What attracts Somalis to Salafism?

[Khayr]

Salamun Caliykum ya akhawati,

 

Just wanted to ask this question to other nomads on here.

 

I have noticed that the somalis that are oriented towards the deen are by and large influenced by Salafiyyah methodologies and worldviews.

 

What are some of the things that attract somalis in masses towards the Salafiyyah minhaj?

 

Is one reason for this attraction towards Salafiyyah is because there are very few Somali Ulema who have in recent times studied deen outside of the Salafiyyah and outside of the Hijaz (Mecca and Medina University etc. which are Salafi centers of learning (in school of thought))?

 

I have yet to meet or here from any Somalis that have studied deen in the rest of the muslim world say Morocco or Syria or Malaysia etc...

 

Your assistance would be appreciated.

 

Fi Amanillah

[Uthman1]

Salafs never innovate or subtract any ahadiths or verses from the Quran and their interpretation is from the Early companions as the Prophet(pbuh) said they are the best of creation.

 

If you look at other sects you will come to notice that they are either rejecting the whole ahadiths(shiahs) or reluctantly not following a ahadith like the(sufis). There are others ofcourse but these are the main groups at the moment.

 

So as a salaf, I can be sure that there will be no amendments to the practise that the Prophet(pbuh) or the early companions did and this is something very essential.

[Nur]

Walaal Kheir

 

A very good qesution indeed.

 

Somalis like the rest of the Muslim world are very thirsty to learn their faith. After the fall of the last Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, Islamic revival movements sprouted overnight to make up for the death of the Caliphate, from Pakistan to Morocco, Islamic scholars began a movement of revival , however, these scholars and acivists lacked the rudimentary of the iBOK (eNuri coined, islamic Body Of Knowledge)

 

Outside of the Arabian Peninsula, India and Pakistan, Egypt , Tunis and Morocco hosted some of the most knowledgeable scholars of Islam, however, it was not until the creation of Pakistan along religious lines that the Islamic revivalist movement took a distinctive shape.

 

These movements were led by men of piety and faith, however very few of them mastered the iBOK, and as a result they became ineffective in delivering the faithful to safe shores due to the lack of standardised body of Islamic knowledge that is certified by consensus and is authenticated by the hadeeth Science ( refer to eNuri Hadeeth Science)

 

The early breed of Islamic revivalist movements represented fragments of the total picture of islam, each one of them focused on a single aspect of islam claiming that their version is the only way to salvation. So, a wide array of movements came to life in the Muslim world, beginning with the Jamaat islamiyah of Pakistan, inspiring the Ikhwan of Egypt, which gave birth to many subgroups like the Hizb Al Tahrir whose forte was the resetablishment of the dead Caliphate.

 

Other groups such as the Tabligh with contraversial origins, remains to be a layman's and peoples movement for the personal transformation of the individual and the revival of the spiritual domain of the faith. Tabligh shuns politics and stresses on living islam individually to set a good example of the faith. The Tabligh movement is led by Non Arab scholars of limited iBOK.

 

Salafiya as a movement stressed the necessity that the means to the restablishment of Islam begins with strict folloiwng of the Sunnah literally meaning METHOD of the Prophet, factors that helped Islam to be established in the first time are the only factors that can revive islam again, Salafiyah focused on authenticity of the Prophets sayings and deeds, and the understanding of the first generation of the companions and their followers ( Taabiciin)

 

Thus, Salafiyyah movement attracted the youth in Somalia after their realization that other Islamic movements for social and political change where lacking the iBOK dimension, and hence it became a back to the basics movement focusing on the knowledge aspect of the Faith. as the safest way for reaching salvation.

 

Is Salafiyah the total answer?

 

Well, That requires another thread

 

 

Nur

[Khayr]

Originally posted by Nur:

 

Salafiya as a movement stressed the necessity that the means to the restablishment of Islam begins with strict folloiwng of the Sunnah literally meaning METHOD of the Prophet, factors that helped Islam to be established in the first time are the only factors that can revive islam again, Salafiyah focused on authenticity of the Prophets sayings and deeds, and the understanding of the forst generation of the companions and their followers ( Taabiciin)

 

Thus, Salafiyyah movement attracted the youth in Somalia after their realization that other Islamic movements for social and political change where lacking the iBOK dimension, and hence it became a back to the basics movement focusing on the knowledge aspect of the Faith. as the safest way for reaching salvation.

