# Did the Salafi movement play a part in producing modern extremism?

*A soft target, and the Salafi past behind today's extremism*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/smoocevigde/s/10/
- Date: 2019-11-03 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (40:39–46:59)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMOOcEVIGDE&t=2439s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/smoocevigde/

**Topics:** Salafism and Wahhabism; Extremism, crime and justice; Exchanges with Yasir Qadhi

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says Salafis now oppose terrorism but their movement helped produce it, from the 1970s Salafi group to the 1979 Kaaba seizure, and that Qadhi's teachers belonged to that past.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that, although Salafis today are against terrorism, a huge part of the terrorism seen today came from these Wahhabis.

**Evidence, his words at 41:16:** “I accept that these selfies are anti-terrorism yeah I accept this but it was only yesterday that these people gave birth to terrorism this terrorism that we seen today a huge part of it is only from these wahhabis” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMOOcEVIGDE&t=2476s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says he is a soft target because of his goatee and earring, but that he is who he is openly and does not hide behind a veneer. He says that while he accepts Salafis today are against terrorism, a huge part of today's terrorism came from these Wahhabis: he names Ibn Baz, al-Albani [?] and Muqbil [?] as participants in al-Jama'a al-Salafiyya al-Muhtasiba in the 1970s, which he describes as going about like the Taliban, and says the group went on to the 1979 seizure of the Kaaba under Juhayman, calling those scholars, as he puts it, its founding fathers despite their later dissociation. He recounts a viral TV clip in which a Gulf Salafi cleric, whose name the captions garble, condemned ISIS and was confronted by a caller with a clip of himself praising them. He says Qadhi was a hothead in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a product of this, that he is sure Qadhi has moved on, but that the teachers Qadhi still praises fertilised the movement.

## Sources and names cited

- Yasir Qadhi
- Ibn Baz
- al-Albani [?]
- Muqbil al-Wadi'i [?]
- al-Jama'a al-Salafiyya al-Muhtasiba
- the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Makkah (1979)
- Juhayman al-Utaybi
- ISIS
- Wahhabi
- Salafi

## Transcript (machine tier, 40:39–46:59)

[40:01] the but anyway so this is the whole this is the this this is the problem so the hypocrisy was just I mean our best it was laughable but it was disappointing because this is what you're dealing with and it's amazing how ah that's it maker auto Salah character delight this is the problem you see that

[40:39] I'm a soft target that's the thing you know a soft spot harp you know soft that Hawk cuz they just look at me and say oh ah but look at him you know look at his goatee look at his earring look at this look at that by the way I've got a detailed video on the earring you can watch that so I'm a soft target easy target for them but i but I am Who I am openly you know I'm not hiding behind I'm not using a fake veneer pretending a because you know mush of law when I was shooting

[41:16] with sitting with Chef what they mean and I was sitting with chef in bars and I was sitting with you know look first of all let me just tell you something people less less real talk real talk yeah yes today I accept that these selfies are anti-terrorism yeah I accept this but it was only yesterday that these people gave birth to terrorism this terrorism that we seen today a huge part of it is only from

[41:55] these wahhabis let's just be honest like realtalk share bimba's or these you know share Alberni share mock bill chef these people were part of the Jamaat or participants of salafiyyah only in the 70s this isn't that long ago 70s is not such so they used to go around they were like the Taliban going around bullying people beating people up setting up these kind of plots now they did allegedly dissociate themselves but because the group the Jamaat or martyrs were to

[42:32] salafiyyah right went on to to hijack the Kaaba do you remember joy a man with was in 1979 the the hijack of the Kaaba where they hijacked and took the hell people hostage is you can sue you can type it into YouTube that movement Joe a man who they caught and killed he was nobody Joe Hema and later on they declared him to be the Madi or whatever but if you look at the founders the key people in that movement you can type it in on YouTube on on Google bring it up you you

[43:08] can buy books on it now the key pioneers were people like bin baz and people like Cheryl Bernie and chef McBeal and these people were the founding fathers of that movement all this Isis these people were praising Isis now they're speaking against do you know somebody sent me this you can find this clip on YouTube yeah where you can wear a cooler embarrasses a set a Salafi cleric live on TV so

[43:46] the chef I think his name's are rude or something but this this hobby chef is on life and he speaking he's condemning Isis Fairplay he's condemning them saying look these people absolute wrong deviant whatever someone's over so somebody calls him it's a live Q&A show and the person says she'll you know he says that you you're condemning Isis and everything which is good but he says but it was only you know one two years ago that you were praising them so the chef says oh and I saw a lot of big I'll be kind with you you know perhaps you've misunderstood me how the kids born what boy turn this is a lie

[44:25] I would never praise hearty burhanakum bring your evidence hey you know ain't at the lead so the guy the cooler had obviously come prepared he says not a problem chef right here you want the bran and he plays the clip so you can hear the share and the clip that you can find on youtube they've actually put the other clip in that clip so he himself the shares the sell the Saudi Salafi chef is saying or you may not be Saudi but he's definitely Salafi is from the Gulf right so he himself is saying that

[45:03] oh oh our brothers from Isis ninety-nine out of a hundred or decent people it's only one out of a hundred that is messed up and he's saying this he says you know these people minute the why you shortened the medulla from the dollar to Islamiyah at this hour to say in a film in 99 a hundred you know they're not that bad it's only one out of order and then he this ship says cut him off cut him off you see these people I'm not saying today they are the terrorists they're not but the

[45:42] Frankenstein problem we have they have played a significant role in producing that problem why do you think chef yes and Aldi was such a hothead in the late 90s early 2000s because he was himself at that time he was fresh he was a production now I'm sure Shetty Asif Ali has moved on from these kind of fanatic ideas but the point is that these teachers that he still goes on about are still at the end of the day those very people that germinated that you know they fertilized this movement they you know it's this

[46:20] firm metaphorical spur right you know and how far is the Apple full from the tree so so these things you know it's interesting how these people assume such a lofty position in Islam and the dictate to others and so yeah so I hope so these are some of my thoughts people I know I kind of went on for a while whoa is that the time guys let's wrap this up it's been awesome I hope that some food for thought I want to clarify that look yes I do feel that there are certain interpretations that have

[46:58] existed for hundreds of years I'm not the only one several great scholars of our recent times have said they need to be revisited because they're not the clear expression of the Quran they were an interpretation by certain people and yes reason the voice of reason is always paramount and I do give primacy to it because through it we can understand that the deen of islam has validity that is to us it holds true and I'm not the only one that says it does does this but what I won't do is oh I interpret things but when you have one interpretation

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment sMOOcEVIGDE/s/10. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/smoocevigde/s/10/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.