The Rise of Revolutionary Salafism in Post-Mubarak Egypt
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to explain how revolutionary Salafism, as a social movement favoring street politics over party politics, was able to become a major player in postrevolutionary Egyptian politics. We discuss the charismatic role played by the movement’s de facto leader, Sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail. We also demonstrate how this movement developed a broadly appealing discourse that emphasized the two fashionable values of post-Mubarak Egypt—revolution and sharia. Finally, we show how the movement’s rise was aided by a political context in which established Islamist parties lost considerable credit when they were part of the institutional political game. Although revolutionary Salafism has been the target of ruthless repression, along with the majority of the country’s Islamists, it remains a significant force of mobilization. We conclude with a few general remarks concerning the role of revolutionary Salafis in the protests since July 3, 2013.