(e) Embattled Minority In-Between Minorities: An Analysis of British and German Salafi Anti-Jihadi Campaigns

Based on an analysis of 150 documents collected between 2012 and 2015 from bookstores, websites and YouTube channels operated by Salafi mosques and organisations in Britain and Germany, this article discusses the different strategies adopted in European Salafi discourse in an effort to disassociate salafiyya from al-Qaeda, ISIS and other Jihadi-Salafi movements. The article suggests that the target audience of these rebuttals are Western governments and publics, who suspect salafiyya to be a breeding-ground for terror, as well as mosque attendees, who are exposed to jihadi-salafi denunciations of Salafi anti-politics and anti-violence agendas. It introduces the diverse set of arguments invoked by Salafis to defend their opposition to violent attacks on Western soil, including the religious duties to abide by contracts, respect Islamic rules of warfare and the regulations on initiating jihad, avoid harming the interests of Muslims and of Islam in Europe, and oppose modern-day Khawarij of whom the Prophet Muḥammad warned.Key words: Islam in Europe, salafiyya, jihadi-salafiyya, al-Qaeda, ISI