The central question in an analysis of militant Salafism, certainly as it manifests itself in the West, is how is it possible that dispersed individuals living very different lives came to conceive of themselves as united in a world of two opposed forces – those of Islam and the West? More precisely such an analysis would focus on the global sociological conditions of possibilities that render militant Salafism in the West a viable proposition for so many individuals. There would likely not be a great deal of difference amongst those writing in the field in defining what militant Salafism is. Where this work departs from many others is in developing an alternative to the individual ‘root causes’ approaches that predominate in the literature. In doing so it makes use of the idea of the political imaginary in an era of globalised modernity, explaining the conditions of possibility that facilitate its specific forms. Again, the political imaginary is nothing new. As long as there has been political life, the political imaginary has maintained an importance within it. However, it continues to take different forms, influenced although not dictated by those underlying conditions of possibilities. An examination of those possibilities offers insight into the imaginary it facilitates and the political realities that imaginary in turn creates. There is no doubt that the political imaginary plays a crucial role in the life of militant Salafists.