Salafi-jihadist movement (broader, post-ISIS)
Broader Salafi-jihadist ideological movement encompassing al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and successor cells. Designated terrorist by virtually every government; rejected by mainstream Sunni and Shia scholarship.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+1 for documented terrorist designation across multiple jurisdictions.
Profile facts
In context
The Salafi-jihadist current includes al-Qaeda Central, regional affiliates (AQAP, AQIM), ISIS and ISIS-K, and Boko Haram. Heavily documented terrorism, mass civilian casualties, sexual slavery, and deviance from mainstream Islamic scholarship. The CLCI applies to recruitment and ideology, not Muslims generally.
Recovery resources
- Free Radicals Project — Christian Picciolini's organisation; disengagement support across violent extremist movements including Salafi-jihadist recruitment cases.
- HAYAT-Deutschland — German pioneering family-support service for relatives of people radicalised into Salafi-jihadist movements; operating since 2011.
- Inspire UK — UK Muslim-women-led counter-extremism organisation; works with families and communities affected by jihadist radicalisation.
- Hope Not Hate (UK) — UK anti-extremism organisation; covers Salafi-jihadist recruitment trends and offers family-support information.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory; ICSA has covered violent religious-extremist recruitment dynamics in conference proceedings.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Evidence by BITE axis
- Sexual slavery
- Universal terrorist designation
- Mass civilian casualties documented
- Recruitment via online radicalisation
- +1 for documented terrorist designation across multiple jurisdictions
Timeline
- 1988Al-Qaeda founded
- 2014–17ISIS territorial caliphate
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- UN, US State Department, EU terrorist designations search ↗
- Multiple academic studies search ↗
- Theology of Violence-oriented Takfirism as a Political Theory: The Case of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements (2021) — https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004435544_026 open ↗
- A Jihadi-Salafi Legal Tradition? Debating Authority and Martyrdom — And God Knows the Martyrs (2020) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780190092153.003.0002 open ↗
- Conspiratorial Narratives in Violent Political Actors' Language — https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0261927X19868494 open ↗
- Salafi Jihadism – An Ideological Misnomer — https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318573548 open ↗
- 11 The Sum of its Parts: The State as Apostate in Contemporary Saudi Militant Islamism — Accusations of Unbelief in Islam (2016) — https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004307834_013 open ↗
- The Islamic State’s Worldview as a Radical Terror Management Device — Studia Politologiczne (2022) — https://doi.org/10.33896%2FSPolit.2022.63.4 open ↗
- Twenty Years After 9/11: What Is the Future of the Global Jihadi Movement? — https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CTC-SENTINEL-072021.pdf open ↗
- Defining and confronting the Salafi Jihad — https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2008/02/defining-and-confronting-the-salafi-jihad/ open ↗
- AFTER THE ISLAMIC STATE — http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/12/after-the-islamic-state open ↗
- Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad (2014) — https://doi.org/10.1057%2F9781137409577 open ↗
- Islamic History & Al-Qaeda: A Primer to Understanding the Rise of Islamist Movements in the Modern World — https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=pilronline open ↗
- Between the Arab Revolutions and the Islamic State's Caliphate: al-Qaeda Leaders' Online Propaganda 2012–2014 — NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics (2 — https://doi.org/10.3233%2F978-1-61499-765-8-129 open ↗
- Robert Irwin, "Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden? — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/01/afghanistan.terrorism3 open ↗
- Paul Berman, "The Philosopher of Islamic Terror — https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/magazine/the-philosopher-of-islamic-terror.html open ↗
- Sayyid Qutb and Aquinas: Liberalism, Natural Law and the Philosophy of Jihad — https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/heyj.12256 open ↗
- Sayyid Qutb and Aquinas: Liberalism, Natural Law and the Philosophy of Jihad — The Heythrop Journal (2015) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fheyj.12256 open ↗
- Saudi prince denies Kushner is 'in his pocket — https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/saudi-prince-denies-kushner-is-in-his-pocket/2018/03/22/701a9c9e-2e22-11e8-8688-e053ba58f1e4_story.html open ↗
- What is Wahhabism? The reactionary branch of Islam from Saudi Arabia said to be 'the main source of global terrorism — https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/what-is-wahhabism-the-reactionary-branch-of-islam-said-to-be-the/ open ↗
- The Global Salafi Jihad — http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/hearings/hearing3/witness_sageman.htm open ↗
- Who was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50200392 open ↗
- What radicalized ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi?, Iraq's post-2003 chaos is actually to blame, not Saddam Hussein — https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/12/what-radicalized-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/ open ↗
- Algeria country profile – Overview — https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14118852 open ↗
- A history of terror: Al-Qaeda 1988–2008 — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/13/history.alqaida open ↗
- Al Qaeda operative key to 1998 U.S. embassy bombings killed in Somalia — https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-jun-12-la-fg-embassy-bombings-20110612-story.html open ↗
- Jordan protests: Rise of the Salafist Jihadist movement — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13163870 open ↗
- Body of Italian found in Gaza Strip house-Hamas — https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-italy-kidnap-idUSLDE73D2FJ20110415 open ↗
- Isis: a portrait of the menace that is sweeping my homeland — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/16/isis-salafi-menace-jihadist-homeland-syria open ↗
- Nigeria's Boko Haram Kills 49 in Suicide Bombings — http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/17/world/africa/ap-af-boko-haram.html?_r=0 open ↗
- Le salafisme gagne du terrain chez les musulmans — http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/04/01/le-salafisme-gagne-du-terrain-chez-les-musulmans_4607438_3224.html open ↗
- La France expulse un imam salafiste vers l'Algérie pour ses prêches radicaux — https://www.france24.com/fr/20180420-imam-salafiste-marseille-france-algerie-justice-salafisme-doudi-expulsion-cedh-islam open ↗
