Reviving Islam: Neo-Salafism Traversing Saudi Arabia and Egypt

Abstract

ABSTRACT:From ancient history to nineteenth century Islamic reform movements to the contemporary waves of labor migration, the Red Sea has acted as a medium where people travelled carrying their religious ideas as their cultural baggage. This article focuses on the later dynamics of synergy that evolved between Saudi Arabia and Egypt as the latter sought to introduce revivalist Islamic norms in 2012–2013. Based on ethnographic material collected in the period from the rise of the Islamists to power in the parliament and presidency in 2012 to the military takeover in July 2013 and its aftermath, in addition to literature review of primary sources of Saudi and Egyptian Islamic scholars' fatwas and speeches, this article covers the multiple facets of the response to this wave among different groups in the Salafi movement. Focus is directed to the discussion of women's role in the public sphere, and the transformation in the concept of obeying the ruler, where new constellations of what democracy means were pragmatically incorporated in new political settings.