that
most religiously motivated
fundamentalist groups and
organizations make particular reference to Salafism as
their motivation and point
of departure justifies this
growing focus. However, the
actual meaning of the term
refers to a fairly different
understanding of Salafism
which should be considered
as a sect that relies on a certain methodology.
The Salafi sect basically argues that the
salaf (predecessors or ancestors) should
be taken as references in the practice
of Islam. By predecessors, they simply
mean the Prophet Mohammed and his
companions who are thought to have
practiced Islam in the best way possible
given that their time is regarded as the
Era of Bliss. For this reason, those who
subscribe to the Salafi view conclude
that the practices in this era should be
emulated to attain the same standards
and that the problems arising from
moral decay and disruption of the social fabric can be fixed by revival of the
Islamic message as originally delivered
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by the predecessors. This conclusion
is justified by the Salafis referring to
the hadith stating that the people of his
generation are the best, then those who
come after them, and then those of the
next generation. Through this authentic
reference, the Salafis place emphasis
upon the Sunnah or actions, silence and
speech of the Prophet. For this reason,
they are categorized as Sunnis or ahl alSunnah. The classical Islamic scholar
Al-Ghazzali even refers to the Salaffiya
as ahl al Sunnah al Khassa (Exclusive
Sunnis). To distinguish the Salafis from
other Sunni schools, they were also
referred to as ahl al-Hadith because of
the centrality of hadiths in their methodology.
Strong emphasis upon Sunnah was part
of the methodology by the classical
jurist Ahmad bin Hanbal, the founder
of the Hanbali Sunni school of thought,
which is one of the four major Islamic
schools of jurisprudence. Even though
almost all scholars and thinkers who
were known as subscribers to the Sunnah could also be considered Salafi
at the same time, Ahmad bin Hanbal
stands out with his heavy reliance on
hadiths in his methodology and debates
against the ideas concerning divinity
from the followers of the Mua’tazila
scholars. Ahmad bin Hanbal has thus
become a symbol of the fight against
the attempts to dilute the importance
of Sunnah and hadith in Islam and the
methodology for legal reasoning. His
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An Extremist Version of Islam: A Brief Introduction to Salafism (Salafiyya)
followers who contributed to the evolution of the Hanbali
madhab (school) have remained steadfast to his ideas. Thus,
it could be argued that Ahmad bin Hanbal and his successors
who followed his path have laid the ground for the Salafiyya.
It appears that in the earlier stages of the Salafiya movement,
hadith has occupied a central place, representing the backbone of the Salafi thought and interpretation. Reasoning was
mostly discouraged as it was viewed as contradictory to the
Prophetic message. Over time, a more lenient approach has
emerged within the Salafiya, whereby some Salafi scholars
showed inclination towards legal reasoning; in later periods,
different forms of Salafiyya also emerged in different parts
including Damascus and Baghdad. However, it was Ibn
Taymiyya and his student Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya who systematized the Salafi thought and school in the 13th century.
These two scholars contributed a great deal to a smooth
transition from strict literalism to a moderate methodology
based on understanding Qur’an and Sunnah together with a
mild use of reasoning. As compared to early Salafi scholars,
al Jawziyya and Ibn Taymiyya were known as Salafis rather
than ahl al-Hadith. They paid particular attention to the lives
of the predecessors, arguing that their practice should be
emulated for the betterment of society. Viewing Sufi movements as disruptive to Islamic faith, they also preferred a
purified form of faith.
How should the Salafi methodology be classified? Is it
extremist or moderate? Is it mainstream or marginal? The
Salafiyya as a religious interpretation could be regarded as
a Sunni methodology developed to address the harmful impacts of some philosophical debates among Islamic scholars.
