This sect is characterised by a number of features, the most essential being;

- They follow the heretical theological doctrine of Ibn Taymiyyah, adopting an a

nthropomorphic interpretation of the divine attributes and a division of the one
ness (tawhid) of Allah into tahwid ar-rububiyya (oneness of lordship) and tawhid
al-uluhiyya (oneness of divinity).
This doctrinal position allows them to declare deviant and apostate all those wh
o do not agree with their beliefs. That includes the overwhelming majority of th
e orthodox traditional Muslims who adhere to the Ashari and Maturidi schools of t
hought.
- They do not adhere to any of the four recognised fiqh madhhabs (school of Isla
mic law).
This doctrinal position enables them to generate their own fatwas (Islamic rulin
gs) on the basis of their free interpretation of the sacred texts, i.e. the Qura
n and the Sunna, without the foundation of the precedents of a school of law, no
r the strict legal methodological protocols and procedures that ought to be foll
owed in order to generate a properly balanced and substantiated fatwa.
Obviously, their disassociation from any of the four authoritative schools of la
w allows them to issue fatwas based on their whims and compulsive urges for viol
ence and extremism.
- An absolute lack of understanding of the lofty status that the Prophet Muhamma
d (peace be upon him) deserves in the heart of every Muslim. That is caused by a
n intrinsic incapacity to love and an inherent nihilistic approach to life and d
eath. Their belittling of the Prophets (peace be upon him) status takes them to c
ondemn all kind of activities and practices that traditional Muslims perform in
order to increase that love for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), whos
e main description is Rahmatan lil Alamin (a mercy for all worlds) (Quran 21:107)
.
This attitude towards the expression of love and affection towards the Prophet M
uhammad (peace be upon him) deprives their followers of any kind of feelings of
mercy towards other human beings.
- They condemn Sufism, which is the method and science by which Muslims aspire t
o purify their hearts and characters from any illness and vice and achieve excel
lence (ihsan) in their inward and outward practice of their religion.
Therefore, by rejecting Sufism they have rejected the science of self-purificati
on and improvement of the character. That is the reason why the people normally
attracted to this sect are former criminals who find very comfortable the fact o
f not having to improve their character and behaviour, since they just limit the
mselves to justify religiously their own baseness and crimes.
As for following a madhhab or not, some salafis follow a madhhab, specially thos
e who live in a country that officially stick to a madhhab, but it is very much
spread among them the ideology of not being necessary to do taqlid of a specific
school.
There are some salafis who are happy with their doctrine and do not go around sa
ying how misguided are those who do not agree with them. Those are few though. A
nd this because their doctrine is based on declaring others misguided.
Their misguidance ranges from simple departure from the position of Ahlussunna w
al Jama'a, to hostility to Ahlussuna Waljama'a's teachings, to use of deadly for
ce to impose their ideology.
In other words, you have the normal salafi that you see in the mosque every day
or jumu'a and that you may greet and talk to, then the wahhaby that gives you a
bad look if he knows you are and ash'ari or a sufi and is active in spreading hi
s minhaj, to the ones who are looking to get military training in order to "figh
t kufr." All share the same basic doctrine, but act differently.
The important element is to understand that every terrorist IS a salafi/wahabi b
ut not every salafi/wahabi is a terrorist.
Wahabism ia a necessary ingredient to get a terrorist, but is not enough. You ne
ed military training, a criminal record, a some other ingredients more and then
you get a guy who is able to slaughter a person in the street in the middle of t
he day or enter a mosque and blow himself up whilst a sheyjh is teaching the peo
ple the Deen.
Lets not fool ourselves anymore: wahabism is a deconstruction of classical Islam
design to enable extremist behavior.
And Allah knows best.