Prominent Debates on the Proliferation of Salafi Jihadism

Abstract

This book addresses the controversial topic of terrorism. The term is understood here absent of any normative connotations, but rather as politically motivated asymmetrical violence. In particular, this work investigates Salafi Jihadism, a specific brand of terrorism that is related to Sunni Islam. This kind of political violence has been known by various terms, including Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorism or even Islamic fascism. However, none of these accurately articulates the appropriate meaning. The most suitable term for the phenomenon under investigation here is Salafi Jihadism, understood as representative of those who take a position that could be said to embody a ‘respect for the sacred texts in their most literal form and an absolute commitment to jihad’.1 In the simplest terms, Salafi Jihadism is a religio-political ideology based on a fundamentalist conceptualisation of Islam that informs the actions of organisations like al-Qaeda. It contains a broadly defined format for a political order that unifies the Islamic peoples and governs them by a legitimate religious authority. It promotes violence in all its forms as a means for achieving this objective. The origins and ideological background of Salafi Jihadism will be further detailed in subsequent chapters.KeywordsForeign PolicyMiddle EastAuthoritarian RegimeArab WorldPolitical ViolenceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.