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Rethinking Salafism
The Transnational Networks of Salafi ʿUlama
in Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia
R A I HA N I SM A I L
1
3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190948955.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America
Acknowledgments
I could not have completed this book without help. I thank the Australian
Research Council for awarding me a Discovery Early Career Researcher
Fellowship (DE190100230) to fund my completion of the project that
underlies much of the book. I would also like to acknowledge the Australian
National University for the support I have received in making the project
happen.
This book was written during a difficult time. There are many people whose
support during that period was crucial to keeping me on track to finish it.
There are various reasons why I cannot name all of those people, but I can and
must publish my gratitude to Huda al-Tamimi, Penny Brew, Matthew Gray
(Waseda University), Liyana Kayali, Anita Mack, Michelle McGuinness,
France Meyer, Jessie Moritz, Kirill Nourzhanov, Katja Theodorakis, and
Stephanie Wright. I am also most appreciative for the guidance of Professor
William Christie, Professor George Lawson, and Professor Bronwen Neil.
I would also like to thank Aidan Parkes for his help as my research assis-
tant and the work he invested in this project.
I am grateful to Oxford University Press—Cynthia Read and her team—
for their assistance in bringing this work to publication. Thank you also to
the anonymous reviewers for their time and comments.
To my parents, Ustaz Ismail Din and Iman Ibrahim El-Shenhab, my
eternal gratitude is in order. Their faith in me never fades and their sacrifices
shaped the person I am today.
I am thankful to Andrew Chapman, who is my rock, my best friend, and
my love. And to my daughter, Laila Ismail Chapman, who makes me proud
and inspires me with her resilience, wit, and passion to make this world a
better place.
A Note on Conventions
I have utilized the term “Shiʿa” freely, without differentiating between the
word as a noun (e.g., Bahraini Shiʿa) and an adjective (e.g., Shiʿa identity, in-
stead of Shiʿi identity). However, exemptions are made in quotations to en-
sure that other people’s words are not changed.
Introduction
The first two decades of the twenty-first century saw renewed political,
media, and academic focus on radical Islam and violent extremism. This
focus extended to the Salafi movement as the ideological foundation for
many radical and violent groups. There is now a significant corpus of litera-
ture discussing transnational jihadi networks and the radicalization of Salafi
thought by jihadi theoreticians and ʿulama. However, as scholars in the field
have noted, Salafism is not a monolith: it contains numerous streams, and an
examination of all such streams is crucial to understanding the sociopolit-
ical dynamics of the Muslim societies that Salafism influences. Besides jihadi
Salafis—those who sanction violence—there are two other broad trends of
Salafism: quietists and activists. Quietist Salafis endorse an apolitical tradi-
tion, believing that political activism is unacceptable in any form. Activist
Salafis, also known as harakis, advocate peaceful political change. Subject to
debate around where exactly to draw the lines between these categories, the
two groups have been identified as largely representative of the non-jihadi
aspect of Salafism.1
The quietist and activist movements are each led by ʿulama, seen as the
preservers of Salafi traditions. Scholarly work examining the ʿulama tends
to be grounded in country-specific research, including studies of Egypt,2
Kuwait,3 Lebanon,4 Saudi Arabia,5 and Yemen.6 These studies present ex-
tensive scholarship on the influence and the nature of Salafism. Some works
explore the development of Salafi movements, the religious institutions
that promote Salafi ascendancy in Muslim societies, and the transnational
activities of Salafism. However, more work is needed to assess the origins,
interactions, and dynamics of the transnational networks of Salafi clerics
in the region, and how quietist and activist ʿulama work across borders to
preserve and promote what they see as “authentic” Salafism. Similarly, the
competition and cooperation between the two streams are often explored
within the framework of domestic concerns rather than transnational
interactions.
Rethinking Salafism. Raihan Ismail, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2021.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190948955.003.0001
2 Rethinking Salafism
there remains limited research about them. What makes the contemporary
manifestations of transnational networks different, articulated by Madawi
Al-Rasheed, “is the increasing speed, intensity and time-space compression
brought about by post-modernity.”10 Quoting Hannerz, “in the transnational
arena, the actors may now be individuals, groups, movements, business
enterprises, and in no small part it is this diversity of organisation that we
need to consider.”11 Salafi ʿulama are actors who foster Salafi ideals (theolog-
ical, political, and social) that transcend national boundaries in their attempt
to sustain an imagined Salafi community.