 

Is Salafiyah the total answer?

 

Well, That requires another thread

 

 

Nur

I agree and disagree

 

I think that the salifiyyah movement spread because :

 

• of the free islamic university education that was offerred hijaz (mecca/medina etc.) in the 20th and 21st century.

• Siyad Barre's very pro-socialistic and pro-western idealogy, which called for increased westernizaation and decreased Islamization.

• Like most muslims, mecca and medina are the center of Islamic world. So envitably, a fatwa/islamic ruling from the center of the Islamic world holds weight for the majority of layman muslims. Somalis being no different then the rest of the muslims.

Since the Salafiyyah dominate that part of the world, it makes sense to the layman muslim (avg. muslim) to assume that any position coming from the center of the Islamic world is correct. It is to be assumed that an islamic opinion or ruling that comes from Mecca or Medina/K.S.A. is automatically the Best and Only position that should be adopted by muslims.

 

Somalis by and large, don't have Ulema that have studied other islamic schools thought and who follow those other schools of Islamic thought. Most are poor, particularly the religious ones. Also, Somalis don't view Islamic knowledge as something tangible i.e. makes money, attains employment etc., so the majority of our families would not be enthuisastic about shelling out $$$$ on an Islamic education, especially to Muslim University.

 

These factors, I think contribute so somalis being attracted to the Salafiyyah movements.

 

I would agree that Salafiyyah movements are necessary because they do give a simple picture of Islam. But aren't other schools of thought necessary too for Somalis and Muslims by and large?

 

Fi Amanillah

[Nur]

Brother Kheir'

 

You mentioned three reasons for the spread of Salafiyah:

 

1. the free islamic university education that was offerred hijaz (mecca/medina etc.) in the 20th and 21st century.

 

 

Answer:

 

Before that to this many Somalis went to Al Azhar of Egypt, the last of which was the late Sheikh Maxamed Macallin who was the earliest pioneer of the Salafiyah movement in Somalia as far back as the early seventies?

 

 

You suggest

 

2. Siyad Barre's very pro-socialistic and pro-western idealogy, which called for increased westernizaation and decreased Islamization.

 

 

Answer:

 

That does not necessarily attract the youth to any specific Islamic movement, it just makes them look for any alternative way of iiving including drugs for a change.

 

You write:

 

3. Like most muslims, mecca and medina are the center of Islamic world. So envitably, a fatwa/islamic ruling from the center of the Islamic world holds weight for the majority of layman muslims. Somalis being no different then the rest of the muslims.

 

 

Answer:

 

This may not be true brother, during the golden age of knowldge, Bagdad , Basra, Damascus and Azhar were attracting the faithful to islam, its not the location, its the content that attracts the faithful, and today, Makkah's Umm Al Quraa University and Madina University have gotten their act together to graduate many students.

 

 

Nur

[Sharmarkee]

^^

 

If even those Makkah's Umm Al Quraa University and Madina University, and Imam Mohamed bin A/Wahab's university of Riaydh all started benefiting those ulmea and scholars expelled or proscuted in the arab/Socialist/communist countries like Egypt,libya,yemen,Syria, and iraq. that was since the oil boom were Saudis established a high standard educational institutions, but what happend since the Gulf war, sure they kicked them out all of them, that was where the defects of Wahabism started not in creed wise but the believe of the Saudi ulmea who preach absolute obedience to their Kings.

 

I think it was a change for Somalis who came from a tradition of Sufisms, were the Salaf is derived the teachings straight from the Quran and Sunna - and understandings of the original interpretations of the Saxaabah(Radiya Allahu canhum). no extra baggage coming with, such as not becoming "xer" but earning their xalaal livelihood.

[ElPunto]

^I find this self labelling very strange. There is no question that the Sunnah is the only correct path for a Muslim. Why can't you follow the Sunnah to the best of your ability without being labelled anything other that a Muslim. And do ppl really refer to themselves as 'Salafis'? I find that totally wrong.

