This paper discusses the diverse forms of contemporary Islam practised by the Kists, inhabitants of Georgia's Pankisi Gorge related to the Chechens. The newest wave of Salafi-inspired Islam among the young generation of Chechens, mostly men who have fought in the Chechen-Russian war, is aesthetically marked by a distinctive style of minaret and by a more public adhān than Pankisi has hitherto known. The reactions of local Kists to the aesthetics and morality of the new Islam, and the distinctions between (...) Salafi, Wahhabi, and Pankisi Islam are explored. It is argued that the new Islam is not as foreign to the Caucasus as scholarship tends to suggest. Ethnographies of minarets and headstones are followed by an exploration of reactions to Soviet secularism in the historiography of Chechen Islam. Positioning itself within recent scholarship aiming to overcome the constraints imposed by secular forms of knowledge in the study of Islamic societies, the paper seeks to locate the unique modes of Kist belief within the framework of a comparative, post-secular anthropology of Islam. (shrink)

The present article seeks to study in detail the ideology of Salafism-Jihadism, presenting a synthesis of the system of thought that lies behind the militants of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, listing its main characteristics and framing it in terms of a modern experience. The account of valuable academic scholars such as Quintan Wiktorowicz, Roel Meijer, Thomas Hegghammer and Shiraz Maher will be taken into consideration. As the paper shows, the effort to isolate a pure Salafi-Jihadi ideological core is a (...) nev- er-ending work, especially because of the complex and multifaceted jihadi galaxy and the struggle for power and leadership between the various militant groups, among all al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Nevertheless, the identity of Salafi-Jihadism as a revolution- ary soteriology is the starting point for any further research: in fact, revolution and salvation combine together in this explosive ideological construction that should be challenged not solely by military actions but also, and even more, by intellectual and cultural disputes. (shrink)

This article examines the integration of the Gulen Movement into the neoliberal economy. In spite of the Gulen Movement currently undergoes a severe persecution under President Erdogan and charged as FETO (FethullahTerrorist Organization), Gulen’s success story in the economy is of interest for any Islamic movements to emulate. In contrast to those belong to the revivalist Islam that rejects the neo-liberal economy, Gulen does accept the neoliberal economy. He integrates neoliberalism into Islam, and vice versa. Gulenacceptance of the neo-liberal economy, (...) in turn, encouraged his movement to adopt for further neoliberal principles such as human rights, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, etc. Since Gulen willingly immerses in the neo-liberalist system, he could be categorized into a progressive Islam. Nevertheless, Galen shows his critical attitude toward the capitalist economy despite his acceptance of the system. This article argues that Gulen’s adoption of the neo-liberal economy is a method of da’wah. This article calls it as ‘da’wah in the economic field’.As it is the case, Gulen’s adoption of neo-liberal economics does not appear simultaneously once, rather through gradual processes in which it goes through three stages of his da’wah: individual transformation, social transformation, and the state. (shrink)

In the twenty-first century Radical Salafism is a serious danger for Muslim countries and Western countries too due to some features of its religious ideas, which lead to extremist actions. Among the critics of radical Salafism there are both Western and Muslim scholars, but the arguments of the latter are not well-known in the West. The benefits of this study are systematization and analysis of prominent Muslim scholars’ criticism towards radical Salafism. The study analyzed ideas of such modern Muslim thinkers (...) and researchers as Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti and Rawil Gaynetdin on radical Salafism. The research argued that the Muslim scholars criticize, first of all, the following four features of radical Salafism. The first of them is Salafi movement’s claim for existence of historical basis of their words about the special status of Salafism in Islam as the only defender of initial purity of Islam. The second one is radical Salafism’s criticism towards innovations in the religion and life of Muslims. The third feature is radical Salafism’s practice of takfir (accusation of unbelief). The fourth one is radical Salafists’ intolerance of people with other opinions on religion and life. The study showed that the Muslim scholars have thought that Salafism occurred much later than the Salaf era. Rawil Gainutdin believes this occurred in the tenth century, and Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti argues that it happened only in the nineteenth century. Moreover, Al-Bouti emphasizes that, firstly, the salafs assumed the possibility of certain innovations and, secondly, Salafism is one of the nineteenth century innovations. Also Rawil Gainutdin indicated that the Judge of the Judgment Day is the one person who can declare a takfir. Consequently, radical salafists’ practice of takfir is a violation of Islam law. The Muslim scholars point out that radical Salafism’s position is harmful to Muslim Ummah, because it leads to numerous conflicts. For example, Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti explains that radical salafists split Muslim community and cause tension among Muslims. He analyzed numerous facts of such a destructive action of radical Salafism towards religious, social and personal life of Muslims. Moreover, the article shows the destructive nature of Jihadist Salafism. (shrink)

This book explores the radical Islamist mindset by adopting the philosophical category of revolutionary Gnosticism. Already used for the study of other revolutionary phenomena such as Nazism, Bolshevism and Jacobinism, never before has this notion been adopted in relation to Salafi -Jihadism, the latest existing revolutionary ideology. The consistency of Salafi -Jihadism with revolutionary Gnosticism reveals a conception of the world that stands in the forgetfulness of a pure transcendent dimension, notwithstanding the apparent spiritual framework and religious justifications that jihadists (...) provide. Through the examination of Islamist sermons and texts in light of a distinct philosophical tradition, this book investigates the activist redemptive effort of Salafi -Jihadism, which leaves God without a clear possibility of intervening in human affairs. (shrink)