What if I were to tell you that the new enemies of the Taliban within Afghanistan
are the Salafists? That’s right! We are talking about a full-fledged religious confrontation.
And I know what you're thinking right now, but what kind of religious fight can it be
if... they profess the same faith? Both the Taliban and the Salafists believe
in Sunni Islam and both are extremists, what differences can they possibly have?
So many!
You see, within Islam there are four different schools of jurisprudence. The Taliban follow the
Hanafi school, which has nothing to do with the Salafist school. And you will say, so how do they
differ? Well, the Taliban allow the interpretation of the sacred texts using reason and opinion. Yes,
I know that “reason” and the Taliban seem a contradiction. But the Salafists are even more
radical, because they say that the sacred texts cannot be touched, right down to the last comma.
Of course, during the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban and the Salafists had certain alliances.
Especially with that terrorist group of Salafist profession that we all know: Al Qaeda. However,
with the US out of the picture, they have returned the focus on their differences.
However, do not think that we are talking about an open war. The reality is that
Salafists are a minority in Afghanistan. In part, thanks to Taliban oppression.
This does not mean that Afghanistan is a paradise of tolerance. Quite the contrary.
As we will see in this video, there are many forms of Islamic radicalism. And
all of them can be violent and dangerous. But today we are going to focus on the SALAFISTS.
Why are we so interested in the Salafists? Because it is one of the fastest growing
branches of Islam. The Salafists have been expanding throughout the world for decades.
And that’s because they have the financial muscle to do so. Who are we talking about? Well,
none other than an old friend of ours here on VisualPolitik: Saudi Arabia.
But don't think we are talking only about radical mosques in the West! Salafism is
also spreading throughout the Muslim world. Many moderate Muslim countries are succumbing
to the charms of Salafist radicalism. So the questions we are asking today are:
Why should we care about Salafism? What impact could it have on our lives? What is the attraction
of Salafism in Muslim countries? Today we are going to answer these questions but first....
[Before we get into today’s story, I want to remind you that, if you like VisualPolitik,
you can now actively support this project by subscribing to VisualPolitik's Patreon.
In addition to allowing this project to go ahead, if you join our Patreon,
you will receive our newsletter "The Weekly Snapshot", where we touch on many more topics
that we do not have time to cover in video form. In addition, from level 3 and above,
you will receive our exclusive merchandising. Merchandising that will never be for sale. You
have all the links in the description. And now, let's look at a little bit of history].
(DR. SALAF AND MR. JIHAD)
We all associate Salafism with Saudi Arabia. However, Salafism was born in present-day Iraq
in the 9th century. The word "Salafism" comes from "Salaf" which is what the scholars of
Islam were called after the death of Muhammad. And the Salafists were scholars who argued that
the sacred texts cannot be interpreted. They have to be applied "to the letter of the law."
And you may be wondering, what does Salafism have to do with Saudi Arabia? Well, it all
comes from the 18th century when a cleric by the name of AL-WAHHAB converted the most important
tribal chief of the area – only that instead of calling it Salafism, in an act of modesty
he called it Wahhabism, because clearly the last thing he wanted was to be famous.
The rest is history:
in the 1930s, Saudi Arabia discovered that they had dinosaur juice to produce and sell. Suddenly,
a lot of immigrants from other Muslim countries migrate to work in the Saudi
oil fields. And between barrels of oil and daily prayers... they end up converting to Salafism.
But not only that! What do all the Saudis do with all that money they make from oil? Well,
this is where the big Saudi gap comes in,
which we have already told you about several times on VisualPolitik.
The Saudi Royal House uses the money to live the high life, buy mansions and luxury cars. Yes, OK,
they uphold certain religious conventions... but they forget the whole part of Salafism that
says to be "austere" and "modest". In contrast we have the "true" Salafists. The real ones.
Those who, no matter how rich they are, will never wear an Armani suit because.... it goes
against the holy texts. These Salafists use their money to spread their word all over the world.
And, of course, some will ask, what's wrong with one religion expanding, that’s normal? Yes,
you are right. The problem is that within Salafism there are branches that preach
violence. Yes, VisualPolitik fans, we are talking about Jihadism.
However, let’s take a moment because Jihad is a rather unknown term in the West. There are
actually two levels of Jihad. The lesser JIHAD consists of fighting the infidel. In this case,
anyone who does not practice Salafism.