- Germany Cracks Down on Salafists to Shield Refugees — https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/world/europe/germany-salafists-refugees.html open ↗
- Germany Bans 'True Religion' Muslim Group and Raids Mosques — https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/europe/germany-bans-true-religion-islamist-group-and-raids-mosques.html open ↗
- Saudi Arabia has 'clear link' to UK extremism, report says — https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40496778 open ↗
- Theresa May sitting on report on foreign funding of UK extremists — https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/03/theresa-may-report-foreign-funding-extremists-saudi-arabia open ↗
- What ISIS Really Wants — https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/ open ↗
- The Observer — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/09/violent-salafists-threaten-arab-spring-democracies open ↗
- Salafism in America — https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/Salafism%20in%20America.pdf open ↗
- Islamism, Salafism, and jihadism: A primer — https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/07/15/islamism-salafism-and-jihadism-a-primer/ open ↗
- PUSHING THE JIHADIST GENIE BACK INTO THE BOTTLE — https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FP_20190502_terrorist_threat_cohen.pdf open ↗
- Islam Divided Between Salafi - jihad and the Ikhwan — Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2010) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10576101003752622 open ↗
- The Salafi-Jihad as a Religious Ideology — https://www.ctc.usma.edu/the-salafi-jihad-as-a-religious-ideology/ open ↗
- Kuwait Attack Renews Scrutiny of Terror Support Within Gulf States — https://www.wsj.com/articles/kuwait-attack-renews-scrutiny-of-terror-support-within-gulf-states-1435529549 open ↗
- The U.S.-Saudi Arabia counterterrorism relationship — https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-u-s-saudi-arabia-counterterrorism-relationship/ open ↗
- Public Opinion Survey Data to Measure Sympathy and Support for Islamist Terrorism: A Look at Muslim Opinions on Al Qaeda and IS — Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Studies (2017) — https://doi.org/10.19165%2F2017.1.02 open ↗
- Sayyid Qutb: Father of Salafi Jihadism — http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2016/11/07/4570251.htm open ↗
- Salafistes », le documentaire qui a inspiré « Timbuktu — https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2015/12/10/salafistes-le-documentaire-qui-a-inspire-timbuktu_4829194_3212.html open ↗
- Libération : _L'État islamique n'est pas qu'une « bande armée — http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2014/09/12/l-etat-islamique-n-est-pas-qu-une-bande-armee_1098942 open ↗
- Pourquoi il ne faut pas confondre le salafisme et le takfirisme — https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2015/11/25/pourquoi-il-ne-faut-pas-confondre-le-salafisme-et-le-takfirisme_4817042_4355770.html open ↗
- Eléments de matraquage — http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2015/12/20/elements-de-matraquage_1422086 open ↗
- Salafistes et djihadistes : quelles différences, quels points communs ? — https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/monde/2015/11/26/31002-20151126ARTFIG00093-salafistes-et-djihadistes-quelles-differences-quels-points-communs.php open ↗
- lire en ligne — http://afil.tamu.edu/Readings%202015/Sena--Studies%20in%20Conflict%20and%20Terrorism.pdf open ↗
- De la rage sans espoir au martyre : penser la complexité du jihadisme — http://www.liberation.fr/debats/2016/03/24/de-la-rage-sans-espoir-au-martyre-penser-la-complexite-du-jihadisme_1441825 open ↗
- Radicalisations» et «islamophobie» : le roi est nu — http://www.liberation.fr/debats/2016/03/14/radicalisations-et-islamophobie-le-roi-est-nu_1439535 open ↗
- Le djihadisme est une révolte générationnelle et nihiliste — https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2015/11/24/le-djihadisme-une-revolte-generationnelle-et-nihiliste_4815992_3232.html open ↗
- Salafism in the contemporary age: Wiktorowicz revisited — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11562-023-00524-x open ↗
- Salafism in the contemporary age: Wiktorowicz revisited — Contemporary Islam (2023) — https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11562-023-00524-x open ↗
- Theology of Violence-oriented Takfirism as a Political Theory: The Case of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements (2021) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004435544_026 open ↗
- A Jihadi-Salafi Legal Tradition? Debating Authority and Martyrdom — And God Knows the Martyrs (2020) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780190092153.003.0002 open ↗
- Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad (2014) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1057%2F9781137409577 open ↗
- Between the Arab Revolutions and the Islamic State's Caliphate: al-Qaeda Leaders' Online Propaganda 2012–2014 — NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics (2 — https://dx.doi.org/10.3233%2F978-1-61499-765-8-129 open ↗
- The 9/11 Commission Report — https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf open ↗
- Jordan protests: Rise of the Salafist Jihadist movement — https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13163870 open ↗
- Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group — https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/129 open ↗
- Excommunicating Saudis? A New Fracture Emerges in Islam — https://www.wsj.com/articles/excommunicating-saudis-a-new-fracture-emerges-in-islam-1474553071 open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Salafi-jihadist movement a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Salafi-jihadist movement scores 38 out of 40 — "Destructive / Extreme", at high confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Salafi-jihadist movement's CLCI score?
Salafi-jihadist movement scores 38 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "Extreme" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 9, Information 9, Thought 10, Emotional 9 — plus a signed modifier of +1 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Salafi-jihadist movement score 38 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Universal terrorist designation; Mass civilian casualties documented; Sexual slavery; Recruitment via online radicalisation. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +1 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Salafi-jihadist movement rating?
This profile is rated High confidence. High confidence means the score is backed by court records, academic work, and/or sustained investigative journalism. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Salafi-jihadist movement?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Salafi-jihadist movement, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
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