New Age Islam

Interview 23 Jan 2012, NewAgeIslam.Com The Real Questions for Egypt: John L. Esposito speaks to Ezzat Ibrahim John L. Esposito in an interview with Ezzat Ibrahim
	Talking about the Salafis, even the word is difficult because the term Salafi has meant so many different things. The most basic meaning has to do with the early followers or companions of the Prophet. Then, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, you had the great Islamic reformer Mohamed Abdu, whose movement was also called Salafi. Recently, the term has tended to be applied to people who are what I would call ultra-conservative, and it gets used at times interchangeably with Wahhabi. What surprised people in Egypt and outside was to see the kind of "quiet Salafis" turn into political players who have done well in the elections. In some areas they are not that different from the ikhwan, but in other areas they are quite different from them. -- John L. Esposito in an interview with Ezzat Ibrahim (Photo: John L. Esposito) http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamInterview_1.aspx?ArticleID=6456