When Religious Precepts Meet Anti-corruption Rhetoric : Salafism and New Forms of Radicalism in the Maghreb

What remains of Salafism in the Maghreb after recent criminalization campaigns? How have Salafist groups reinvented themselves and re-signified their ideologies in light of increasing securitization in the region? Looking at an unexplored angle of the so-called crime-terror nexus debate, this contribution accounts for the dynamics of Salafist actors’ hybridization with new fields of engagement beyond religious practices, such as the fight against corruption. Drawing on interviews with Salafist actors in the Maghreb and in Europe, it investigates the cases of Algeria and Tunisia, two countries characterized by parallel dynamics of a) increasing levels of perceived corruption, and b) securitization and criminalization campaigns conducted by national authorities against Salafist actors, accused of colluding with terrorism. The paper especially looks at the engagement dynamics within the groups Itilaf Karama (Tunisia) and Rachad (Algeria). The political party Itilaf al-Karama (Coalition of Dignity) emerged as an anti-corruption force seeking to realize the unfulfilled goals of the Tunisian revolution, whose trajectory illustrates a continuity of radical registers beyond religious commitment. The political movement Rachad (the Right Way), for its part, highlights the hybridization of Salafist registers and practices, having recently emerged as the most radical actor in the anti-regime mobilizations (Hirak) that began in February 2019. Overall, the contribution shows how and why radical Salafist registers have merged with other forms of radicalism in times and spaces perceived as increasingly constraining.