Salafi Research Articles

Mapping Indonesian Muslim Diaspora in the Netherlands

Since few years ago, Indonesian government has been concerning to gain many benefits from Indonesian diaspora in various regions in the world. There are many events and agendas provided by the government which are aimed to embrace many Indonesian diaspora for giving a great contribution towards their homelands. However, its vision for gaining attention from Indonesian diaspora tends to low because the government do not have Indonesian diaspora maps in details, comprehensive, as well as described by historical trajectory. This paper aims to understand the contribution of Indonesian Muslim diaspora by mapping the role of Indonesian Muslim Organizations in the Netherlands by socio-historical perspectives. The main reasons of the Netherlands as locus of this research are; Indonesian Muslim diaspora are the first actors who promoted Islam faces in this country since 1920s and it also was acknowledged as one of the highest Muslim populated countries in Europe. Afterwards, this paper shows that there are numerous Indonesian Muslim organizations in the Netherlands from different perspectives, mazhabs, and backgrounds. Even though the government did not pillarize Indonesian Muslim organizations, albeit most of them have strong connections with some Muslim organizations in Indonesia, starting from Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) until Salafist Movement.

Gerakan Salafi dan Deradikalisasi Islam di Indonesia

The Salafi (Wahabi) movement in Indonesia in recent decades is growing rapidly. Generally, the group is often considered as part of takfĩriy, radical or terrorist group considering its similarity in rejecting the heresy (bidah) practices and its view on democracy. This research attempts to explore how its religious teaching and strategies as well as its compatibility to deradicalization efforts. The research uses Hertbert Blumer's theory which classifies the development of a movement in four stages; social chaos, popular excitement, formalization and institutionalization. This research found that their Islamic teaching merely refers to the model of Islam practiced by three early generations. Meanwhile, the strategy undertaken is focused on teaching tauhid through education that has been purified (taşfiyah) and tarbiyah. Compatibility to deradicalization of this group lies on the evidence that Salafi is different with takfĩriy, radical or terrorist group. Moreover, they believe that Pancasila is not against Islam.

Can Mainstream Sunni Islam Counter the Islamic State? a Critique of Adis Duderija’s “The Salafi Worldview and the Hermeneutical Limits of Mainstream Sunni Critique of Salafi-Jihadism”

In his November 2018 article, “The Salafi Worldview and the Hermeneutical Limits of Mainstream Sunni Critique of Salafi-Jihadism” in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism,1 Adis Duderija argues that “mai...

Women's Authority in Patriarchal Social Movements: The Case of Female Salafi Preachers

AbstractHow do women gain authority in the public sphere, especially in contexts where patriarchal norms are prevalent? I argue that the leaders of patriarchal social movements face pragmatic incentives to expand women's authority roles when seeking new movement members. Women authorities help patriarchal movements by making persuasive, identity‐based arguments in favor of patriarchy that men cannot, and by reaching new audiences that men cannot. I support this argument by examining the rise of online female preachers in the Islamist Salafi movement, using interviews, Twitter analysis, and automated text analysis of 21,000 texts by 172 men and 43 women on the Salafi‐oriented website saaid.net. To show the theory's generality, I also apply it to the contemporary white nationalist movement in the United States. The findings illustrate how movements that aggressively enforce traditional gender roles for participants can nevertheless increase female authority for pragmatic political reasons.

