Anatomy of Egypt's Salafi Surge | Atlantic Council
The pre-revolutionary roots of the Salafis’ successful political debut can be traced to the movement’s expansion under the former regime. Hosni Mubarak’s government tolerated and directly benefited from the spread of Salafi influence through mosques and charitable organizations because the movements leaders preached a doctrine of unconditional acquiescence to political leaders, no matter how authoritarian. For this reason, Salafi scholars initially denounced anti-government protests at the start of the January uprising. But with the removal of Mubarak’s regime and the rapid proliferation of new political parties, the movement recognized electoral politics as a powerful new mechanism for promoting the Islamization of Egyptian society. […]
The unexpected electoral victory of Salafi candidates can be largely attributed to two post-revolutionary trends: (1) deteriorating economic conditions and (2) an influx of funding from conservative religious foundations in the Gulf States.
- Poverty fuels religious conservatism: For the 40 percent of Egyptians who are living below the poverty line, the Salafi movement’s emphasis on social justice and equality represents a compelling alternative to the morally bankrupt crony capitalism of the Mubarak years. Karim Helal, a board member of one of Egypt’s most prominent investment firms, attributed the Salafis’ electoral victory to rising religious conservatism fueled by economic grievances: “Given the increased injustices, poverty, very poor state of education coupled with the rise of extremist ideas over the past couple of decades under the previous regime, this outcome was expected, and [Islamists] played it very well,” Helal said. Voters are already familiar with the Salafis’ vast social welfare network – registered Salafi NGOs likeGamey’ah Shar’iah and Ansar al-Sunna have been distributing free food and medicine — and they believe that Salafi parliamentarians would be similarly attentive to their needs. After decades of authoritarianism that exacerbated economic inequality and concentrated the rewards of private sector-driven growth in the hands of a corrupt and politically connected business class, Egyptians are losing faith in secular state institutions that have failed to alleviate poverty and unemployment. Frustrated with an unjust and criminally tainted economic order, poor and disenchanted voters are looking for relief in the Salafi campaign promises of justice and purity.
- The role of Gulf funding: The Salafis have proven themselves to be skilful political organizers – in some cases driving voters directly to their polling stations and enlisting children to disseminate their campaign propaganda – but their success cannot be solely attributed to dedicated volunteering and voter outreach. A steady stream of funding, much of it originating in the Gulf States, gave Salafi candidates a significant financial edge over their rivals. In November, an Egyptian government reportfound that one of Egypt’s leading Salafi association, Ansar al-Sunnah al-Mohammadiya, received almost $50 million this year from religious foundations in Qatar and Kuwait. Naguib Sawiris, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party, has accused Salafis of receiving Saudi funding for their campaigns.
December 17, 2011, 11:22pm
