Salafism/Wahhabism in France and their activities

To understand Salafism in its current state, we have to look into the depths of history. It all started centuries ago with Ibn Abdulwahhab's doctrine in Arabia and from there it spread to the corners of the whole world. First more commonly known as Wahhabism it has nowadays gained more fame as Salafism. Salafism can be divided in three categories, which are: moderate Salafism, jihadi Salafism and political Salafism. The most common category in France and many other countries, is moderate Salafism. In various ways Salafism has spread from Saudi Arabia and it also manifested in France. In today's digitalized society, Salafis are making good use of the available technology and have reached a lot of people in a short time. They have established a vast audience. It has become a hub where both converts as well as muslims who missed being close to islam in their own families come together. Salafism has succeeded to manifest in streets and ghetto's where muslims are a majority of the population and it has adapted to the street culture. It especially attracted a lot of young people with their approach, their clothing choice and apparel, and their opinion and attitude towards France. In addition they have formed a trade network and Salafism has been able to charm those who were estranged from France or kids from immigrants who are somewhat hateful towards France. Salafism in a way, is a manner to strip oneself from the laws and culture of the non-Islamic country one lives in and to stay a stranger. Salafism has an apolitical structure, questions are directly asked at Salafi ulamas, and the way they live is based upon the fatwas and advices those ulamas give. Ulamas like Sheikh al-Albani, who have been accepted as legit, have given fatwa's which conclude that a muslim (or rather, a Salafi) should not be living in a non-muslim country and that emigration is compulsory upon them. Therefore, emigration has become an important element for France Salafis. It is the dream of many Salafis to gain material independence or strength to be able to emigrate. Salafis in France value the teachings in Arab countries a lot, as a result they try to organise their own teaching programs with the possibilities they have at hand. Translating books of the Salafi ulamas is especially an important activity as well as spreading voice-records of the ulamas. At the same time, they have made a lot of institute initiatives. Nevertheless, the Salafi education mostly consists of imams, France's Salafi preachers or sheikh's coming from Saudi Arabia who form lecture rings or conferences. The past few years the activities of Salafis have caused quite some noise and have caught the attention of the government. Simultaneously there has been a growth in terrorist attacks in the country and this has led to a tough political approach from the government against Salafis. Hence, Salafis in France have been allegedly accused of spreading Islam in a radical way and they have been subjected to the pressure of the media and the societies' response. As a result, Islam and muslims have become a widespread topic on the agenda in France. Salafism has been linked to radical Islam and terrorist activities by the French press, thus defamation is quickly spreading and muslims are the ones that have to pay for the consequences. As a matter of fact, there is a visible increase in Islamophobia in France. Key words: Salafism, Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, France.