Ritual Weapons Islamist Purity Practices in Cairo

Abstract

Sunni purity law outlines conditions under which a minor ritual ablution (wudu’) before prayer, should be performed. Though these conditions are usually understood to be biologically inevitable acts, Islamists in Cairo have reinterpreted the ritual into one that stresses moral purity. The author explains this innovation by exploring the mindset of the Islamists, who perceive themselves to live in a morally corrupt society and under attack from a variety of enemies. Ritual ablution thereby becomes a tool through which the Islamists can maintain moral superiority and draw boundaries between themselves and their opponents.