A second concern of this book is the impact of changing local and regional
circumstances on the attitudes of Salafi ʿulama toward various issues. It
looks at how the clerics are influenced by local conditions, as well as external
circumstances, in their interpretations of Salafism, theologically, socially,
and politically. It further examines the recalibration of their views toward
Salafi thought as they respond to these conditions. Transnational theory
goes far toward emphasizing connectedness across borders, but in many
of its formulations the domestic context retreats into the background.12 It
cannot be denied that transnational networks are affected by local circum-
stances: transnational actors, despite pursuing values that transcend national
boundaries and engaging in transnational activities, are also local actors
who are influenced by local concerns. The literature on the interconnected-
ness of the “local and global”13 will be utilized to understand the attitudes of
Salafi ʿulama (quietists and harakis) on sociopolitical issues and the extent to
which they are influenced by ever-changing local and external conditions.
This in turn influences the way Salafi ʿulama interact with each other.
Finally, this book looks to reassess critically existing Salafi typology,
arguing that the categorization of quietists and activists reflects accurately
the attitudes of the ʿulama toward the state but not concerning other issues,
including the Sunni-Shiʿa divide or social issues.
Four broad themes will be examined to achieve the purposes set out here: po-
litical Islam; Sunni-Shiʿa relations; jihad and Salafism; and social issues.
broadly divides the ʿulama along quietist and haraki lines, remains accurate
and useful.
Sunni-Shiʿa Relations
Salafi ʿulama are known for their anti-Shiʿa rhetoric. This rhetoric is grounded
in core Salafi doctrine. According to most Salafi ʿulama, the Shiʿa sect adheres
to a deviant understanding of Islam, such as the belief that the leadership
of the Muslim community should be confined within Muhammad’s family,
with ʿAli as the first imam. These ʿulama often criticize Shiʿa believers for
accepting the infallibility of Shiʿa imams and accuse Shiʿa of engaging in acts
that amount to infidelity. These acts include intercession and shrine visita-
tions. The narratives are long-standing, extending back to Ibn Taymiyyah
(d. 1328) and Muhammad Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab (d. 1792). The transnational
networks of Salafi ʿulama enabled these ideas to be fostered, shared, and rein-
forced on an international scale. Rashid Rida’s close relations with Ibn Saud,
and his mission to legitimize the Wahhabis as Salafis, saw Rida republishing
the works of Najdi ʿulama in his magazine, Al-Manar. Rida and his ʿulama
defended the Najdi ʿulama against Shiʿa detractors.
The frequent sectarian crises in the Middle East, following the Iranian rev-
olution, in post-Saddam Iraq, and during the Syrian uprising, caused Salafi
ʿulama in Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to invest significant efforts to
highlight Shiʿa “deviance” and “treachery.” Salafi websites, personal YouTube
accounts, official rulings, Salafi magazines, international conferences, and
Salafi satellite channels have all been used to bring attention to the “Shiʿa
question.”
Despite the perceived uniformity of attitudes toward the Shiʿa “other,”
Salafi ʿulama on Sunni-Shiʿa matters are also governed by domestic limita-
tions and pressures. When the Saudi government initiated rapprochement
efforts with its Shiʿa population in the early 1990s, the Saudi Grand Mufti
ʿAbd al-ʿAziz Ibn Baz participated in dialogue with Shiʿa leaders, reversing
years of sectarian invective. The local and regional circumstances of the
ʿulama equally influence the intensity and frequency of the anti-Shiʿa
discourse that they propagate. Contentious geopolitical events, including
the Syrian civil war, tend to see increasing numbers of articles, religious
rulings (fatawa), sermons, conferences, and lectures discussing the Shiʿa
threat.
