Saladin on many occasions, Saladin always refused,
stating: “Kings meet together only after the conclu-
sion of an accord, for it is unthinkable for them to
wage war once they know one another and have
broken bread together.” They eventually did sign a
five-year peace treaty, but they never met, as Rich-
ard left immediately thereafter for England. Saladin
died a few months later in 1193 in Damascus.
In European sources Saladin is regarded as a
worthy opponent of generous and noble character.
In Muslim sources he is praised for his commit-
ment to unifying Muslims, waging Jihad against
the crusaders, and strengthening Sunni Islam in
all the territories under his control by enforcing
justice and supporting religious institutions. His
descendants formed the Ayyubid dynasty that
ruled syria and Egypt until 1250.
See also christianity and islam.
Heather N. Keaney
Further reading: Francesco Gabrieli, Arab Historians of
the Crusades (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1957); H. A. R. Gibb, The Life of Saladin (Oxford:
Clarendon Press); Malcolm Cameron Lyons and D. E.
P. Jackson, Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War (Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press); Amin Maalouf,
The Crusades through Arab Eyes. Translated by Jon Roth-
schild (1984. Reprint, Cairo: The American University
in Cairo Press, 1990).
Salafism (Arabic: al-Salafiyya)
Salafism refers to a cluster of different Sunni
reneWal and reForm movements and ideologies
in contemporary Islam. The term is based on
the Arabic word salaf—the pious ancestors of
the Islamic umma, also known as al-salaf al-salih
(the righteous ancestors). Salafists consider these
ancestors to be the Muslims who had lived during
early centuries of Islam, especially the Compan-
ions of the prophet Muhammad (until 712), their
Successors (the tabiin) in the second generation
(until 796), and then the Successors of the Suc-
cessors in the third (until 855). Although some
scholars mistakenly trace Salafism back through
the centuries to these first generations, it is actu-
ally a modern phenomenon. Since the latter part of
the 19th century, when they first appeared, Salaf-
ists have used the print and later the electronic
media to promote their message that Islam, as well
as Muslim society, is in crisis, having been cor-
rupted from within by backward-thinking Ulama,
sUFism, and spurious innovations (sing. bidaa).
Moreover, they maintained that Islam was being
threatened from without by Western colonialism
and secUlarism. In order to meet these challenges,
Salafists have sought to restore Islam to what they
believe is its ideal, pristine form. Their reading of
the past, however, has been shaped by their pres-
ent circumstances and concerns.
Salafists are in general agreement that bring-
ing back the true Islam means to stop blindly fol-
lowing the rulings of the ulama of the traditional
Sunni law schools and look instead only to the
qUran, the sUnna of the prophet Muhammad, and
the example of the salaf. They have had radically
different opinions about how to do this, how-
ever—a fact often overlooked by journalists and
scholars. The modernist branch of the Salafis, first
established in egypt by Jamal al-din al-aFghani
(d. 1897) and mUhammad abdUh (d. 1905), have
seen the Quran and sunna in the light of reason,
seeking in them spiritual inspiration and general
ethical principles, as they believe the first Muslims
had done. They have also accepted the author-
ity of these sources in matters of worship, like
prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and the haJJ. Matters
not dealt with in the Quran and sunna are to be
decided by the application of ijtihad (independent
human judgment), which they were convinced
would provide the community with the vitality
needed to adapt to modernity. The other branch
of Salafism is that of the followers of Wahhabism
in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, they often prefer to be
known as Salafis rather than Wahhabis, which is
a derogatory term usually used by outsiders. They
read the Quran as the literal word of God, and
maintain that it, together with the sunna, should
be the basis of the sharia (sacred law), which is
to be strictly followed in all matters. They accept
ijtihad, but interpret it conservatively. WahhabiSalafism 601 J