It is not a separate school of jurisprudence; instead, Hanbali
scholars could be associated with this methodology. Thus, it
is safe to argue that in terms of conformity to main Islamic
premises, Salafiyya could be a mainstream movement. There
is a general agreement among contemporary scholars and
researchers that Salafiyya is a methodological approach
that places emphasis upon Qur’an and hadith rather than a
separate jurisprudential school. Salafiyya also pays attention to the literal meaning of Qur’an, avoiding allegorical
interpretations. For this reason, they argue that reference to
istiwa in Qur’an cannot be taken as a metaphor, meaning
that if Allah says in the Qur’an that He establishes Himself;
in this approach, istiwa is defined as a Divine act rather than
something that could be interpreted differently to make more
sense.
Salafiyya was influential in the 13th century; however, this
has not been the case in the following centuries where Sufi
orders and denominations have become more popular. Howwww.bilgesam.org
ever, Salafiyya have experienced a state of revival since the
19th century mostly because of the decline of the Islamic
states; which was mostly attributed to the decay in social life
and to the abandonment of Islamic standards and priorities.
In such an environment of despair, Salafiyya emerged as a
panacea, suggesting that if the era of the Prophet Muhammad is emulated, a salvation would become a possibility for
the Muslim world. Scholars who made recommendations
for the revival of Islamic thought included the reformists
Muhammad Abduh and Jamaladdin Afghani, however, there
is great resemblance between their approach and that of the
classical Salafiyya.
However, the modern Salafiyya does not only include such
moderate movements; the reaction of the Muslim world
to the sense of defeat they experienced in the aftermath of
World War I was rather strong in terms of religious rigidity.
This process generated a Salafi ideology which was initially
upheld by strong and charismatic activists including Hasan
al Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is thus necessary to make a distinction between Salafism
as a religious interpretation and Salafism as a modern reactionary religious movement. Salafism as one of the mainstream strands of Islam basically states that Muslims should
pay greater attention to the time of Prophet Muhammad for
a better understanding of Islam simply because this was
when the seeds of a true belief were planted. Political Salafism, on the other hand, is a reactionary movement which has
emerged with the promotion of a strong jihadist ideology.
This ideology, relies on the same discourse of Salafism i.e.
the practices of Prophet Muhammad and the literal meaning
of Qur’an should be taken as basis for eternal and worldly
salvation, and extends this understanding to a sacred fight.
There are of course serious scholarly debates as to whether
Salafism as constructed by Ibn Taymiyya could be categorized among mainstream religious interpretations. Some argue that his methodology and the views he expressed based
on this methodology are not reconcilable with the general
approach among Islamic scholars. The critics further argue
that his methodology and approach in fact promotes violence
and extremism. Of course, Ibn Taymiyya has expressed
views that some would find unusual and irreconcilable
amongst the different strands of Islam. However, in general,
it is not possible to argue that it is a non-Islamic interpretation and path as Ibn Taymiyya is not the only representative
of this strand. Even though he is a leading figure of Salafism,
there are many others who are associated with this path.
Islamic scholars who argue that some parts of the Qur’an
should not be interpreted and taken as how they sound literally include Sunni jurists such as Abu Hanifa, the founder
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An Extremist Version of Islam: A Brief Introduction to Salafism (Salafiyya)
of Hanafi School of Islamic jurisprudence. In this sense,
Salafism is not a path or jurisprudential school that offers
a comprehensive methodology; it is rather an approach to
how Islam should be understood and how the message of the
Qur’an should be clarified. Thus, it is possible to argue that
most scholars who could be regarded as Salafi in this sense
cannot be considered as masterminds of contemporary political Salafism. These scholars are members of mainstream
and moderate Islamic interpretations. Ibn Taymiyya could
be an exception as he might have influenced current Salafi
political activism and violence.
Ibn Taymiyya who is known as a brilliant man and scholar
was, however, a strong opponent of the Shia, mostly because
they did not resist the Mongolian invasion in the heart of
Islamic lands. This had a traumatic effect on the formation
of his mindset and political views. However, those views
against the Shia were not honored by mainstream scholars and thus they remained a sign of his personal reaction.
Therefore, his views on the Shia and particular attention to
jihad should be evaluated by the circumstances of the time
wherein the Islamic world experienced one of its greatest
disasters. The Mongolian invasion was a major tragedy for
the entire Muslim world; but it was particularly devastating
for Islamic scholars because the accumulation of knowledge
was destroyed during this bloody campaign.
