Natana Delong-Bas has identified a divide in Salafism that results in three trends. This split comes from differing views on the ideals of Salafism, namely: Emphasis on reestablishing the Caliphate where tawhid (absolute monotheism) gives legitimacy to political agendas, the belief that Muslims must be returned to “true” Islam before any political goal can be achieved, and the obligation of missionary activity.
Trend 1
The first trend emphasizes education and missionary work as the primary method of spreading tawhid before advancing a political agenda. This type of Salafism tends to be peaceful while they build mosques, distribute literature, and work to remove non-Muslim influences and ideas from Muslim communities. They prefer isolationism as a method of protecting tawhid. These Salafis legitimize their political agenda by focusing on the Quran, hadith (accounts of the deeds and sayings of the prophet Mohammed), and Islamic law. An example of this trend is the group Al-Muhajiroun.
Trend 2
The second branch of Salafism believes that the reestablishment of the Caliphate should be a goal constantly worked towards. They are not necessarily militant in their quest to establish Islamic law in place of secular regimes and “innovations” that they believe should not have a place in Muslim societies. The justification for their political activities comes from their fight against shirk (theological opposite of tawhid) which they claim involves taking a stand on internal and external conflicts that involve Muslims. The Muslim Brotherhood is an example of this trend.
Trend 3
While the first two types of Salafism stress non-violence the third group reserves the use of violence. These are the jihadists. Jihadism is more literal in it’s interpretation of the Quran than the first two types. They tend to act immediately on their political goals and do not shy from violence to achieve them. They view jihad as a holy war that all non-Muslims are the focus of jihad. People who are, by jihadists, non-Muslim are those who do not adhere to the jihadist stance. This trend is the hardest to pin down because they are spread out geographically, and they are quick to adapt their political agendas to fit a changing environment. Jihadists have evolved over time, but two important figures in this ideology are Sayyid Qutb and Osama bin Laden.
Delong-Bas, Natana J. Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad. New York, Oxford University Press, 2004. 291-301.
