Organized fitness training is being adapted by young Salafi Muslim men as they create communities and transnational networks that foster spiritual and physical strength and well-being, writes Sergio Altuna Galán in the journal Current Trends in Islamist Ideology (August). As the practice and communication of Islam shifts away from institutionalized settings toward more “personalized, visually driven forms of interaction,” adherents of the strict Salafi form of Islam have taken to social media to “showcase muscular bodies, workout routines, and halal dietary recommendations alongside collective prayers, fasting tips, and advice on integrating fitness with religious observance.” What Altuna dubs “Salafitness” might start online but then move to meetups, clubs, training camps, and workshops that often serve as exclusive spaces, limiting membership to devout followers. For instance, “Full Force” in the Netherlands and the “Basin Movement” in the UK “began as an Instagram-based fitness-calisthenics project [and] evolved into a self-described ‘army of brothers’ with a highly developed system of frequent in-person events,” he notes.
This phenomenon is especially prevalent in the Caucasus region, which has a strong tradition of wrestling and combat sports, but “Salafitness” is popular among young Muslims around the globe. A key pillar of the movement is the concept of jamāʿa, which means order standing in opposition to chaos and division, and which serves as a “recruitment tool…to attract new members to the community.” Altuna writes that it also “functions as a mechanism of internal cohesion, acting as a safeguard against both internal schisms and external influences.” He makes the more controversial argument that the Salafi fitness programs and communities and the way they have become increasingly self-contained may be paving the way for a new wave of Islamic extremism, since other extremist groups—from white supremacist to Pagan groups—have also become involved in starting martial arts and fight clubs. “The rhetoric of ‘defending the ummah’ and ‘being part of an army’ used by some of these communities, coupled with the glorification of physical endurance, can potentially blur the lines between spiritual resilience and ideological militarization.” Galan points to the recent arrest of “Salafitnesss” influencers in Spain accused of embedding jihadist propaganda into their content.
(Currents in Islamist Ideology, https://www.hudson.org/policycenters/current-trends-islamist-ideology)
