| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines Salafism as part of what it defines as ‘Islamic politics’, a modern phenomenon of activism and human agency based on an ideological conception of Islam—the ‘Islamic political theology of the praxis’—that is both a comprehensive vision of the world and its pro-active implementation. This article’s starting point is Wiktorowicz’s 2006 seminal article, ‘Anatomy of the Salafi movement’. This article highlights the epistemological underpinning of his work. Analysing Wiktorowicz’s broader intellectual contribution, especially his 2004 book on ‘Islamic activism’, it is possible to emphasize that Wiktorowicz was interested in epistemologically centring the study on Islamic activism (Islamism and Salafism together). From this starting point, the article argues that both Salafism and Islamism should be considered part of the practical activity of ‘doing politics’ within an ideological vision of Islam. The term proposed here is thus ‘Islamic politics’, a frame through which the development of both Islamism and Salafism is examined. In line with Wiktorowicz, this article supports the contention that the context matters, but it also argues that ideology as also a relevant factor.
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