The Construction of Pious Children in Serial Salman Dan Hamzah

Children’s literature is often used as a medium for teaching values, for example
 religious values, in order to shape children’s character based on the understanding or
 ideology of certain groups. Through religious-based children’s literature, the figure of
 a religious ideal child was created and called a pious child. This example is applied by
 Salafi Islamic groups in Indonesia. The group that bases its teachings from the Salaf
 creates Islamic children’s book genre called ”Sunna children’s book”. The method
 used in this article is library-based qualitative research. Studies of pious character
 in European minority Muslim children’s literature have been widely carried out by
 Green-Oldendorf (2011), Shavit (2016) and Janson (2017), while studies of pious children
 in Indonesian contexts have only been done little, including this article. Textual study on
 the construction of pious children character is carried out according to the concept of
 ideal child in children’s literature by Purbani (2009), children book illustration and visual
 by Nodelman (2004), and pious Muslim child and childhood by research approach
 (Hendra-Priadi, 2019 and Scourfield et. al., 2013). The result of the research shows
 that pious children are represented through the main character who is very diligent
 in worshiping, behaving well, and obedient to parents. In addition, the construction of
 pious children in Serial Salman dan Hamzah is based on Salafi ideology concept of
 tarbiyah (education) that textually refers to the Quran and Hadith.

Islamic Polarisation and the Politics of Exclusion in Ghana: Tijaniyya and Salafist Struggles over Muslim Orthodoxy

This article explores how the revival of the Tijaniyya and the Salafi movement shaped public discourse about Islam in Ghana. Examining the debates which characterised the religious sphere in the 1990s re-democratisation, the article highlights the power struggle which shaped the relations between the contending Muslim groups. It argues that the recognition of the Tijaniyya movement as a representative for all Muslims during Ghana’s re-democratisation in the 1990s emboldened its sympathisers to adopt repressive measures against the Salafi minority. While the local success of Salafism was often linked to locally specific forms of ethnic, political or generational self-assertion, the shared experience of political disadvantage during this period led to a consolidation of Salafi activities at the national level. Thus, as the Tijaniyya influence was politicised by Government, the ensuing conflicts between Sufi and Salafi groups also led to a politicisation of Salafism from below. Illustrating that intra-Muslim debates and disagreements cannot be divorced from their political context, this study demonstrates that learning to be Muslim in Ghana is deeply embedded in political, ethnic, and intergenerational dynamics.

Bilal Philips as a Proponent of Neo-Traditional Salafism and His Significance for Understanding Salafism in the West

This article aims to explain the ideas and the significance of Dr. Bilal Philips, a prominent ‘Salafi‘preacher, a major proponent of Neo-Traditional Salafism, and how his writings and activities can aid us in understanding the dynamics regarding the nature of Salafism in the West as a discursive tradition with deep roots in the Islamic intellectual history, as well as an element of global Salafi movements. As such, the article focuses primarily on identifying and analyzing Philips’ ideas on what constitutes a proper approach to interpreting the Qur’ān and Sunna in the light of the Islamic legal and exegetical tradition. After discussing the reasons why the ideas of Philips are significant for understanding Salafism in the West, the article focuses on his views on the conceptual relationship between sunna and hadīth, the broader hermeneutic characterization of the main four Sunni schools of thought (madhāhib), and issues pertaining to the correct methodology of Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr). The article also discusses the internal factionalism and the contentedness of the category of Salafism among western Salafis by examining one critique levelled at Philips by his fellow Salafis residing in the West, with the view of not only understanding and situating the views of Philips more accurately but also to provide an avenue to understand the internal Salafi dynamics in the West in particular.

The Transmission of Global and Regional Extremism in Indonesia

Salafi Jihadi has been widely accused of being the actor behind terrorist acts in various parts of the world. In Indonesia, acts of terror are generally carried out by parties who have relations with the Salafi movement who have transmissions at the regional and global levels. The Salafi movement literature originating from the Middle East, accompanied by political dynamics and conflict in the Middle East, has become the light of the radical movement in Indonesia. This study uses qualitative methods with a literature study approach and in-depth interviews. Analysis of the transmission of extremism is carried out using transnational theory and social movements. The results show that the transmission of extremism that occurred in Indonesia was caused by the idea of Salafi Jihadi and the events of the conflict in the Middle East.

