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The Compass: Islam, People and Power: Islam, People and Power: The Salafis

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The Salafis

24/11/2016 GMT

Islam, People and Power: The Salafis

Islam, People and Power

BBC World Service - The Compass, Islam, People and Power, Islam, People and Power: The Salafis

Disputes in Islam’s most misunderstood sect - the Wahhabis, also known as Salafis

Wahhabi Islam is more correctly called salafism. Safa al Ahmad finds that, post the Arab uprisings, the salafis are split between jihadists, democrats and apolitical pietists.

Wahhabism is the most misunderstood brand of Islam. It is more correctly called Salafism and is a fundamentalist interpretation of the faith, often associated with Saudi Arabia. The salafis have long been split between jihadists who justify violently overthrowing their rulers and quietists who believe that even oppressive governments should be obeyed. Since the Arab uprisings, two new groups – salafi democrats and salafi revolutionaries – have come to the fore too.

Presenter Safa Al Ahmad talks to representatives of all positions in the current debate within salafi Islam about the relationship between religion and politics.

(Photo: Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh. Credit: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images)

The Compass: Islam, People and Power

Safa Al Ahmad investigates the dominant political debate in the Arab world - the relationship between Islam and the state.

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