The role of Salafist groups (Islamic and Jewish) in the Arab and Israeli societies and the society's attitude towards them

Abstract

Religion was and still is an important social phenomenon, which accompanied the march of humanity through its historical stations, and continued to accompany it with the development of human society.
The heavenly religion is characterized by the monotheism of legislation and rulings, and the multiplicity of prophets and messages is only the stages that this religion went through, as it is a living being, which must be graduated in its contents, in order to reach the final stage of maturity, so Islam was the conclusion of the heavenly messages, and the peak of their maturity. In light of this monotheism that characterized religion, people’s attitudes (people of opinion), their conditions, and their responses vary, and the points of attraction of each of them to each of the elements and characteristics of religion differ, so there are many aspects of interest in it, and their schools differ in understanding and interpreting its verses, rulings, and goals.
Religious studies show us that there are those who emphasize the devotional aspect. Of prayer and fasting, more than his emphasis on others, and there are those who turn to God with longing and eagerness, and there are those who are excited by the intellectual side and research in the origins of the faith, and there are those who give most of their time and thought to the aspect of social rulings and transactions, and some of them are motivated by responding to the call for the advancement of the group through political activity . This diversity in the visions and jurisprudence of jurists and scholars was never aimed at reshaping the followers of the same religion into groups and sects that have no link between them. However, the historical, political and social conditions played a fundamental role in creating branches in the original body. With the continuity of these conditions, the branch became a root and the root a branch, and each branch relied on its branch at the expense of the root. In order to achieve the truth, most if not all of these branches approach the main source at times and move away from it at other times. Politics often controls its swing, which is reflected in its spiritual, intellectual and educational activities.
From that, it appears that the monotheism of religion encompasses diversity and change within the established framework of the origins and foundations of religion, and that this diversity and change within this estimated framework is neither contradictory nor problematic with regard to the relationship with the God Almighty, meaning that it is a difference with which no problem arises regarding the religious relationship. And there is no relationship, known to humans, that accommodates this matter, and allows room for variations and movements within the framework of one domination, steadfastness and permanence, in the same way that religion can accommodate (Al-Bushra 1990: 33), and this is what prompted Show to say that there is only one religion, and yet there are a hundred Transcript (Sharkansky 0200: 23-24).
However, the possibility of diversity, which characterizes religion, has put societies in different eras, facing various dilemmas and conflicts, the first and last cause of which is man, especially when he makes his desires, instead of his mind and conscience, a guide for him; When a member of society adopts a religious vision or point of view, and makes it the basis for the whole religion, he often deviates from moderation and mediation, so he wears religion in its own way, and wants others to look at it from its perspective, and therefore that special vision is his means of measuring the degree of faith of those around him. , defining their destinations, and excluding those who disagree with him, even if he is of his sect and religion, because religion, in this case, becomes the magical identity that has sovereignty and dominance, and obscures all other affiliations (Amartiasun 2008: 12).
As a result of the multiplicity of religious visions, people were divided according to them, and so-called “religious groups” appeared in societies, which differed among themselves in terms of moderation and extremism, and were called, according to the prevailing language in society: either liberal or orthodox, or other names. In our Arab-Islamic society, extremist or fanatical groups are called “Salafists,” regardless of their degrees of extremism. In this study, light will be shed on the Salafist groups (Islamic and Jewish) in the Arab and Israeli societies, in order to find out the similarities and differences between them, on the one hand, and the position of the two societies (political systems) Arab and Israeli towards them.