Salafist Readings of Islamic Texts

Extract

[...] From then on, this reading is inscribed with other means of understanding the word of God. Thus, the exegesis of the word of God, which is translated notably by the tradition and the vision of the Prophet Muhammad: the Sunna, can be subject to debate, notably the Salafist organizations Al-Qaïda and the Islamic State. It is in this sense that two bodies of texts accompany the reading of the Quran: the Sunna represents the custom and remains a text that is more or less within oral reach, while the hadiths constitute the written body of the tradition. [...]

[...] Or, the thinkers of Al-Qaeda have a contrary opinion. In fact, by referring to the thinker Al-Filasti?ni, the author highlights this debate by showing that the verses should have been interpreted and not read literally. Thus, the readings of the Salafists depend, according to the author, on a grid of analysis specific to them. In fact, according to the interpretation made of the legal texts, it is noted that each organization has its own conception of Islam, of its texts and deduces its own practices. [...]

[...] In fact, the author demonstrates in the first place that the practice of radical Islam consists of a rigorous reading of the Quran: a true Islamic profession of faith and 'word of God'. From then on, understanding Islamic fundamentalism and its practices is inscribed in an understanding of the Quran, a fundamental text for Muslim believers. Or, if this practice of reading the current constitutes one of the main readings of the fundamentalists: it is not the only ideological reading of these rather particular believers. In fact, the author demonstrates that the reading of the Quran is dynamique. [...]

[...] According to the author, the Salafists, that is to say fundamentalist Muslims practicing a political Islam, prefer to adopt the notion of tawhi?d al-asma?' wa- asma? which allows them to practice an Islam supposed to be linked to the writings and allowing them to fight, or even kill: this is a literal reading pushed to the extreme of the Quran. We therefore find, notably within Islamic organizations such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, a totally rigorous practice of Islam linked to a reading that serves the words and practices of the Quran. [...]