The modern Salafist movement gets its name from the Arabic word salaf , which means ancestors or forefathers. In religious usage, it refers to the earliest Muslim generations, the righteous ancestors, in Arabic al-salaf al-salih . Salafists contend that Muslims have strayed from the ways of the righteous ancestors and call on them to restore religious practices and beliefs to their pristine form. In its summons for a return to original principles, it may be considered a Muslim form of fundamentalism. The Salafist project is not a monolithic movement but has exhibited different emphases, corresponding to successive eras of modern history.

Commins, David. Salafist Islam. In The World’s Religions: Continuities and Transformations, edited by Peter B. Clarke and Peter Beyer, 585-599. London; New York: Routledge, 2009.

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