Salafism originated as a puritanical response to changes in Islamic worship, not anti-imperial resistance

Evidence

Firstly, that the origins of Salafism (termed Wahhabi by opponents) is not an ideology founded in opposition to foreign powers. Rather, it is a politically conservative and religiously puritanical ideology, founded in response to changes in Islamic practice of worship. — Robin Alexander Plant, Discuss the Relationship Between…, 20

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to debates on political Islam’s genealogy, e.g. Olivier Roy or Madawi Al-Rasheed on Wahhabi origins, which often frame it as anti-colonial in impulse.
• DEFINE: Clarifies that ‘Wahhabi’ is originally an opponent’s label for what adherents call Salafism.