Salafi Publishing and Contestation over Orthodoxy and Leadership in Sunni Islam

This chapter looks at Salafi publishing and its critical role in the intense contestation among Islamic trends throughout the twentieth century over defining the Sunni mainstream and establishing orthodoxy. It demonstrates how the discourse of Salafism was formed in the crucible of rivalry with Islamic modernism (the followers of Muhammad ʿAbduh), the Muslim Brotherhood, and conservative traditionalists (such as Zahid al-Kawthari), largely through the efforts of the Syrian cleric Nasir al-Din al-Albani, who established a clear standard of belief and practice under the designation “Salafi.” With its veneration of the creedal positions of Ibn Taymiyya and rejection of Muslim juridical culture, Salafism evolved its novel approach through the medium of modern print culture. Its activities were focused on, but not restricted to, Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism’s esteem for Ibn Taymiyya created fertile ground for collaboration. The chapter closes by surveying Salafi literature, its message, and its global reach.