Post-salafism by learning : The indigenization of globalized, exclusivist Salafism in Tunisia and Morocco

Blanc, T. and Eyre, G.R. (2024) Post-salafism by learning : The indigenization of globalized, exclusivist Salafism in Tunisia and Morocco. Mediterranean Politics. ISSN 1362-9395

Abstract

Extant scholarship argues that the extent to which Salafis politicized after 2011 was a result of the relative degree of openings that followed the ‘Arab Revolutions’ – from limited reform (Morocco) to full-fledged democratization (Tunisia). Based on a comparative study of Tunisia and Morocco, this paper instead explains the emergence of a politicized, post-Salafi current in both countries in terms of a dialectical relationship between opportunities and constraints emanating from not only state institutions but also societal dynamics such as public hostility and cross-ideological socialization. We argue that although many Tunisian and Moroccan Salafis chose not to engage in institutional politics in the initial years after the uprisings, their exposure to the new democratic environment – including interactions with ideological ‘rivals’, the use of civil liberties, and mobilization in the newly liberalized public sphere – followed by the restoration of institutional and societal constraints after 2013 have given rise to a distinct post-Salafi current. While post-Salafis remain Salafis, they distance themselves from Wahhabism, claim the legacy of national religious references (Maliki Zaytunis in Tunisia, modernist Salafis in Morocco), revise their exclusivist tendencies, and recast politics from an instrumental activity to a legitimate and valuable praxis in and of itself. This constitutes a major departure from globalized, decultured, and exclusivist Salafism towards greater indigenization.