PROGRAM HUMANISASI: REFLEKSI TENTANG REHABILITASI PELAKU DAN KORBAN TERORISME UNTUK KONTEKS INDONESIA

Tak terhitung berapa rupiah materi dan pengorbanan lainnya yang dihabiskan untuk menanggulangi perkara terorisme melalui program deradikalisasi, sampai-sampai Polri dan BIN dituding berbagai kalangan sebagai lembaga yang sengaja membikin ‘proyek terorisme’ demi kelangsungan anggaran anti-terorisme milyaran rupiah/tahun. Harus disadari, dicamkan dan ditekankan bahwa dalam membasmi terorisme, negara dan masyarakat mesti seayun langkah dan bersatu. Tulisan ini menawarkan gagasan humanisasi sebagai bagian dari upaya deradikalisasi untuk menambal lubang-lubang yang bocor dari program yang sudah dilaksanakan. Dalam hal ini, humanisasi adalah respon untuk mencegah eskalasi kekerasan. Humanisasi mengakui martabat yang melekat pada manusia, mengakui kemanusiaan lawan-lawannya dan hak-hak asasi semua anggota keluarga manusia. Humanisasi memungkinkan orang mengenali karakteristik manusia yang dianggap musuh atau lawannya, sehingga dapat membantu orang untuk membatasi eskalasi kekerasan yang ekstrim. Humanisasi juga dapat membuka jalan bagi hubungan timbal balik dan keyakinan dalam kesetaraan manusia, menciptakan norma-norma bersama yang membatasi cara konflik tersebut dilancarkan.

Salafi dan Stigma Sesat-Radikal

This article describes the dynamics of da‘wah movement of Salafis and their response to its stigmatization as being heretical and radical. The phenomenon of radical movements with their terrorist actions shapes the stigma of being radical to the Salafis. The spread and acceleration of the Salafi movement have put the da‘wah of the traditionalists in trouble. The stigma of Salafis as being radical and heretical results in the resistance against the Salafis to stop their da‘wah in many places. The stigmatization of the Salafis as being radical and intolerant drives the Salafis to show their identity as unidentical with the stigmatization. A number of persecution towards the Salafis is the implication of this stigma. This article is resulted from interviews with Salafi figures and d?‘?s who felt annoyed with the stigmatization. The appearance of Salafis which resembles those stigmatized as radicals lead to the emergence of public opinion that the Salafis are radical, while on the contrary, this article finds that the Salafis in fact fight against radical thoughts that lead to radical and terrorist actions.

FIQH FOR ACTION: JIHADI SALAFIST AND RETHINKING IN SALAFI JURISPRUDENTIAL FOUNDATIONS

Albeit sharing “Salafism” in name, Jihadi Salafist movement is different from the mainstream Salafism in multiple respects. Among others, it’s Fiqh (jurisprudence) distinguishes it from other Salfi strands, since Jihadi Salafist established their own underlying fiqh principles. To put it into perspective, their understanding of Salafist jurisprudence principles is characterized by three main features: firstly, it serves collective actions and social agitation; secondly, it excuses its proponents’ autonomous actions: and finally, it theorizes individual instead of institutionalized actions. This study hypothesizes that the Jihadi Salafist movement tends to advance these actions in the light of revisiting the all-important principles of ijtihad, tawhid, iman, tazkya. While complying with official institutes issuing fatwa (religious edict) and dominant social and political order and its gradual amendment is prescribed by Salafism fiqh, Jihadi Salafism demands abiding by Quran and Sunna, and encourages abolishing official institutes in favor of collective and violent actions. The current paper aims to explore Salafists’ atypical understanding of main Salafist theoretical principles and its impact on proceedings and violence in Jihadi Salafist movement.

