The 1991 fall of the Soviet Union presented an ideological and practical challenge for Salafis across the political spectrum. Those who had embraced Jihad in Afghanistan would target Muslim rulers, while their Politico (or Islamist) counterparts sought access to national politics, most notably in Saudi Arabia. Finally, Quietist Salafis –those who eschew political violence or active engagement in formal politics in favor of a local effort on “purification and cultivation” (al-tasfiyya wa'l-tarbiya) –would turn inwards as they sought to shape society in the face of an unstable political landscape. Yet, even as the story of Jihadis and Politicos is well known, that of Quietist Salafis is not. This paper therefore explores how Quietist Salafis navigated the challenge posed by Politico and Jihadi competitors, increasingly aggressive state security apparatuses, and a changing international environment from the early 1980s to mid-1990s. To do so, it focuses on the two leading Salafi centers, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. While Saudi Arabia’s religious scene has been decisively shaped by the rise of Salafi scholars, alongside their Wahhabi-Hanbali counterparts, within key religious institutions since the 1970s, Quietist Salafism in Egypt has emerged under the aegis of Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhamadiyya (e. 1926). A story of Quietist Salafism and its relationship to either political violence or formal politics, however, tells us little about the changing concerns, questions and activities of this transnational movement. Instead, this paper moves beyond these two approaches to explore how the performance of distinctly Salafi social practices responded to a changing national and regional political environment. Drawing on a broad selection of Salafi magazines, journals and pamphlets published during this period in both countries, it analyzes how Quietist Salafis sought to either emphasize or deemphasize signature practices, whether the cultivation of a distinct beard, the observance of the prohibition against full-length pants (known as Isbal), gender segregation, and the practice of praying in shoes. Based on this approach, the paper casts light on the ways in which Quietist Salafis sought to distinguish themselves from their Jihadi counterparts while navigating the increased crackdown on their Politico peers.