The Relationship betwwen the Salafist Current and the Wahhabite Movement

• Author: Eva Alexe
• Position: PhD, Police Academy 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza', Romania
• Pages: 272-278

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2020

272

The Relationship betwwen the Salafist

Current and the Wahhabite Movement

Eva Alexe1

Abstract: The Salafist current through its ancestral doctrinal content seems, in principle, simple; the name of

the current is derived from the right ancestors, whose teachings are adhered to by the majority of Mu slims

being a mandator y requirement, but some Salafist interpretations exceed the real meaning of some Qur’anic

or Sunni texts and hence a lot of confusion and contradictions regarding the real meaning of these principles

adopted and propagated by Salafi especially that not only among the ulama, in general, but also among the

followers o f the Salafist stream themselves. There are many questions about th e identity of these Salafist

groups, their historical continuity, if it exists and the d ifferences between the existing and historical groups,

which have joined this current, to which we will try to answer briefly in a summary but explicit framework in

this article. The events of the Arab Spring revealed a series of movements, currents and activities considered

marginal as well as this Salafist movement seen previously through a standard stereotypical lens as static and

intrinsic, against progress and development, stigmatized for ideological rigidity and cultural immobility, who

have become involved in the uprising in the Arab world on different levels, even on the political arena,

participating in parliamentary elections and transforming from traditional social formations into modern

political formations.

Keywords: Salafism; Wahhabism; politics; religion; doctrine; jurisprudence

Introduction

We can say that Salafism is a current based on a school of Sunni dynamic thinking and it extends its

sphere of influence on the reform of the systems of government, society and life, in general, to what is

compatible with the Islamic system in function which urges us to pay huge attention to it.

The Salafists oppose democracy, considering it contrary to the provisions of Islam, because the power

of regulation belongs to the Parliament, the people’s representatives and ultimately to the people

themselves, and t he Salafists believe that only God has this power. Moreover, Parliament’s decisions

are transformed into laws and are not adopted unanimously by votes, but by a majority of votes, and

some laws, despite the fact that they are contrary to nature, religion and reason, become proxies

throughout the country.

The Salafist current through its ancestral doctrinal content seems, in principle, simple; the name of the

current is derived from the predecessors or righteous ancestors, whose teachings most of Muslims

adhere to as a compulsory requirement to follow their path in understanding and applying the Qur’an

and the Sunnah of the Prophet, but in regard to the “Surviving Group” or the “ Victorious Group” we

1 PhD, Police Academy “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Romania, Address: Aleea Privighetorilor 1 -3, Bucuharest 014031, Romania,

E-mail: evavalexee@gmail.com.