[NGONGE]

Because they’re the loudest and they never stop telling us all that they’re the chosen sect. Advertising works, brother. Why do we all drink Coca Cola instead of Pepsi?

[xiinfaniin]

Originally posted by ThePoint:

And do ppl really refer to themselves as 'Salafis'? I find that totally wrong.

^^And what’s the basis of your findings good Point? Salafi is a blessed period of our Islamic history. Being a Salafi simply means that you give precedence to the jurisprudential and theological decrees of those who lived within that timeframe over others. It’s [edit]not a label per se.

[ElPunto]

^Good Xiin - our appellation has been given to us by God as stated in the Quran. How can you in good conscious refer to yourself as anything but a Muslim? If people desire further information - it's ahl al sunna wal jamaca Any other appellation or label you give yourself with regard to Islam would be mistaken my friend

[xiinfaniin]

^^By logical extension labels such as al-ansaar and al-muhaajiriin do not sit well with you then, no? There is no harm in subscribing to Salafism yaa Point! It's a good label, i say.

[Viking]

Khayr,

The points Nur raised and the petro-dollars you mentionned probably did have a lot to do with it. But I think that two more aspects might have also played a significant role in the directions Somalis take.

 

1. Somalis generally are people of an oral tradition and don't have a history/tradition of academe, or libraries of domestic literature from the past. Therefore, most of the population followed "literally" what the handful of scholars (educated abroad) had to say because there is/was no alternative. You will hardly hear a Somali (I'm generalising here) say I read this and that (about a certain issue and the different points of view scholars have) but you will often hear Sheikh hebel said this and sheikh hebel said that, their source of information is oral, either from the pulpit, casettes, word-of-mouth or through madrasas (from teachers with links to the Hijaz).

 

2. We don't have a culture of questionning things that are of religious nature. To do this, you will have to refer to books or other scholars from the past whose works you need to know about by reading. This makes the issue of "taqleed" very easy to swallow for most Somalis because of the reasons stated above.

[ElPunto]

Originally posted by xiinfaniin:

^^By logical extension

labels

such as al-ansaar and al-muhaajiriin do not sit well with you then, no? There is no harm in subscribing to Salafism yaa Point! It's a good label, i say.

Those labels are hardly in the same category Xiin - shame on you These labels are descriptive of the qualities of people or actions that they took. They in no way define their religion or belief system which a wrong-headed label like 'salafist' tries to do.

[xiinfaniin]

^^Very good! I am begining to like your reasoning ! Salafism is also a descriptive school that adheres to a particular approach in exacting jurisprudential verdicts, good Point. Ever heard الإ ستدلال السلÙÙŠ (istidlaal a-salafi)? What that basically means is to adopt a restrictive approach in terms of formulating proofs in solving fiqh issues! It doesn’t mean however living back in time and ignoring new realities! It’s very critical to understand this concept of Salafism especially when doing scholarly Ijtihaad!

 

People who consciously attack this concept understand what it entails; true adherence to the scholastic learning of that era! You of all people shouldn’t get thrown out of balance upon hearing this word! You shouldn’t view it in a negative light. Indeed I think we should all appreciate the religious significance of this concept! Roots of most fundamental principles of our Islamic sciences were put down during that era. Processes of validating ahaadiith were argued and agreed up on. Theological positions were solidified and settled.

 

Sophistry aside, Salafism is a good label. To argue that we all be satisfied calling ourselves Muslims, though commendable a call, is missing the point of this discussions. You see, you are not cracking a hole in your Muslim identity if you subscribe to the Shaafi’ school. Likewise[edit] you are not doing any harm by categorising yourself as a Salafi.

[Jacpher]

Not to disappoint anyone or hijack the topic, where does the Salafiya Jadiida comes into the picture?

 

There are lots of labels/names out there and some people whatumacallit, seem to enjoy dividing Muslims using these labels. Maybe that’s what ThePoint is concerned? How can one remain true to these labels and at the same time convince these individuals who might be ignorant of the value to these names, that they are not creating confusion and division?