Over at FrontPage Magazine (via RaymondIbrahim.com), I discuss the one saving grace of Salafis:
Inasmuch as Salafis are vile and violent, so too must they be credited with being refreshingly frank and honest, especially in comparison with the “moderate–”that is, mendacious””Muslim Brotherhood.
To understand this, one must first understand that Salafis are simply modern day Muslims who closely pattern themselves after the very earliest Muslims, specifically those generations that coincided with Islam’s so-called “Golden Age,” beginning with Muhammad’s rule, followed by the first four “righteous caliphs,” circa. 622-656.1
Along with the Quran, Salafis slavishly follow the hadith accounts””the many words and deeds attributed to Muhammad as well as his closest companions. In other words, they espouse the mentality of 7th century Arab jihadis and usurpers.
Whereas a few decades ago, knowledge of the word salafi was limited to Muslim scholars and theologians””the so-called ulema, literally, “they who know–”today, millions of Muslims identify with Salafism. Similarly, although the word was popularized in Egypt, where the Salafi party won the most votes second to the Muslim Brotherhood, many Muslims, past and present, have conformed to its identity, though under different epithets; for example, Saudi Arabia’s “Wahabbis” and al-Qaeda are Salafis.
The one saving grace of Salafis, that serves non-Muslims who wish to learn the truth concerning Islamic law and teachings, is that they are immensely proud of their Islamic heritage””as one would have to be to meticulously uphold the practices of 7th century desert people. Like the earliest Muslim conquerors drunk with power and pride, convinced that Allah was on their side and they can do no wrong, today”s Salafis are unabashed when it comes to the things of Islam””from evoking them to upholding them.
Unsurprisingly, then, it is Salafi-minded Muslims who routinely evoke and uphold any number of things deemed absurd or evil in a Western context””from trying to enforce a canonical hadith that compels women to breastfeed adult men (ironically, to protect their “chastity”) to drinking camel urine for good health, to calling for the destruction of all churches. In all cases, Muhammad said so….