Salafism in the Maghreb

Salafism in the Maghreb
Author: Frederic Wehrey
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2019
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190942401

The conservative, literalist Islamist current known as Salafism is often synonymous with extremism and militancy. In fact, Salafism is an adaptive, diverse and dynamic outlook that has emerged as a major social and political force across the Middle East, especially in the countries of the Arab Maghreb--Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya--a vitally important region that impacts the security and politics of Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the broader Middle East. Through extensive interviews and fieldwork, Middle East scholars Frederic Wehrey and Anouar Boukhars explore the many roles and manifestations of Salafism in the Maghreb, to include its relationship with the Maghreb's ruling regimes, with competing Islamist currents, increasingly youthful populations, and communal groups like tribes and ethno-linguistic minorities. Particular attention is paid to how the boundaries between different Salafi currents--pro-regime "quietists," politically active "politicos" who participate in elections, and militant jihadists like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, is increasingly blurred, demonstrating how seemingly immutable Salafi ideology is often shaped by local contexts and opportunities. Similarly, the authors show how Maghrebi Salafism is uniquely reflective of each country's political institutions, history, and social makeup and how the much-touted notion of Salafism as a monolithic Saudi or Gulf "export" is undermined by local realities. Informed by rigorous research, deep empathy, and unparalleled access to Salafi adherents, clerics, politicians, and militants, Salafism in the Maghreb offers a definitive account of this important Islamist current that is at once granular and accessible.

Salafism in the Maghreb

Salafism in the Maghreb
Author: Frederic Wehrey
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-11-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190942436

The Arab Maghreb-the long stretch of North Africa that expands from Libya to Mauritania-is a vitally important region that impacts the security and politics of Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the broader Middle East. As Middle East scholars Frederic Wehrey and Anouar Boukhars show in Salafism in the Maghreb, it is also home to the conservative, literalist interpretation of Islam known as Salafism, which has emerged as a major social and political force. Through extensive interviews and fieldwork, Wehrey and Boukhars examine the many roles and manifestations of Salafism in the Maghreb, looking at the relationship between Salafism and the Maghreb's ruling regimes, as well as competing Islamist currents, increasingly youthful populations, and communal groups like tribes and ethno-linguistic minorities. They pay particular attention to how seemingly immutable Salafi ideology is often shaped by local contexts and opportunities. Informed by rigorous research, deep empathy, and unparalleled access to Salafi adherents, clerics, politicians, and militants, Salafism in the Maghreb offers a definitive account of this important Islamist current.

Seeking Legitimacy

Seeking Legitimacy
Author: Aili Mari Tripp
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2019-08-08
Genre: Law
ISBN: 110842564X

A comparative study based on extensive fieldwork, and an original database of gender-based reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, Aili Mari Tripp analyzes why autocratic leaders in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia adopted more extensive women's rights than their Middle Eastern counterparts.

The Lure of Authoritarianism

The Lure of Authoritarianism
Author: Stephen J. King
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2019-04-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253040892

The works collected in The Lure of Authoritarianism consider the normative appeal of authoritarianism in light of the 2011 popular uprisings in the Middle East. Despite what seemed to be a popular revolution in favor of more democratic politics, there has instead been a slide back toward authoritarian regimes that merely gesture toward notions of democracy. In the chaos that followed the Arab Spring, societies were lured by the prospect of strong leaders with firm guiding hands. The shift toward normalizing these regimes seems sudden, but the works collected in this volume document a gradual shift toward support for authoritarianism over democracy that stretches back decades in North Africa. Contributors consider the ideological, socioeconomic, and security-based justifications of authoritarianism as well as the surprising and vigorous reestablishment of authoritarianism in these regions. With careful attention to local variations and differences in political strategies, the volume provides a nuanced and sweeping consideration of the changes in the Middle East in the past and what they mean for the future.

Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel

Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel
Author: Alexander Thurston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2020-10-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108488668

Offers unique insights into the inner workings of jihadist organisations over the past three decades in North Africa and the Sahel.

Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives

Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives
Author: Mark Woodward
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages:
Release: 2018-03-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9783319736532

This is a comprehensive handbook which for the first time provides a general yet detailed discussion of contemporary Islam and various aspects of Muslim lives. It offers a much needed tool for an introduction to the world of contemporary Muslim life and debate, and a link of continuity between the Muslim world and Muslims living and born in the West. The reader gains access to articles by leading scholars who observe phenomena in a post-9/11 context and from a global viewpoint. The topics have been carefully selected to provide the reader with both the necessary general view that a good handbook must offer while presenting details and information, as well as ethnographic examples, to inspire further research and interest. Indeed, each chapter will offer topical reading suggestions from which one can expand the material discussed in the chapter. The approach of the handbook is mainly social-anthropological, but attention is given to other disciplines like history, geography, political studies, as well as gender studies and cultural studies.

Islam Observed

Islam Observed
Author: Clifford Geertz
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1971-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780226285115

"In four brief chapters," writes Clifford Geertz in his preface, "I have attempted both to lay out a general framework for the comparative analysis of religion and to apply it to a study of the development of a supposedly single creed, Islam, in two quite contrasting civilizations, the Indonesian and the Moroccan." Mr. Geertz begins his argument by outlining the problem conceptually and providing an overview of the two countries. He then traces the evolution of their classical religious styles which, with disparate settings and unique histories, produced strikingly different spiritual climates. So in Morocco, the Islamic conception of life came to mean activism, moralism, and intense individuality, while in Indonesia the same concept emphasized aestheticism, inwardness, and the radical dissolution of personality. In order to assess the significance of these interesting developments, Mr. Geertz sets forth a series of theoretical observations concerning the social role of religion.

China-Africa and an Economic Transformation

China-Africa and an Economic Transformation
Author: Arkebe Oqubay
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2019
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0198830505

This volume considers China-Africa relations in the context of a global division of labour and power, and through the history and experiences of both China and Africa. It examines the core ideas of structural transformation, productive investment and industrialization, international trade, infrastructure development, and financing.

The Making of Salafism

The Making of Salafism
Author: Henri Lauzière
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2015-11-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0231540175

Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others argue Salafism is an anti-innovative and antirationalist movement of Islamic purism that dates back to the medieval period yet persists today. Though they contradict each other, both narratives are considered authoritative, making it hard for outsiders to grasp the history of the ideology and its core beliefs. Introducing a third, empirically based genealogy, The Making of Salafism understands the concept as a recent phenomenon projected back onto the past, and it sees its purist evolution as a direct result of decolonization. Henri Lauzière builds his history on the transnational networks of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1894–1987), a Moroccan Salafi who, with his associates, participated in the development of Salafism as both a term and a movement. Traveling from Rabat to Mecca, from Calcutta to Berlin, al-Hilali interacted with high-profile Salafi scholars and activists who eventually abandoned Islamic modernism in favor of a more purist approach to Islam. Today, Salafis tend to claim a monopoly on religious truth and freely confront other Muslims on theological and legal issues. Lauzière's pathbreaking history recognizes the social forces behind this purist turn, uncovering the popular origins of what has become a global phenomenon.

Terrorism in the Maghreb

Terrorism in the Maghreb
Author: Anneli Botha
Publisher:
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2008
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

Terrorism on the African continent is a complex and emotional topic. One of the primary reasons for this is that a historical introspection for any country, or its people, that has been confronted with a conflicting past can only be described as 'sensitive'. In addition to international developments and challenges, domestic circumstances predominately fuel domestic terrorism. It will therefore be a mistake to assess the threat of terrorism in any country in historic isolation. This is particularly true when one tries to assess and understand the 'renewed' threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. This monograph will attempt to place the threat and implication of the name change announcement of the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching (GSPC) to al-Qa'eda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) in context, with the primary focus on events in 2007. The name change in itself implied that the original domestic group had transnational ambitions, but what influenced this development and what would the consequences be? Although this development led to immediate and extensive international interest in the Maghreb, it became clear that most assessments focused on the now, without appreciating the historical complexities that ultimately led to this development.