Ibn Taymiyya was an ardent dissident and a politically active
and influential figure; he also held Salafi views. However,
what he developed was actually an amalgamation of his
political views and Salafi interpretations. In other words, he
attributed religious characteristics to his political views. As a
cleric and jurist, he favored a jihadist activism against Mongolian invasion and went as so far as targeting the Shia for
their silence concerning the invasion and destruction.
However, a distinction has to be made between Salafism as
a source of religious interpretation as held by Ibn Taymiyya
and Salafism influenced by his political views and activism.
As a brilliant scholar of his time, Ibn Taymiyya developed
pretty progressive views on religious jurisprudence; he was
a subscriber to the Hanbali School; although, in some critical matters, he offered views that were not compatible with
the mainstream arguments of this School. This indicates that
he was not a fundamentalist like the present time Salafis as
he opposed the mainstream views on how Salafis approach
religion. It is true that he paid strong attention to Qur’an and
practices of Prophet Muhammad as source of his methodology. But this does not necessarily mean that his doctrine is
stationary and reactionary. Ibn Taymiyya holds that the role
of religious paths and sects should be limited to their methods. In other words, these religious schools offer practical
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methods that could be used in the settlement of problems.
This approach is consistent with the general approach of the
four major jurisprudential schools.
However, it is of course also possible to argue that the modern Salafi activism and interpretation was influenced by
some of the views of the classical Salafi Imams or scholars.
The problem being that contemporary approaches miss the
point that events and developments should be read within
their historical context. In other words, the social and historical circumstances of the time when Salafism as a religious
interpretation emerged and evolved should be evaluated to
better understand the objectives of the subscribers to this
path.
In other words, contemporary Salafism seems to suffer from
a problem of survival, given that a lot has been changed over
the centuries. The same may also apply to other schools or
Islamist movements, simply because they still argue that
polygamy is allowed under Islam or that the punishment
prescribed for adultery is stoning. But the problem with
modern day Salafism is that such violent and anachronistic
views are taken as a basis to justify reactionary activism and
widespread violence against opponents. They simply ignore
the fact that religious sects including Salafism offer practical
solutions problems that could arise in a given time; whereby
the conditions of the time will have an inevitable impact on
religious interpretation.
Further readings
Lauziere, Henri. “The Construction of Salafiyya: Reconsidering Salafism from the Perspective of Conceptual History.”
International Journal of Middle East Studies 42.3 (2010):
369-389.
Meijer, Roel. Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious
Movement. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Scharbrodt, Oliver. “The Salafiyya and Sufism: Muhammad
‘Abduh and his Risalat al-Waridat (Treatise on Mystical Inspirations).” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 70.1 (2007): 89-115.
Weismann, Itzchak. Taste of Modernity: Sufism and Salafiyya in Late Ottoman Damascus. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
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An Extremist Version of Islam: A Brief Introduction to Salafism (Salafiyya)
About BILGESAM
Established in 2008, the Wise Men Center for
Strategic Studies (BILGESAM) is one of the leading
think tanks in Turkey. As a non-profit, non-partisan
organization BILGESAM operates under the
guidance of a group of well-respected academics
from different disciplines, retired military generals
and diplomats; and aims to contribute regional and
global peace and prosperity. Closely following
the domestic and international developments,
BILGESAM conducts research on Turkey’s
domestic problems, foreign policy and security
strategies, and the developments in the neighbouring
regions to provide the Turkish decision-makers
with practical policy recommendations and policy
options.
www.bilgesam.org
About Author
Cenap Çakmak is associate professor of international
law and head of international relations Department at
Osmangazi University. He is a visiting researcher at
T.M.C. Asser Institute: Center for Int’l and European
Law and international law fellow at the Wise Men
Center for Strategic Studies (BILGESAM). He
has published numerous articles and books on
international law and international relations at home
and abroad.
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