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Some Wahhabist books and pamphlets teach that Muslims should reject absolutely any non-Muslim ideas and practices, including political ones. In its harshest form it preached that Muslims should not only "always oppose" infidels "in every way," but "hate them for their religion ... for Allah's sake," that [[democracy]] "is responsible for all the horrible wars of the 20th century,"
Some Wahhabist books and pamphlets teach that Muslims should reject absolutely any non-Muslim ideas and practices, including political ones. In its harshest form it preached that Muslims should not only "always oppose" infidels "in every way," but "hate them for their religion ... for Allah's sake," that [[democracy]] "is responsible for all the horrible wars of the 20th century,"

Despite the arguably conservative nature of Wahabism, many misconceptions exist to this day, as noted by


==Influence==
==Influence==

Revision as of 13:15, 12 November 2007


Wahhabism (Arabic: Al-Wahhābīyya الوهابية) or Wahabism is a conservative 18th century reform movement of Sunni Islam founded by Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, after whom the movement is named.[1] Wahhabism formed the creed upon which the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded[1] and is the dominant form of Islam found in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, as well as some pockets of Somalia, Algeria and Mauritania. It is now often referred to as a "sect"[2] or "branch"[3] of Islam.

The primary doctrine of Wahhabism is Tawhid, or the uniqueness and unity of God.[4] Ibn Abdul Wahhab was influenced by the writings of scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya and rejected medieval interpretations of Islam, relying on Quran and hadith.[5] He preached against a "perceived moral decline and political weakness" in the Arabian penninsula and strongly disapproved of idolatry, the popular cult of saints, and shrine and tomb visitation.[6] He introduced Islamic law in Arabia as well.[citation needed]

The term "Wahhabi" (Wahhābīya) was first used by opponents of ibn Abdul Wahhab and is considered derogatory and rarely used by the people it is used to describe, who prefer to be called "unitarians" (Muwahiddun). [7] [8] The term Wahhabism and Salafism are often used interchangeably, but Wahhabism has also been called "a particular orientation within Salafism,"[9] an orientation some consider ultra-conservative. [10][11]. The term was first coined by the british who were worried about the influence this mouvement was starting to gain in colonised India. At the time, the british a colonial and invading power was worried about the rise of mouvements hostile to it's presence and was trying to foster an islam favourable to its presence in the indian sub-continent. This is arguably one of the first encounter between the west and Wahabism.

Wahhabism gained substantial influence thanks to its adherents' control of the Mecca and Medina, and large sums of money made possible from Saudi oil exports which have been used for the propagation of the sect's interpretation of Islam.

Wahhabism and Salafism

Among those who criticize the use of the term Wahhabi is Social Scientist Quintan Wiktorowicz In a footnote of his report, Anatomy of the Salafi Movement,[12] he comments:

Opponents of Salafism frequently affix the “Wahhabi” designator to denote foreign influence. It is intended to signify followers of Abd al-Wahhab and is most frequently used in countries where Salafis are a small minority of the Muslim community but have made recent inroads in “converting” the local population to the movement ideology. In these countries, local religious authorities have responded to the growing influence of Salafi thought by describing Salafis as Wahhabis, a term that for most non-Salafis conjures up images of Saudi Arabia. The foreign nature of the “Wahhabis” is juxtaposed to locally authentic forms of indigenous Islam. In this manner, opponents of Salafism inject nationalism into religious discourse by raising the specter of foreign influence. The Salafi movement itself, however, never uses this term. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find individuals who refer to themselves as Wahhabis or organizations that use “Wahhabi” in their title or refer to their ideology in this manner (unless they are speaking to a Western audience that is unfamiliar with Islamic terminology, and even then usage is limited and often appears as “Salafi/Wahhabi”).

While Dr Natana De Long Bas states: [13]

The global jihad espoused by Osama bin Laden and other contemporary extremists is clearly rooted in contemporary issues and interpretations of Islam. It owes little to the Wahhabi tradition, outside of the nineteenth-century incorporation of the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya and the Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah into the Wahhabi worldview as Wahhabism moved beyond the confines of Najd and into the broader Muslim world. The differences between the worldviews of bin Laden and Ibn Abd al-Wahhab are numerous. Bin Laden preaches jihad; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab preached monotheism. Bin Laden preaches a global jihad of cosmic importance that recognizes no compromise; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's jihad was narrow in geographic focus, of localized importance, and had engagement in a treaty relationship between the fighting parties as a goal. Bin Laden preaches war against Christians and Jews; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab called for treaty relationships with them. Bin Laden's jihad proclaims an ideology of the necessity of war in the face of unbelief; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab preached the benefits of peaceful coexistence, social order, and business relationships. Bin Laden calls for the killing of all infidels and the destruction of their money and property; Ibn Abd al-Wahhab restricted killing and the destruction of property... The militant Islam of Osama bin Laden does not have its origins in the teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and is not representative of Wahhabi Islam as it is practiced in contemporary Saudi Arabia, yet for the media it has come to define Wahabbi Islam in the contemporary era. However, "unrepresentative" bin Laden's global jihad of Islam in general and Wahhabi Islam in particular, its prominence in headline news has taken Wahhabi Islam across the spectrum from revival and reform to global jihad.”

