Essays on Salafism

Abstract

This paper reviews the historical background of Jihadi-Salafism from the time of the crusaders. Jihadi-Salafists are depicted as elements of the broader Salafi movement, social and religious reformers who desire to restore the original beliefs and practices of the first three generations of the Muslim religion. The current Jihadi-Salafists draw their motivation from the perceived attacks on the Muslim community since the beginning of the European colonialism in the nineteenth century and the termination of Ottoman caliphate during the twentieth century. The first part of the discussion includes an evaluation of the United States foreign policy and how it ...

ISIS

I. Introduction The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, has recently risen to fame in the last few years. It has taken a stronghold over parts of Syria and Iraq, and is well-funded by the revenue streams of the oil and gas fields of the areas it controls, and receives donations from around the world. Its leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, has recently proclaimed the group to be a caliphate, thus assuming control over all Muslims around the world. It is urgent that the United States and its allies put a stop ...

Accounting for Change - Monarchism, Oil, and the Coercive Apparatus

A few years after the Arab Spring began numerous protests from Middle East countries emerged. Many protests have failed to challenge their political leaders. However, in spite of these disenchantments, a golden opportunity is provided by the Arab Spring. Unrests in Arab countries have been endless and the revolution of Arab culture has been gradual. The presence of oil wealth and monarchism has reduced the likelihood of an uprising through the establishment of barriers to protest escalation. Tunisia and Egypt have had protests against bad leaders. These actions have played a significant part in determining the survival of their regimes. On ...

The term “Salafism” has been derived from Arabic word Salaf having meaning “the past”. It shows the time of caliphs in Islamic history who applied the Prophetic model by following Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) in his footsteps and presented this correct way of life to people. So all those Muslims who were guided by these caliphs and they lived their life as per Prophetic model also became part of salaf. Islam spread under the authority of different Muslim dynasties from Ummayad to Abbasid. Salfism took theological meaning and then it was known as ahlal-Hadith during caliphate of Abbasid. During his ...

Does Al-Qaeda a represent a ‘global insurgency’?

The September 11, 2011 attacks in the United States can be considered the day that shook the balance of power and peace throughout the globe as the attack instigated terror to reign after decades of peace from the Great Wars. The attack, instigated by an Islamic terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda, targeted several installations showcasing the US’ power: the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Thousands had perished in the attack, plagued the world in fear and a few clamored to find answers as to how such attack existed in this time of peace. The international community, led by the ...

(Name of your Course) (Name of your Tutor) 1.How do economists define rationality? Why, according to Mancur Olson, is it inadequate in explaining collective behavior? Extending this logic, explain why economic rationale cannot explain terrorism? How can we theoretically understand the motivations of a terrorist? In this context, explain the concept of “Janus’ Children.” Economists such as Karl Popper place the principle of rationality on a situational analysis. According to this concept, a rational person would first analyze his or her situation and social surroundings before selecting a course of action that is reasonable and appropriate. While psychologists seek to ...

Introduction:

The islam religion is practically based on several schools of thought mostly surrounding the Sunni and Shia schools which bring about a pacifist approach as well as a warlike approach. There are a number of periods which are discussed in the book and which focus on the changes made in the Islamic movement over the years which certainly brought about a sea change in thinking and in various aspects of this religion. Most important was the Colonial Period where one could see a paradigm shift in the Islamic movement which partially responded to modernization and the influx of western imperialism. Then we had ...