The Traditionalist Salafis’ Perspective and Discourse on Militant Jihād

Abstract

This paper argues that the jihādi ideology draws upon the authentic and normative traditionalist salafi epistemology, which provides a moral and theological justification for militant jihād. In the current climate of political unrest and conflicts in the Middle East, maintaining a nexus between jihād and authentic Islam is crucial for traditionalist salafism in pursuit of authority, relevance and political interests. Through the misappropriation of the Meccan-Medinan trajectory and the concepts of nasẖ (abrogation) and ʾijmāʿ (consensus), the input of salafi scholars and preachers revitalizes the discourse around militant jihād as a legitimate vehicle for change and consequently propels jihādi ideology forward.

Traditionalist salafi’s involvement in the religious moderation da’wah

“…Moreover, the Salafis are not in the same movement in terms of the application of actions and methods, although the belief system (aqidah) is the same. (Ali, 2019) There are three typologies, each of which has different movements, namely: (1) traditional Salafi-rejectionist; (2) reformist Salafis; and (3) Salafi jihadists (Saether, 2013;Sageman, 2004;Wiktorowicz, 2006) Other terms promoted by de Koning to indicate the group are selefies, politically involved Salafists, and the takfiri Salafists (Salafi-jihadists) (de Koning, 2009). Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchen introduced the terms quietist (for those who encourage da'wah activities), activist (for those who are involved in politics), and jihadist (for those who encourage jihad to take up arms to quell evil).…”