| − | '''Salafism''' is a generic term which refers to a branch of [[Sunni]] [[fundamentalist]] [[Islam]]ic thought. The term refers to the predecessors, or the first three hundred years of Islam, prior to the [[Crusades]] and [[Mongolian]] conquest of [[Baghdad]] and [[Persia]]. The Salafi school of thought appeared in the 1990s as a reaction against [[Western civilization|Western influences]], such as [[tolerance]], [[gay rights]], or the [[feminism|women's movement]]. Salafi perspectives have gained wide mainstream acceptance among indigenous Muslims of the [[Middle East]] and North Africa, as people have lost faith in the very concept of the [[nation state]], [[secular]] rulers, and regimes who are often seen as stooges of the West, [[colonialism]], the [[United Nations]], and the [[New World Order]]. | + | '''Salafism''' is a generic term which refers to a branch of [[Sunni]] [[fundamentalist]] [[Islam]]ic thought. The term refers to the predecessors, or the first three hundred years of Islam, prior to the [[Crusades]] and [[Mongolian]] conquest of [[Baghdad]] and [[Persia]]. The Salafi school of thought appeared in the 1990s as a reaction against [[Western civilization|Western influences]], such as [[tolerance]], [[gay rights]], or the [[feminism|women's movement]]. Salafi perspectives have gained wide mainstream acceptance among indigenous Muslims of the [[Middle East]] and North Africa, as people have lost faith in the very concept of the [[nation state]], [[secular]] rulers, and regimes who are often seen as stooges of '[[the West]], [[colonialism]], the [[United Nations]], and the [[New World Order]]. |
| − | The term [[Qutbism]] is also sometimes used for militant, activist resistance to Western and foreign influence. | + | The term [[Qutbism]] is also sometimes used for militant, activist resistance to [[Western civilization|Western]] and foreign influence. |
| | Salafi thought centers on the concept that the [[religion]] founded by [[Muhammad]] and his companions was perfect at the time of its creation, and that it has subsequently been weakened by [[Consumerism|materialist]] interferences, [[rationalism]], and innovations. The term 'innovation' is condemned as corrupting, and does not imply 'reform' or 'improvement' as in the Western connotation of the word. [[Shariah]] law, as practiced in the vast majority of Islamic Republics after the fall of the [[Turkish Caliphate]] in the 20th century, has been watered down by innovations. | | Salafi thought centers on the concept that the [[religion]] founded by [[Muhammad]] and his companions was perfect at the time of its creation, and that it has subsequently been weakened by [[Consumerism|materialist]] interferences, [[rationalism]], and innovations. The term 'innovation' is condemned as corrupting, and does not imply 'reform' or 'improvement' as in the Western connotation of the word. [[Shariah]] law, as practiced in the vast majority of Islamic Republics after the fall of the [[Turkish Caliphate]] in the 20th century, has been watered down by innovations. |