Deconstructing Salafism It's Transformations and Modifications from Scholarly Assemblies to Battlefields A Review of Mohamed Bouchikhi’s Book

Abstract

This book by Moroccan researcher Mohamed Bouchikhi examines the historical and intellectual evolution of Salafism, arguing that its development is inseparable from political authority and the interaction between religion and politics. Across six chapters, the author traces key transformations, from conflicts between hadith scholars and jurists to the Indian hadith revival and its alliance with Najdi-Wahhabi doctrine. He then explores the emergence of “revivalist hadithism,” represented by al-Albani, and its convergence with Sayyid Qutb’s revolutionary thought, which contributed to the formation of “Jihadi Salafism.” Finally, the book examines digital jihadism and “lone wolves” as signs of a rupture with traditional religious authority. This development reduces Islamic knowledge to individual ijtihad and weakens the ethical and jurisprudential constraints traditionally governing violence.