2 - A Controversial Salafi

Summary

This chapter introduces Albānī’s life and his relationship with other Muslim groups. It begins with an introduction to Albānī’s formative years and his sour relationship with his father and Ḥanafīs in Syria. Albānī took his iconoclasm with him everywhere he went, even to relatively conservative countries like Saudi Arabia. While in Medina, Albānī and his students engaged in particular practices that distinguished them in the social arena. Most of these practices were based on his fatwas, which contradicted the Wahhabi-Ḥanbalī consensus. Saudi Wahhabis could not tolerate Albānī’s iconoclasm and chose to not renew his teaching appointment. Albānī then moved to Jordan where he clashed with the very powerful Muslim Brotherhood. Finally, the chapter introduces the most prominent Traditionalist figures in the modern Muslim world who viewed Salafism as a threat to Islam.