Comparative Study of Jihadist New-Salafism in Sunni Islam and Shi‘i New-Salafism (with Emphasis on al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Tafkik School)

Introduction
In recent decades, the Islamic world has witnessed the emergence of intellectual and political movements that fall under the broad category of New-Salafism. These movements, marked by radical approaches to scriptural interpretation and a revivalist turn toward early Islamic models, have produced unprecedented challenges both within Muslim societies—manifesting in sectarian fragmentation and violence—and on the global stage through Islamophobia and regional instability. Their shared methodological foundation lies in an epistemology rooted in extreme textualism and the rejection of rationalist hermeneutics. Within Sunni Islam, New-Salafism has primarily taken jihadist forms, most notably represented by al-Qaeda and ISIS. With their emphasis on armed jihad and rigid interpretations of religious doctrine, these groups have become among the most pressing ideological and security concerns of the contemporary era. In Shi‘ism, because of its distinct theological and jurisprudential foundations—particularly the doctrine of eschatological expectation—the evolution of classical Salafism in its Sunni form is structurally implausible. Nonetheless, certain Shi‘i intellectual currents, due to their textualist and literalist tendencies, have been interpreted as approximating a form of Shi‘i New-Salafism. Among these, the Tafkik School—especially in the writings of Muhammad-Reza Hakimi—advocates for a strict separation between the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and philosophical or mystical traditions, embraces a type of hadith-centrism, and reflects influences from Shi‘i fundamentalist movements such as Fadā’iyān-e Islam. The New-Salafi dimension of this school lies not in political or military activism but in its epistemological orientation: an unwavering commitment to primary texts, coupled with a rejection of philosophical and rational methods of religious understanding. Despite the differences in its social and political expression, this orientation renders the Tafkik School intellectually comparable to Sunni New-Salafism.  The present study therefore aims to identify and comparatively analyze the components of jihadist New-Salafism within Sunni Islam (al-Qaeda and ISIS) and Shi‘i New-Salafism (the Tafkik School). It addresses the central question: What are the New-Salafi perspectives in Shi‘ism (the Tafkik School) and Sunnism (al-Qaeda and ISIS), and what similarities and differences emerge across the selected analytical axes?
 
Literature Review
Jihadist New-Salafism in Sunni Islam has attracted significant scholarly attention. Mehdi Farmanian’s The Dream of the Caliphate provides a comprehensive examination of Salafi movements—including al-Qaeda and ISIS—and analyzes their doctrinal foundations and takfiri worldview (Farmanyan, 2023). Similarly, Mohammad-Reza Ageshteh’s article, “Explaining the Foundations of Takfir Thought in Takfiri Movements,” investigates takfir as an ideological pillar and examines its political and theological implications (Ageshteh, 2017). Mohammad Qaneei and colleagues, in “A Comparative Study of the Concept of Jihad in Salafism and New-Salafism and Its Impact on Middle Eastern Political Developments,” explore transformations in the concept of jihad and their geopolitical consequences (Qaneei et al., 2020). Reza Ekhtiari Amiri and co-authors also compare al-Qaeda and ISIS in “A Comparative Study of the Terrorist Groups al-Qaeda and ISIS” (Ekhtiari et al., 2020). Further contributions include the work of Seyyed Asghar Keyvan Hosseini and Tayebeh Mohammadi-Kia, whose article “The Concept of the State in ISIS Discourse” analyzes ISIS’s proposed alternative to the modern state and its efforts to re-establish a caliphal order (Keyvan Hosseini & Mohammadi Kia, 2017). Additionally, Mohammad Sasani’s article on the conceptual transformation of the ummah in jihadist and New-Takfiri Salafism addresses the regional implications of these conceptual shifts (Sasani, 2017). Together, these works deepen our understanding of the ideological and operational features of Sunni New-Salafism.
In contrast, comparative studies examining New-Salafism across Sunni and Shi‘i traditions are relatively scarce. Concerning the Tafkik School and Hakimi’s intellectual legacy, Kiwan Soleimani and colleagues analyze “The Epistemological Foundations and Social Contexts of Muhammad-Reza Hakimi’s Theory of Justice” (Soleimani et al., 2022), while Abdollah Nazarzadeh Oghaz discusses the political aspects of Hakimi’s thought (Nazarzadeh, 2021). Despite these contributions, there remains no comprehensive comparative analysis that simultaNewusly examines Sunni jihadist New-Salafism (al-Qaeda and ISIS) alongside Shi‘i New-Salafism (the Tafkik School). The present study seeks to fill this scholarly gap by comparing these three movements across their principal ideological dimensions.
Methodology
This research adopts an analytical-comparative methodology. Comparative analysis is not limited to the identification of similarities or differences; rather, it seeks a deeper and more holistic understanding of phenomena through structured juxtaposition (Ali Khani et al., 2010:145). Data were collected through library research and examination of primary and secondary sources relating to each movement, with emphasis on their ideological content. The analysis begins by outlining the theoretical foundations of New-Salafism, followed by an examination of the doctrines of al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Tafkik School—especially the writings of Hakimi—across six key axes: Reason and textual authority; Engagement with modernity; Jihad; Enemy recognition; Governance and political freedoms and Justice. The similarities and differences across these movements are then assessed comparatively.
 
Rationale for the Comparative Framework
Al-Qaeda and ISIS are selected as the most prominent exemplars of Sunni jihadist New-Salafism in the contemporary period, as they fuse traditional Salafi discourse with forms of modern fundamentalism. In the Shi‘i context, the Tafkik School and Hakimi’s writings are chosen due to their textualism, literalism, and resonance with broader Shi‘i fundamentalist tendencies. The six analytical axes—reason and text, modernity, jihad, enemy recognition, governance and political freedoms, and justice—constitute the core of New-Salafi ideology in both traditions and enable substantive comparison of their intellectual foundations. These axes encompass crucial conceptual and practical dimensions fundamental to understanding how these movements approach religion, society, and political authority. The findings are ultimately presented in a comparative table to offer a clear and comprehensive overview of New-Salafism within the Islamic world and the challenges it poses.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that while al-Qaeda and ISIS share substantial New-Salafi principles, the Tafkik School—due to its distinct epistemological framework—exhibits only limited resemblance to these Sunni jihadist movements.