Caspian Report - Issue: 07 - Spring 2014

AHMET YUKLEYEN
18
beards and long tunics for men and
the niqab, or face veil, for women.
Three sub-trends within Salafism—
apolitical, political, and Jihadi—have
emerged. 33 This division occurred in
response to the arrival of US troops in
Saudi Arabia during the First Gulf War
in 1992. Apolitical Salafists believe
that they should obey the Saudi King
even though his decision to invite the
“infidel” to sacred grounds was wrong.
They preach that only God can make
laws and that Muslims must refrain
from being involved in politics because
it leads to compromise and corruption
of faith. They are interested
in fulfilling rituals, as well as learning
and spreading “true” Salafism. Political
salafists have criticized the Saudi
King and became independent and
got involved in politics. They also perform
selective readings of Sayid Qutb,
which justifies violence under some
circumstances. Jihadi Salafists believe
that Islam is under global attack, especially
by the United States, and that
nobody is defending it. To them, this
means that all Muslims are responsible
for taking up arms and fighting. Indeed,
Bin Laden issued a fatwā against
the United States, which was first published
in Al Quds Al Arabi, a Londonbased
newspaper. 34 It was entitled
“Declaration of War against the Americans
Occupying the Land of the Two
Holy Places” referring to Mecca and
Medina in Saudi Arabia. The reference
to ‘occupation’ in the fatwā referred
to US forces based in Saudi Arabia for
the purpose of controlling air space
in Iraq, known as Operation Southern
Watch.
The Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and
Jihadi Salafism in the Middle
East
The Taliban’s extremely strict and
anti-modern ideology combines Pashtun
tribal codes, or Pashtunwali, with
jihadism of Osama bin Laden. 35 Their
ideology marked a departure from the
Islamism of the anti-Soviet mujahideen
rulers they replaced, who tended
to be mystical Sufis, traditionalists, or
radical Islamists inspired by Sayyid
Qutb. 36 Both Osama Bin Laden’s Jihadism
and Taliban’s ideology were pragmatic.
They have found ways to justify
their actions based on religious ideals.
For instance, between 1996 and 1999,
Mullah Omar reversed his opinions
on the drug trade, apparently as it
only harmed the infidels or kafirs. The
Taliban controlled 96% of Afghanistan’s
poppy fields and made opium
its largest source of taxation. 37 Taxes
on opium exports became one of the
mainstays of Taliban income and
their war economy. 38 According to
33.
Quintan Wiktorowitz “Anatomy of the Salafi Movement,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 29 no.
3, (2006): 207-239.
34.
Peter L. Bergen (2002) Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (New York:
Free Press).
35.
Rashid, Ahmed (2000) Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (New
Haven: Yale University Press) p. 132, 139.
36.
Rashid, Ahmed (2000) Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (New
Haven: Yale University Press) p. 87.
37.
Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud (2010) Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy (Boston: Harvard
University Press). p. 52.
38.
Dexter Filkins (2001) “A Nation Challenged: Rise and Fall; The Legacy of the Taliban Is a Sad and
Broken Land” Dec. 31, 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/31/world/nation-challengedrise-fall-legacy-taliban-sad-broken-land.htmlpagewanted=3.
Retrieved on Feb. 10, 2014.