And in most cases, by "fighting" we mean...
violent fighting. But then there is the GREATER JIHAD. Greater Jihad consists
of the internal struggle against the greatest infidel there can be,
which is oneself. The internal struggle to control our own desires and to be faithful to the Koran.
In other words: many times we can hear a Muslim cleric talking about Jihad and
that does not necessarily mean that he is talking about killing infidels.
With this clarification in mind, there is something that many of you may be wondering now,
how is it possible for such a radical religion to expand so quickly? Well,
we are going to take a look at that right now.
(THE EXPANSION OF SALAFISM... EVIL VERSION)
It is no surprise that religion is used as a political weapon,
it has been done throughout history. So, when all of North Africa became independent from
their European colonizers, the Salafists thought they had a growth opportunity. And you will say,
so did it work out well? Well... the answer is NO. Not at all. It went badly.
When Algeria was at war with France, the Salafists had a certain moment of glory. But,
as soon as Algeria became independent, the Salafist parties were marginalized.
During the India-Pakistan war, both Saudi Arabia and Qatar funded
Salafist terrorist groups. But they barely achieved real political power.
And in Afghanistan it was a real failure.
First, the communists stopped any religious movement. Then, the Taliban stopped the
Salafists. During the latest Afghan war, the Salafists had achieved a certain presence.
In this case, their main supporter was the Islamic State in Khorasan province. But as
soon as the Taliban seized all the power, the Salafists were the first victims. Check it out.
("Taliban takes on ISKP, its most serious foe in Afghanistan" Aljazeera)
And it was a similar story with the Arab Springs. Neither in Tunisia nor in Egypt have they managed
to expand. Yes, of course, in all these countries there are some Salafist political parties but:
in Tunisia they don’t win elections and in Egypt there are no elections to win.
However, there is one area where Salafism is indeed gaining ground.
We are going to take a look at it right now.
(HOW TO SPREAD A RELIGION)
OK: it has become clear to us that the Saudi regime wants to spread Salafism. The question is,
why not rein in the Saudi Royal House? After all, the United States has more
than enough tools to put pressure on them. But here comes the big plot twist in this
story. Is it really the Saudi regime that is funding the Salafist mosques?
Well... yes and no at the same time. Saudi Arabia donates money to Islamic NGOs such as,
for example, the Muslim World League. On paper, this is just humanitarian aid.
But many of the people in charge of these NGOs divert money to the jihadist cause.
However, the bulk of the financing of
international Salafism comes from.... From civil society!
That’s right! Much of the funding for Salafist mosques outside Saudi Arabia
comes from the private sector. That is: from those
"true" Salafists who have nothing to do with the Saudi Royal House. We are talking about bankers,
real estate entrepreneurs and civil servants with very high salaries.
Instead of using their money to buy mansions in the Mediterranean, they use it to build
mosques in Chechnya. And you will say, surely they are in cahoots with the Saudi regime!
Well, the truth is that they are not. As we said at the beginning,
the "true" Salafists hate the Saudi Royal House. They consider them to have sold out
to the comforts of the infidels. And I'll give you an illustration of this:
at the political level, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are at each other’s throats.
This is from VisualPolitik 101. However,
the "true" Salafists do not understand borders. Both Qataris and Saudis go hand in hand when
it comes to building mosques. Religion is far above the interests of the various royal houses.
Mind you, the Saudi Royal House has done virtually nothing to
prevent these moves. But that is another story.
By now you are probably anxious to know where Salafism has managed to succeed. Well,
pack your bags because we are going to.... CHECHNYA.
CHECHNYA is a region of Russia famous for its concentration camps for homosexuals.
For centuries, the Chechens professed Sufi Islam. And how did Salafism penetrate these regions,
you may ask? Three simple reasons: war, poverty and social exclusion.
And you may be wondering, what war has Chechnya had? Well,
one against mother Russia itself. Chechnya unilaterally declared
independence. And Moscow responded by sending its army to their door.
This was the first Russian-Chechen war,
which ended the lives of more than 40,000 in a territory of one million inhabitants.
It was a tough blow, and after the repression, Russia began economically isolating Chechnya.
Without money from Russia, Chechnya had no choice but to accept money from Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and Kuwait. Thus came the first Salafist mosques.
Think about it: we are not just talking about a mosque where you go to pray. We are talking
about schools where children are educated for free or for ridiculously low prices.
Between a math lesson and a geography lesson, they threw in a bit of Salafism.
That is to say, Salafism is more than a religion:
it also offers some social benefits. This is especially attractive in war-torn places.
