Fundamentalism
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portrayed as a restoration of the caliphate , significant differences exist between traditional forms of Islamic administration and the Islamic state as conceived by modern Islamists. As the caliphs possessed Mohammed’s authority, but not his direct access to divine revelation, they were inclined to consult with and consider the views of the scholars, seen as the guardians of the law. Over time, however, the Islamic state came increasingly to be defined by the predominance given to the enforcement of the Sharia , so much so that the Islamic state has come, in effect, to be a Sharia state. The most controversial aspect of Islamism is nevertheless its association with militancy and violence. Although the vast majority of Islamist parties and groups are engaged in democratic or at least electoral politics, and many of those who subscribe to Islamist beliefs, even their radical guides, eschew violence in principle, militant Islamism is a prominent tendency within the larger Islamist movement. The chief doctrinal basis of Islamist militancy lies in the doctrine of jihad . Jihad literally means to ‘struggle’ or ‘strive’; it is used to refer to the religious duty of Muslims. However, the term is used in at least two contrasting ways. In the form of the ‘greater’ jihad , struggle is understood as an inner or spiritual quest to overcome one’s own sinful nature. In the form of the ‘lesser’ jihad , it is understood more as an outer or physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. This is the sense in which jihad is translated (often unhelpfully) as ‘holy war’, sometimes seen as ‘jihad by the sword’. Salafism Salafism is the main form of Islamism that has emerged out of the majority Sunni sect within Islam. It is closely related to Wahhabism, the official version of Islam in Saudi Arabia, the world’s first fundamentalist Islamic state. Wahhabism advocates a return to the Islam of the first-generation and opposes everything that has been added since. Among other things, Wahhabis ban pictures, photographs, musical instruments, singing, videos and television, celebrations of Mohammed’s birthday and the cult of Mohammed as the perfect man. Salafism developed as a school of Islamic thought in the second half of the nineteenth century, largely in reaction to the spread of European ideas and influences. Its chief focus was to expose the roots of modernity within Western civilization, with a view to eradicating them. However, whereas Wahhabism continued to represent staunch conservatism, Salafism was drawn in an increasingly activist and revolutionary direction. The jihadi groups that emerged out of, or drew inspiration from, the Afghan war in the 1980s transformed Salafism into an ideology of anti-Western struggle, giving rise to ‘jihadist Salafism’, or ‘Salafi-jihadism’. The most influential militant Salafi groups have been al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, only after the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011 did openly Salafi parties and groups enter the political arena, usually offering a radical alternative to Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups in North Africa and elsewhere. Shia Islamism Shia Islamism stems from the distinctive temper and doctrinal character of the Shia sect in contrast to the Sunni sect. Sunnis have tended to see Islamic history as a gradual movement away from the ideal community, which existed during the life of Mohammed and his four immediate successors. Shias, though, believe that divine guidance is about to re-emerge into the world with the return of the ‘hidden imam’, or the arrival of the mahdi, a leader directly guided by God. They see history moving towards the goal of
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