This volume addresses issues of authority and authenticity related to contemporary interpretations of Islam in a minority setting. Salafism is a contemporary multifaceted and global phenomenon that represents a fundamentalist interpretative stance which appears to be growing among minority Muslims. This book studies a Salafi group in Sweden that is puritan in the sense of avoiding political participation and rejecting jihadism. They strive to imitate the lives of the first generations of Muslims and the prophet Muhammad within their own minority setting, surrounded by a society which in their view is characterized by immorality and capitalism. The group recommends segregation, or even emigration, as a strategy in order to enable people to live proper Muslim lives, in preparation for the Hereafter.
Susanne Olsson is a historian of religion at Stockholm University. Her research mainly concerns contemporary interpretations of Islam and her latest publication is Preaching Islamic Revival: 'Amr Khaled, Mass Media and Social Change in Egypt.

Susanne Olsson