And all this explains why, years later, when the Second Russian-Chechen War broke out,
the Salafists ended up establishing the Caucasus Emirate. This Emirate
eventually dissolved after the money from international jihadism
all went to the Islamic State. Even many Chechens ended up leaving for Syria.
However, now Salafism is at a low ebb, why? Well, thanks to our good friend Putin and
his even better friend RAMZAN KADYROV who we have talked about previously on VisualPolitik.
Kadyrov is the warlord who rules Chechnya with Putin's support. Basically, Putin once told
Kadyrov: "you do whatever nonsense you want inside your territory... but I don't want to
see a single terrorist in the rest of Russia". And Kadyrov has taken that to heart. In fact,
he has a message for all Chechens who have gone to the Islamic State.
I’ll give you a piece of advice: if Kadyrov says that he will personally take care of your
annihilation, listen to him. This man's story is one to shudder at. Of course Chechnya is still
an extremely poor place and some areas have kept their mosques. But it is not clear for how long.
However, Chechnya is not the only territory where Salafism has spread. Where else would
you imagine it has been successful? As many of you may have guessed, in Central Asia: that is,
in the -STANS. More specifically, TAJIKISTAN and KYRGYZSTAN.
In these two countries, almost 30% of the population are supporters of Salafism:
that is more than 4.5 million people.
Are they all violent? No, they are not. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan does
practice the Lesser Jihad. But mainly, Salafism in this area has a name.
An unpronounceable name, by the way: HIZB UT-TAHRIR.
We are talking about a political party that was born in the 90's. And why do they have so
many supporters? Mainly for one reason: their discourse against corruption. That’s right.
The Salafists seem to be enough on the outside for their anti-corruption rhetoric to be taken
seriously. From that starting point, the rest of the religious discourse is much better received.
But now the question you are all asking yourselves (unless you are Raznam Kadyrov himself) is.... Is
it necessary to fight the spread of Salafism? To what extent is it a real problem?
(FIGHTING TERROR OR FIGHTING BELIEFS?)
The world has indeed united to fight against jihadist Salafism. That is to say:
against terrorists. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem just look at the data:
between 2002 and 2014, the main jihadist Salafist groups, that is the Islamic State,
its affiliate in Nigeria, Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda, took just over 54,000 lives.
Almost all of these victims were not from Western countries but from the Muslim world itself.
And how is this possible, you may ask? Well, because, as we have said before, for a jihadist
Salafist, an infidel is anyone who is not a Salafist. That includes all other Muslims.
And the same is true in the West. I don't need to
remind you of the long list of attacks we have suffered throughout Europe. And yes,
all over Europe we have a lot of radical mosques. Check it out.
("Brussels' Great Mosque and ties with Salafism – Brussels' largest mosque is
bankrolled by Saudi Arabia, a Salafist regime. Mosque leaders have dissociated
themselves from terrorism – but are not revealing everything." – DW)
And this is what is happening in Belgium. Do you know what the French have done? Their security
forces have infiltrated the offices of mosques and discovered how many clerics use radical rhetoric.
In fact, between 2012 and 2015 they expelled 52 clerics from the country for this reason.
Okay, jihadist terrorism is combated, and so is radicalization. But what about Salafism as
a religious doctrine? Well, at this point in time,
you could say that the Muslim world is going through its own cultural battle.
That’s right! Salafism is not the only Islamic doctrine that
is trying to expand its influence. There are many groups around the world that are
dedicated to fighting against Salafism by disproving its discourse and actions.
One of them is in Indonesia and they are called NAHDATUL ULAMA.
It is estimated that they have between 40 and 90 million followers in Indonesia
alone. Because Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
Now, that does not mean that all these organizations are not
radical. Some of them even pose problems for the governments of the countries where they operate.
In the meantime, the only option that seems viable today is to fight terrorism. That is,
leave religion aside and focus on terrorist cells.
And, for the moment, coordinated action between countries is working relatively well. Since 2014,
terrorist attacks have been reduced by 60% worldwide. And this is good news for everyone.
But now it's your turn... Do you think this is enough? Should we put more pressure on Saudi
Arabia to prevent it from funding jihadist groups? You can leave me your answer in the comments.
And as always, don't forget that here, on VisualPolitik, we release new videos every week,
so subscribe to this channel and hit the little bell so you don't miss any of our
updates. And, of course, remember that you can actively collaborate
with this project by becoming part of our Patreon community. If you liked this video,
LIKE it and see you in the next one. Best regards and see you soon.