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A Jihadi-Salafi Legal Tradition? Debating Authority and Martyrdom

Jihadi-Salafi movements are responsible for infamous and sensational acts of violence. Often this leaves their legal discussions overlooked. This chapter argues that by focusing on the legal and theological texts produced by those whom Jihadi-Salafis identify as legal authorities—particularly the nonbinding genre of Islamic legal literature known as the fatwa—it is possible to identify the formation of a Jihadi-Salafi legal tradition possessing digital institutions and legal authorities to whom faithful adherents can turn for guidance. Using the recruitment and attempted attack of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the legal writings of Anwar al-ʿAwlaki, and the Minbar al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the chapter explores the contemporary crisis of legal authority facing contemporary Muslim communities, generally, and how Jihadi-Salafis are attempting to answer that crisis through their agreements and disagreements on the interpretation and application of the law.