2014: The Year of the Rise of Salafism in and Around Turkey

It seems that 2014 will be the year when Salafism will rise in and around Turkey.
 
Like a bull in a china shop, Salafism will seek to redesign the Sunni world by continuing to demolish it with its faith, money and weapons. The ongoing Syrian civil war -which will enter its third year in March- as well as its impact on regional balances have given a major boost to the rise of Salafism in the Middle East. Therefore, we need to analyze the rise of Salafism in a cool-headed manner and not as a party to the conflict.
 
Salafism, which can simply be defined as a "return to core values," is not something that should frighten us. Prophet Muhammad said: "The best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter." The first three generations referred to in this hadith are called the Salaf.
 
The first three generations are, respectively, the Sahaba (companions), the Tabiun (the followers of the companions) and the Taba at-Tabii (those who follow the Tabiun). These generations are considered the model generations for all Muslims. These three generations are perceived as the criterion for setting the correct definition of Islam. In this context, Salafism means sticking to the way of these three generations in deriving conclusions from the Holy Quran and the sunnah.
 
If there is nothing to be concerned about Salafism and if it can be defined as a "return to core values," how can we explain the violence attributed to Salafis in our time? In an effort to preserve religion, Salafism sought to declare anything which was not explicitly approved of during the time of Prophet Muhammad as un-Islamic (bid'ah). Thus, they opted to construe and interpret verses without taking into consideration the historic context in which they were revealed and accuse those who oppose this interpretation of associating partners with God (shirk).
 
This ideology has paved the way for excluding those Muslims who are not like them and considering them as un-Islamic and, therefore, legitimizing the use of violence against Muslims. In this climate, the Muslim world started to experience the chaos of now knowing how to save itself from the violence Salafis use with the advertised aim of "enjoining what is right and forbidding what is evil."
 
The ease with which one can become a Salafi increases the popularity of this movement among Muslim youths. Being ready to join a jihad and die in this path is enough for Muslim youth to step into Salafism. Therefore, Salafism appeals to people in countries where Islam is weak (former Soviet republics, the European Union, the Balkans), in conflict areas in the Muslim world (Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, North Africa), in the regions haunted by poverty coupled with despair (refugee camps for Syrians) and in social layers where the Islamic sphere is weak (middle and upper-middle classes, university students and graduates). That Salafism works in harmony with imperialism is one of the main factors for its increased popularity. It is not non-systemic. It is not influential in Gulf countries where it was born and in the Shiite-dominated regions. In the formerly Ottoman and Seljuk regions, it emerged as a modern tool for keeping Sunnis under duress.
 
The purging of Sufism in conflict areas, the corrupt administrations in Muslim societies and the decline of leftist movements as alternatives are factors that boost the rise of Salafism, which is identified with jihad. For this reason, Salafism is cold to both Sufism and leftism. It argues that Sufism does not produce the "model man" glorified by Islam. Accordingly, Salafism is trying to purge traditional Islam in the former Soviet republics, the Balkans, the Middle East and Turkey. To this end, it aims to destroy the traditional structures in these areas with violence and by influencing the existing administrations. The attacks in the Volgograd train station and against former Lebanese Minister Mohamad Shattah in Beirut should be well analyzed.
 
Turkey is the main heir of the Ottoman and Seljuk lands. 2014 will be the year when the future of Salafism in and around Turkey will be debated.