Salafism's simple message appeals to Muslim youth – Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Roel Meijer of Radboud University in Nijmegen says Salafism is one of the fastest growing religious movements in the world:
“Salafists communicate mainly through the Internet. In parallel with the rise of that medium the movement has spread rapidly around the world.”According to critics of Islam such as Somali-born former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Dutch scholar Hans Jansen, Salafism represents the only ‘pure’ Islam.
The Salafists themselves will of course readily agree with this. Their opponents in the Islamic world, however, point out that Salafism is based on a doctrine rejected by the majority of Muslims.
The doctrine of takfir – which plays such an important role in Salafism – has its origin in the Kharijite movement, an extreme sect that was rejected by the orthodox majority in the first centuries of Islam.
Bernard Haykal thinks that, even from a scientific point of view, Salafism can in some respects be viewed as a revival of Kharijism:
“The Salafists distance themselves from the Kharijites, who are known as a heterodox movement. But what the Salafists claim does indeed come extremely close to Kharijism.”
Since 9/11 Salafism has been studied assiduously by various secret services. Academic study of the subject, however, has developed rather slowly. Roel Meijer regards this as surprising, particularly since so much material about the movement can be accessed so easily on the Internet. Together with the Leiden Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM), he organised a conference at which the leading international researchers into Salafism could exchange views.
Various researchers emphasize that Salafism is a vital and dynamic religious movement which will probably loom ever-larger in the coming decades. But Salafism also has its weaknesses. Its very insistence on a literal and univocal reading of the religious texts leaves little room for tolerating alternative interpretations.
The secret of Hasan Al-Banna was the quality of his faith and the intensity of his relationship with God. Anyone who had ever been in contact with him perceived and experienced this. He lived as had the first Sahaba – following the path of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him).
To befound here, in German:
Der Salafist Tariq Ramadan: “verunglimpft wie ein muslimischer Jude”