Had the researchers done so, they would have found that Salafism is nothing more than what the classical Shariah authorities have held for a millennium.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Shariah��s Black Box

This mind-set was typical of the engineers and technocrats who disproportionately made up the extremist branch of Salafism, a school of thought intent on returning Islam to the idealized early days of the religion.

NEWYORKER: The Rebellion Within

Many Arab governments, including Egypt's, had come to regard Salafism, with its focus on Sunni orthodoxy and punctilious personal piety, as a useful foil to the more politically engaged pan-Islamism of groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

ECONOMIST: The authorities want to control the airwaves��if they can

Mr. Tsarnaev said his son had at least once visited the mosque on Kotrova Street in Makhachkala, known for being one of the few places in Russia that openly preaches Salafism, a puritanical strain of Islam centered in Saudi Arabia that has risen in popularity in Dagestan.

WSJ: Boston Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's Dagestan Visit Scrutinized