Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to analyze the map of the salafist currents in Egypt today. It tries also to plot their tendencies regarding issues of political Islam including political participation, Jihad, and sectarianism after the Egyptian revolution

Paper long abstract:

The study of Salafism in Egypt after the revolution raises three essential issues. The first issue is regarding Salafist mapping in Egypt, as most researchers view Salafism as an individual bloc, which is an essentially inaccurate perception. The Salafist currents, in fact, include many sub currents with a variety of points of divergence between them, each having important implications on the future of the Salafist phenomenon. In addition, A full in-depth analysis of the salafist phenomenon would entitle an inclusive understanding of the Salafist stand on various issues of public opinion, especially with regards to political and religious coexistence, democracy and activism. Second issue deals with the change in Salafist tendencies over time, regarding issues of protest, formal and informal political participation as well the participation in the parliamentary legislative process. The third issue addresses the possibly that Salafism offsets into a stream of radical jihadi movements. The general rhetoric used by some of the icons of the Salafi movements doesn't suggest that such a transformation would happen in the near future. Moreover, the Salafist participation in the formal political field suggests that the Salafis have adhered to the rules of the political practice and have made the distinction between their political agenda and their ideological one. However, the possibility of the violent jihadi transformation cannot be yet ruled out, as the Salafist phenomenon is still a recent one that is yet to be fully defined