Muslim World Book Award 2024

2024 Muslim World Book Award Winner:

Professor Raihan Ismail, University of Oxford

Rethinking Salafism: The Transnational Networks of Salafi ʿUlama in Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia

08/10/2024

The MIHE Public Lecture accompanied the presentation of the 2024 Muslim World Book Award to Professor Raihan Ismail.  The award was sponsored by the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE), the Islamic Foundation, and Kube Publishing, and promoted through the long running journal ‘The Muslim World Book Review’. The public lecture developed from her award-wining book entitled: Rethinking Salafism: The Transnational Networks of Salafi Ulama in Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The book was selected by the Muslim World Book Award panel for its erudition, originality and contribution to a deeper understanding of contemporary Muslim movements.

In the public lecture, Professor Raihan detailed the different strands of Salafi thought, most commonly bifurcated between the ‘quietist, apolitical’ strands and the ‘activist’ delineation. Both of these ideological directions differ with the violent Jihadist Salafi trends due to their eschewing of violence in the pursuit of social and political change. Nevertheless, Professor Raihan highlighted that even amongst these influential groupings, Salafi thought is nuanced with many schisms that emit multifarious manifestations of Salafism.

These differences were influenced by a variety of factors, including the relationship with the state. The three key nations in which Salafism was analysed were Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait. In each of these contexts, key political events challenged and influenced the responses from Salafi scholarship, which further exacerbated the tensions between the quietist and activist groupings, such as the Gulf Wars, the Arab Spring etc. Loyalty, whether genuine or strategic is characteristic of many quietist strains that constrain and align understandings of Islam to those of the ruling dynasties in Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, where social and religious change appears almost incremental in comparison to embryonic political reform that briefly characterised other North African and Middle Eastern states via the Arab Spring.

Professor Raihan also emphasised that Salafi typologies are not static, rather they appear fluid and able to embrace change to survive in volatile regions. Detailing transnational networks that transcend traditional borders, Professor Raihan discussed informal and formal ideational ties and ideals held by a range of influential Ulama who are financially backed by affluent families across the Middle East. Major figures within the various Salafist contingents were highlighted alongside the contributions they offer to key dynamic debates.

In a lively Q&A, the Professor was asked why Salafism retains a strong appeal. She argued that Salafist appeal as an interpretation of Islam rests on the yearning of its adherents for certainty, purity and authenticity derived from conservative understandings of Islam that seek to emulate and energise the pristine qualities of Islam emanating from the Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him). In a global arena characterised by fracture and flux where identity and economic issues lead to confusion and despair, for its adherents, Salafism offers a rooted path in the quest for human perfection and belonging that offers an allure and sanctuary within contemporary uncertainty and crisis.

Congratulations to Professor Raihan Ismail for winning the inaugural Muslim World Book Award, and the panel looks forward to the submissions for next year.

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