Governing the Faithful: State Management of Salafi Activity in the Francophone Sahel

Governing the Faithful: State Management of Salafi Activity in the Francophone Sahel

Governing the Faithful: State Management of Salafi Activity in the Francophone Sahel

Governing the Faithful: State Management of Salafi Activity in the Francophone Sahel

PENDIDIKAN MUSLIMAH BERCADAR DI PESANTREN BER-MANHAJ SALAFI DI KOTA METRO

The rapid development of the salafi movement in Indonesia is inseparable from their main approach, namely, purification and education. In the realm of education, there is a phenomenon of the emergence of various salafi schools in various regions in Indonesia, including in the city of Metro, Lampung. Two topics related to the Islamic education system in salafi pesantren and the position of women in salafi pesantren were the questions this research was based on. This research was a qualitative-descriptive study. Data collection was done by direct observation, documentation, and in-depth interviews. The results of the study showed that in terms of the teaching method, the salafi pesantrens in Metro city were not too different from the learning systems in other Islamic boarding schools. Meanwhile, for salafi women, Islamic boarding schools provide a special program for women they call tarbiyah al-nisa'.

From the Sunni Hanafi Madhhab to Salafism: Public Opinion and Migrant Experience

The author examines social prerequisites of labor migrant involvement in the activities of organizations adhering to radical beliefs. The paper is based on a study carried out by a team of researchers form St Petersburg State University of Economics and St Petersburg University in two countries being the key donors of labor force for Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The author identifies the social prerequisites for ideological radicalization of transnational migrants (i.e. favorable conditions to become an ideological radical) and analyzes public opinion concerning the radical groups in these countries. As an example the author uses the collected materials exploring the background of two conversions to radical groups. Taking into account the countries’ specifics, the paper considers the Salafi movement (banned in both countries) as a radical group. Thus, the author illustrates examples of conversion to Salafism from the more popular Hanafi Madhhab School of Sunni Islam, describes the social conditions of the conversion and the attitudes of the local residents towards this movement.
 Acknowledgment. The article was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 17-78-20107.

Современный салафизм: генезис, историография и типология движения (на примере Египта и Туниса)

Современный салафизм: генезис, историография и типология движения (на примере Египта и Туниса)

Communal Salafi learning and Islamic selfhood: Examining religious boundaries through ethnographic encounters in Indonesia

Over the past 30 years, the translocal Salafi movement has expanded rapidly across Indonesia. Propagating a strict ‘literal’ interpretation of Islam, Salafis place strong emphasis on separating themselves from un-Islamic (non-Salafi) society. However, the daily implementation of such rigid boundaries remains rife with tension, depending less on Islamic scripture and more upon how adherents interpret it in a given time and place. A reflexive approach to ethnography provides a unique tool to examine and make visible these anxieties, placing the ethnographer at a vantage point to observe the communal interactions through which religious ethics are given meaning. By reflecting upon my study of the al-Hasanah mosque in Yogyakarta, I describe the ways my informants and I negotiated each other’s presence and how this illuminated the struggles to create a Salafi selfhood and modern religious ethic.

Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics

Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics

Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics

Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics

Social Exclusion and the Growing Involvement of Tunisian Youth in the Salafi Movement

The Salafi movement in Tunisia in general and in the area of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun in particular, emerged as an antisocial movement that adopted the defense of a cultural identity based mainly on the rejection of democracy and the foundations of the modern state, seeking change in every way through a set of well-studied strategies that made young people deeply involved. In general, the Salafi movement is not separated from the social context in which it was born. It is also a reflection of the social actors who, by engaging in the Salafi movement, desire to achieve their objectives in negotiations. The Salafi movement is a social movement born out of the womb of society and its crises. It then adopted the same society, which has been muddling in the ignorance of religion and worldly dichotomies, as a target for change. This study attributes the growth in the number of Salafist youth to social exclusion. The social conditions of the youth in the Tunisian town of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun and of Tunisian youth in general make them look for alternatives that will provides them with what the state and its institutions failed to provide: an income and a small capital that will elevate their status in the social pyramid as belonging to the surviving group. The research will focus on the relationship between the social exclusion of Tunisian youth and the growing involvement of the Salafi movement. The following questions reflect the core issues behind this investigation: What are the representations of the youth of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun to the Salafi movement in their actions and interactions? How does social exclusion contribute to the growing involvement of Tunisian and Ben Aouni youth in the Salafi movement?