The Shifting Contours of Saudi Influence in Britain

This chapter argues that there have been four broad stages of Saudi Arabia’s impact on Islam in Britain. The first stage was marked by institution building, religious diplomacy, and pan-Islamic networks. During the second stage, from the mid-1980s, Saudi-style Salafism captivated many young British Muslims, as Salafi scholars projected themselves as the representatives of an “authentic,” “universal,” and “deculturized” Islam. The third stage began from the mid-1990s, when other sectarian rivals rose up to become attractive alternatives, the Salafi movement internally fractured, and segments of British Muslims turned their focus toward establishing an Islam that is more conducive to the West. The post–9/11 context exacerbated things further and marked the beginning of the fourth stage. The rise of new social, political, and intellectual challenges, coupled with the disillusionment of oppositional politics and sectarian polemics, led to an alteration of priorities and paradigms where Saudi institutions and their scholars are no longer the prime model.