6 Rethinking Salafism
This study questions the usefulness of the existing Salafi typology of qui-
etist/haraki in relation to the Sunni-Shiʿa divide (perceived or real). Some
ʿulama take a more compromising approach when dealing with the Shiʿa
sect, and these ʿulama are not necessarily divided along quietist/haraki lines.
The Saudi quietist Sulayman al-Maniʿ is a member of the Board of Senior
ʿUlama, and has been for many years relatively more tolerant in his views
regarding the Shiʿa. His approach is similar to that of the Kuwaiti haraki,
Hakim al-Mutayri. On the other hand, the ardent Kuwaiti quietist ʿUthman
al-Khamis is very similar to the Saudi haraki, Safar al-Hawali, in his abhor-
rence of the Shiʿa. This study proposes a new categorization, which is bor-
rowed from my previous research on the Saudi ʿulama and their attitudes
toward the Shiʿa: traditionalists versus progressives. Salafi ʿulama are divided
into two categories: traditionalists and progressives. Traditionalists can fur-
ther be understood as either mild or passive rhetoricians, or as aggressive.
As an example of the sub-classification within traditionalists, Ibn Baz and
Shaykh Nasir al-ʿUmar are of almost identical opinions on Sunni-Shiʿa mat-
ters, but the latter is far more provocative in his rhetoric. The progressive
ʿulama are more accommodating toward some Shiʿa communities and de-
sist from demonizing Shiʿa believers as well as Shiʿa religious traditions. This
is not to suggest that the progressives are accepting of Iranian interferences
(real or imagined) in the region, or that they are sympathetic toward the
Assad regime. These ʿulama simply refuse to utilize inflammatory sectarian
rhetoric, unlike their traditionalist colleagues.
Salafi ʿulama are known for their social conservatism and actively promote
it on a transnational basis. There is a determination to establish a collec-
tive Salafi identity, resulting in an intense focus on appropriate clothing
for men and women, the status of women in Islam, perceived social ills
due to westernization and the permissibility of social engagement with
non-Muslims.
8 Rethinking Salafism
The Kuwaiti Salafi magazine Al-Furqan has long incorporated the views
of Salafi ʿulama on social issues. These ʿulama include Ishaq al-Huweiny
from Egypt and the Saudi ʿalim, Salih al-Fawzan. In more recent times, so-
cial media and Salafi satellite channels have become tools for the purposes of
proselytization of a collective Salafi religious identity. For example, although
only Saudi Arabia of the selected countries banned women from driving
until recently, Salafi ʿulama in Egypt and Kuwait actively supported the ban,
resulting in an example of transnationalism trumping affiliation to domestic
government policy.
Despite the efforts by many Salafi ʿulama to perfect religious practices and
preserve the purity of Islam according to their understanding, a minority of
ʿulama destabilize Salafi norms in promotion of a more progressive position
on Islam. The Saudi Hatem al-ʿAwni challenges existing interpretations of
Salafi thought, taking the view that women should be able to drive, and that
all Muslims should be able to listen to music and participate in non-Muslim
celebrations.
The Salafi dichotomy of quietist/haraki has almost no relevance to the
social sphere. This book proposes a new category for social matters, just as
it does for sectarian matters: progressives and conservatives. Socially pro-
gressive ʿulama take a more liberal position on some social, creedal, and ju-
risprudential matters. The socially conservative ʿulama, who are very much
the majority, maintain a traditionalist outlook. Although socially progressive
ʿulama are small in number, their views have not been ignored by conser-
vative ʿulama. The determination of conservatives to promote a consistent
Salafi identity causes them to engage in often heated attempts to rebut
their progressive counterparts. These debates destabilize the quietist/ac-
tivist typology; socially progressive ʿulama hail from both trends, as do the
conservatives.
Research Approach
For the origins of the transnational networks of Salafi clerics, I have re-
ferred to Salafi magazines and publications and compilations of religious
rulings. Official and unofficial biographies of Salafi ʿulama are also ana-
lyzed to examine the transnational connections of Salafi clerics, including
their education and employment backgrounds. For example, one key way
in which Egyptian and Kuwaiti Salafi clerics have established transnational
Introduction 9
Chapter Overview
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