Scientific Salafi Discourse: Apoliticism and Deconstruction of Wahabi Salafism

One of the internal conflicts in contemporary Salafi discourse is over "apoliticism" or "politicization". Scientific (or the so-called Albanian) Salafi discourse is a contemporary sub-discourse that strongly prescribes apoliticism and claims that it has purified Wahabi Salafi discourse from those elements inconsistent with the Good Forefather, on the one hand, and it has played the role of a resistance center against the dominance of politicized Salafi discourse (Sahwa). Hence this sub-discourse, while defending a new Wahabism cleansed of Muslim Brotherhood's impact, simultaneously confronted Muslim Brotherhood, on the one hand, and traditional Wahabi institution, on the other. This article examines the scientific Salafi sub-discourse, its formation and emergence context, and its challenges vis-à-vis the traditional politicized Salafi hegemony. The research method and theory used has been the meaning constellation of Laclau & Mouffe's discourse analysis.