[RANTBURG] 46.87% of Qataris and 44.8% of Emiratis are Salafis. 5.7% of Bahrainis are Salafis and 2.17% of Kuwaitis are Salafis.
Salafis are the "dominant minority" in Saudi Arabia. There are 4 million Saudi Salafis, with that country's population being described as 22.9% Salafis while most of the rest as a separate "Wahhabi" category.
The Salafi movement is often described as synonymous with Wahhabism, but Salafists consider the term "Wahhabi" derogatory. Observers differ over whether Salafi are the same as Wahhabis or not. At other times, Salafism has been deemed a hybrid of Wahhabism and other post-1960s movements.
Salafism has become associated with literalist, strict and puritanical approaches to Islam -- and, particularly in the West, with the Salafi Jihadis who espouse offensive jihad against those they deem to be enemies of Islam as a legitimate expression of Islam. The West, in attempting to defend itself against exploding Islamists, is usually accused of being at war with Islam itself. Certainly the actions of "a few" -- actually a pretty hefty minority -- have succeeded in making many of us in the West come to despise Moslems in the abstract. No one wants to be around them for fear they'll murder everyone around them and then explode. They're the only religion that requires that sort of periodic human sacrifice in the name of Allah the Merciful.
Salafism is the particular strain of Islam that has declared war to the death (our death) against the West. It's been joined by a few allies along the way, like the Deobandis, but the takfir wal hijra doctrine comes from salafism. The takfiris are the ones who're murdering everyone in sight in Syria and Iraq -- and in France.
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