What They Really Want Is a Caliphate! British Salafi Reactions to the Arab Spring

Abstract

This contribution discusses the lack of references to the success of Salafi parties in the Middle East after the Arab Spring, in Egypt especially, by groups who self-identify as Salafi outside the Middle East. In their interpretation of the uprisings known as the Arab Spring, British Salafis have emphasised that Arab Muslim populations in the Middle East want an Islamic Caliphate despite cries for liberal rights and democracy. The aim of this contribution is to provide a theoretical frame for analysing a type of European Salafism on the rise preoccupied with establishing "Sharia Zones" and controlling fellow Muslims' observance of Islamic principles in British cities but with little interest in political developments in Muslim majority countries. Rather than working for political influence, the British so-called Salafis in al-Muhajiroun are preoccupied with defining a place of their own in their European context. Thus, the argument is that in order to understand current Salafi-inspired movements in the Middle East and Europe, it is necessary to analyse practice, rhetorical expressions and political context rather than how various groups self-identify.

Framing, new social identity and long-term loyalty. Hizb ut-Tahrir’s impact on its members

“…This expression refers to all those Islamist groups espousing a strong anti-Western and anti-integration stance without engaging in violent activities. The few recent studies available on these groups (Ali & Orofino, 2018;Karagiannis, 2018;Khalil, 2014;Orofino, 2015Orofino, , 2018Nawab, 2018;Peucker, 2018;Sinclair, 2018;Yilmaz, 2010) have shown how vocal radicals often appeal to those Muslims who share the ultimate goals of terror groups, but who strongly reject the killing of innocents.…”

Hizb ut-Tahrir between Radicalism and Nonviolence: A Review of Current Literature

“…З другого боку, певний резонанс викликала тема поширення ХТ в декількох західних країнах, зокрема в Данії та Німеччині, де члени організації відзначилися контраверсійними заявами та публічними акціями [Möller et al 2021;Simonsen 2014]. Насамперед, однак, це стосується Великобританії, яка стала глобальним центром медіаактивності організації [Genovese 2012;Hamid 2007;Maher 2016;McNeil-Willson 2021;Orofino 2015;Orofino 2021a;Salama 2021;Stuart and Ahmed 2010;Sinclair 2010;Sinclair 2018;Wali 2017]. Особливо ж треба виокремити повноцінні монографічні дослідження процесів ректрутування нових членів, а також причин привабливості ХТ для мусульман Великобританії та Австралії, запропоновані Валі [Wali 2016] та Орофіно [Orofino 2020].…”