Salafism, or Islamic fundamentalism, is often associated with extremism and terrorism.  It is also one of the most universally maligned religious movements in the West today. This semester, we will read about and discuss the evolution of Salafism as it gained popularity and notoriety.

The Islamic Studies Book Club meets every other Wednesday throughout the semester. This semester we are reading The Making of Salafism: Islamic Reform in the Twentieth Century by Henri Lauzière. All readings are available on UT Box here.

All book club meetings are open to the entire UT community. 

Fall 2018 Meetings

Discussant: Bruce Boville, Doctoral Candidate in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

September 12 “Being Salafi in the Early Twentieth Century"

September 26 “Rashid Rida’s Rehabilitation of the Wahhabis and Its Consequences”

October 10 “Purist Salafism in the Age of Islamic Nationalism”

October 24 “The Ironies of Modernity and the Advent of Modernist Salafism”

November 7 “Searching for a Raison d’Être in the Postindependence Era”

November 28 “The Triumph and Ideologization of Purist Salafism” and “Conclusion”