Arab World: Salafi Awkward Moments  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Recognised by their long beards, and short garbs (thobe), Salafists, who follow a strict interpretation of Islam, were the butt of jokes on Twitter under a new hash tag #SalafiAwkwardMoments.
Following the ousting of Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and the murder of Libya's Muammar Al Gaddafi, Salafists, who were operating underground, rose to prominence, becoming more visible and vocal in public life. In Egypt, Hazem Abu Ismail, a Salafi leader, even ran for the Egyptian presidential elections – for a short while at least – before being disqualified, after it emerged that his mother was a US citizen. In Libya and Tunisia, they stormed the US embassies after the release of a trailer of a movie, which was insulting of Islam and Prophet Muhammed.
While the West ponders on how to deal with them, let's tune into Twitter to see how funny netizens think they are.
That Salafi has a number of jokes under his sleeve. He tweets:
@ThatSalafi: When you find out that your new boss is a female #SalafiAwkwardMoments
A rally for Salafist former Egyptian presidential elections candidate Hazem Abu Ismail in Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 6, 2012. Photograph by Jonathan Rashad, shared on flickr under (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
@ThatSalafi: When your thobe is the longest one in the group #SalafiAwkwardMoments
@ThatSalafi: When your son asks you to teach him how to shave #SalafiAwkwardMoments
@ThatSalafi: Just saw an Orthodox Jew with a bigger beard than mine #SalafiAwkwardMoments
Aly Galal quips:
@alycature: When you can't have some soup without soaking your beard into the dish. #SalafiAwkwardMoments
And Egyptian SuperWoman adds:
@Super_Egypt: When a Salafiya gives you the You're-not-Salafi-enough-for-me look and tells you to choose martyrdom #SalafiAwkwardMoments