Between Salafism and Traditionalism

Abstract

On March 12, 2015 Emad Hamdeh, a specialist in modern Muslim reformmovements, Islamic intellectual history, historical pedagogical methods, andIslamic law, discussed “Between Salafism and Traditionalism: The Case ofNasir al-Din Albani and His Detractors” at the IIIT headquarters in Herndon,VA. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of Arabic and Islamic studiesin the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at Montclair StateUniversity, Montclair, NJ. His doctorate (Exeter University, 2014) “TheEmergence of an Iconoclast: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani and HisCritics” traced the origins of this controversial figure’s anti-madhhabpolemic.Hamdeh began by presenting a brief overview of al-Albani’s life. Hewas born in Albania in 1914 at a time of increasing secularism. When he wasnine years old his father, a traditional Hanafi, moved the family to Syria.While growing up, he studied under his father and with local religious schol-156 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences ...