Branding Salafism: Salafi Missionaries as Social Media Influencers

Abstract

This article analyses the social media activity of Swedish Salafi missionaries in the light of theories about influencer marketing and branding. Making use of source material from the Instagram accounts of the preacher Anas Khalifa and the preachers Abdulwadud Frank, Abdullah as-Sueidi, and Moosa Assal, the last three of whom are associated with the organisation Islam.nu, this article investigates how social media can be used as tools for missionary endeavours, how Salafism might be branded on Instagram, and how religious authority and authenticity are fashioned online.