Beliefs

Wahhabi theology treats the Qur'an and Hadith as fundamental texts, interpreted upon the understanding of the first three generations of Islam and further explained by many various commentaries including that of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. His book Kitab al-Tawhid ("Book of Monotheism"), and the works of the earlier scholar Ibn Taymiyya are fundamental to Wahabism.

Ibn Abdul-Wahhab went so far as to declare jihad against all other Muslims who practiced so-called acts of polytheism. Ibn Abdul-Wahhab's views were opposed to those of the mainstream Muslim scholars of Mecca and Medina of that time. For example, he called intermediation of Muhammad an act of polytheism.

Wahhabism also denounces the practice of blind adherence to the interpretations of scholars and the blind acceptance of practices that were passed on within the family or tribe. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab believed in the responsibility of the individual Muslim to learn and obey the divine commands as they were revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah."[14]

Some Wahhabist books and pamphlets teach that Muslims should reject absolutely any non-Muslim ideas and practices, including political ones. In its harshest form it preached that Muslims should not only "always oppose" infidels "in every way," but "hate them for their religion ... for Allah's sake," that democracy "is responsible for all the horrible wars of the 20th century,"

Despite the arguably conservative nature of Wahabism, many misconceptions exist to this day, as noted by

Influence

Wahhabism gained considerable influence in the Muslim world following a tripling in the price of oil in the mid-1970s. Having the world's largest reserves of oil but a relatively small population, Saudi Arabia was in a position to spend tens of billions of dollars throughout the Muslim world promoting Islam, and in particular Wahhabism, which was sometimes referred to as "petro-Islam".[15]

Its largess funded an estimated "90% of the expenses of the entire faith,"[16] throughout the Muslim world, to young and old, from children's maddrassas to high level scholarship.[17] "Books, scholarships, fellowships, mosques" (for example, "more than 1500 mosques were built from Saudi public funds over the last 50 years") were paid for. [18] It rewarded journalists and academics who followed it; built satellite campuses around Egypt for Al Azhar, the oldest and very influential Islamic university.[19]

The financial power of Wahhabism, according to observers like Dawood al-Shirian and Lee Kuan Yew, has done much to overwhelm less strict local interpretations of Islam[20] and set the Saudi-interpretation as the "gold standard" of religion in many Muslims' minds. [21]

References

  • David Holden & Richard Johns, The House of Saud, Pan, 1982, 0-330-26834-1
  • Hamid Algar, Wahhabism : A Critical Essay, Islamic Publications International, ISBN 1-889999-13-X
  • Natana J. Delong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-516991-3
  • Madawi Al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-64412-7
  • Gerald De Gaury, Freya Stark, Arabia Phoenix, Kegan Paul International Limited, ISBN 0-7103-0677-6, ISBN-13, 9780710306777
  • Haneef James Oliver, "The 'Wahhabi' Myth", T.R.O.I.D. Publications, February 2004, ISBN 0-9689058-5-4
  • Quist, B. Wayne and Drake, David F., "Winning the War on Terror: A Triumph of American Values," iUniverse, 2005, ISBN 595357768

Notes

  1. ^ a b Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Macmillan Reference USA, (2004), p.727
  2. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Rowan & Littlefield, (2001), pp.469-472
  3. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/wahhabi.htm
  4. ^ Esposito, John, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, OUP, 2003, p.333
  5. ^ Esposito, John, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, OUP, 2003, p.333
  6. ^ Esposito, John, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, OUP, 2003, p.333
  7. ^ Hardy, Roger. Analysis: Inside Wahhabi Islam. BBC News
  8. ^ http://muslimmatters.org/2007/04/01/the-wahhabi-myth-debunking-the-bogeyman/
  9. ^ GlobalSecurity.org Salafi Islam
  10. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090401107_2.html
  11. ^ John L. Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, p.50
  12. ^ Wiktorowicz, Quintan. “Anatomy of the Salafi Movement” in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Vol. 29 (2006): p.235.
  13. ^ Natana DeLong Bas, Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp.278-279.
  14. ^ Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. Third Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2004. Page.123.
  15. ^ Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: on the Trail of Political Islam, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002, p.69-75
  16. ^ Dawood al-Shirian, `What Is Saudi Arabia Going to Do?` Al-Hayat, May 19, 2003
  17. ^ Abou al Fadl, Khaled, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, HarperSanFrancisco, 2005, p.48-64
  18. ^ Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: on the Trail of Political Islam, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002, p.72
  19. ^ (Murphy, Caryle, Passion for Islam : Shaping the Modern Middle East: the Egyptian Experience, Simon and Schuster, 2002 p.32
  20. ^ Dawood al-Shirian, `What Is Saudi Arabia Going to Do?` Al-Hayat, May 19, 2003
  21. ^ An interview with Minister Mentor of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew

Critical

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