The Premodern Origins of Jihadi-Salafism

Islam, Jaan S.

What is Jihadi-Salafism and how does it relate to classical Islam? Scholars of Terrorism Studies argue that ‘Jihadism’ and Salafism are derivatives of Wahhabism and lie on the ideological margins of the Islamic tradition. This book challenges this narrative, demonstrating that concepts associated with the terms – including ‘divine sovereignty’, ‘jihad’ and ‘the caliphate’ – are utilised by Salafi Ulama in connection with the following disparate classical Islamic traditions: Shafi'ite legal theory during the Mongol invasions; Ottoman and Indian anti-colonial Hanafite thought; Malikite and Shafi'ite ‘political jurisprudence’; and the literalism of the Yemeni luminary Muhammad al-Shawkani (d. 1834).
This is the first book to disaggregate linear histories of Jihadi-Salafism by shifting the focus from Wahhabism to Sunnism, including Maturidite and Ash'arite doctrinal schools and the ‘four schools’ of law. Based on archival research and interviews, it examines the thought of diverse Ulama, ranging from ?Abdullah 'Azzam to Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. It highlights their profound commitment to the classical Islamic sciences, as well as their distinct interpretations of historical crises that befell the premodern Umma, ultimately articulating a vision for its future.