Salafism in the Washington Post
By Douglas Farah
I seldom critique my former colleagues at the Washington Post, but want to point out several crucial things that were, either for lack of space or understanding, passed over in today Washington Post story. Particularly stiking is the lack of explicit statements about what Salafists and Wahhabis really teach, rather than the softened down version of that is often dished out for public consumption. This unwillingness to state what they state about themselves is always baffling to me.
Ms. Murphy is striking with her passing mention that after 9-11, Salafists in the United States found their "theology and practices were suddenly suspect." It is not noted that for decades, as the Saudis poured hundreds of millions into the spread of Salfism here and elsewhere, that the message was to kill all of us considered infidels. It was only "suddenly suspect" because we had not listened to them until they attacked us.
The theology of Salfism, in fact, is not suspect at all-it is a clear, straightforward statement of belief that calls on the faithful to carry out jihad. The hijackers of 9-11, faithful to that call, did so. To pretend that Salafism itself preaches something different is a disservice.
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