Wahhabism Movement and Its Effects in the Saudi Society - Case Study Example

Student’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Class] Wahhabism Movement and its effects in the Saudi Society Introduction The term Wahhab’s context is directly related to the movement’s founder- Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahab. Although the term has its heritage to strong ideological background, it is now rarely used as frequent as it ahs been in the past. The claim of the followers of the movement is that they hold the way of the pious and the predecessors of the founders of Islam especially those of the Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Qayyim and finally by Muhammad ibn al Wahab. Today the term may also be believed to be taken in offense by many followers of the same group and prefer to be called the al-Muwahhidun- the monotheists (Delong-Bas, 2004). The ideology accepts the book of Islam- the quran and the life narration of prophet Muhammed- hadith as basic scriptures for conduct of life. Where it deviates form other sects is that it also highlights many various narrations and explanations of the religion by Ibn Abd in his book- The book of Monotheism which highlights the works of Ibn Tamiyya (1263 – 1328) and other first followers of him including Adbul Wahab. Based on these teachings Wahhabis use the interpretation of the words of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad and translate and infer the meaning of the Quran under these interpretations, this has been one of the main source of their criticism as well (Delong-Bas, 2004). Furthermore, the Wahhabis also believe that talking pictures and owning pictures is also an un-Islamic along with saying prayers for the dead or even visiting the Shrines of Muslim saints and the prophet. The ideology also stands ground to not to take part in the celebrations of Muhammed’s birthday even and consider the prophet as a mere human being blessed with God’s will as opposed to other beliefs of the sects that hold the life of the prophet very holy and a miracle of God (Delong-Bas, 2004). The emergence of the movement Wahhabism because of its strict adherent to conservative views is beleieved to be biased and being on it’s own a political movement of Abdul wahab and his followers than what actually was and is being propagated by its followers. Moreover, it is more of an intangible form of Sunni Islam where tolerance and adaptation of the new life order are considered to be unforgivable sins and followers of Islam are expected to adhere to the basic interpretations that may or may not be subjected to logic. The ideology came into existence in the eighteenth century Arabia, and since its conception has been challenged by many scholars and historians to negate any possibility of its ideology and practices to match any of the other sects present in Islam- mainly Sunni and Shia. The entire theology of Wahhabism has been stigmatized by both the Sunni and Shia Scholars whose doctrines are considered to be a more logical interpretations of application of Islamic law and governance in today’s society and has been prevalent to exist and adhered by many followers (Schwartz, 2003). Wahhabism has been thoroughly criticized by many major sects of Islam on the basis that the ideology that it professes rejects several beliefs of the Islamic religion- which above all holds peace and harmony as the top most priority not just among all Muslims but among followers of all religion. Whereas, Wahhabism at the very start of its conception, apart form being against the practices of sunni Islam, declared war against all those Muslims or non-Muslims who did not agree with the doctrine of its ideology. This war has been seen in history as being professed in the forms of literature as well as proper hostile takeovers with Muslims and non-Muslims in and outside of the Arabia. The basis of this war had been waged under the banner that Islam and Muslims needed to be renewed and taught the true teachings of Islam as the ideology saw it fit. In the beginning the movement was very small and was curtained in the smaller un-influenced areas of Arabia but with the course of time it developed to grow to be one of the highly influential groups in the region. This was made possible as the leaders and pioneers of the movement found their way to channel the Saudi oil money into the ideology of Wahhabism and hence the sect evolved and was not just confined to the boundries of Arabia but affected thousands across the globe (Schwartz, 2003). A closer look at the history of the movement of its conception does give an elaborate picture of how and why this movement originated. Wahhabism dates back to the eighteenth century and its founder Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab has been pictured as one of the most controversial figures in the history of Islam- in the last three hundred years. This controversy does not just relate to the findings of the true essence of Islam and how close or far away the doctrine of Wahhabism ois to Islam- but the way and methods that were used to foster this ideology in the name of purification and what values were differed in the course is what makes the entire movement controversial (Schwartz, 2002). Abdul Wahab collected and coined his concepts through his travels all over the Arabia and built his knowledge form many present scholars and scriptures available at the time but mostly his works relate to the unauthentic pieces of works and ideas that remain un-fostered and not upheld by many mainstream sects. These ideas and interpretations of scholars that Abdul Wahab adopted, and later on professed, even at many stages contradicted the teaching of the Quran- the holy book that all Muslims believe to be unchanged and basis for the code of life and conduct for all humanity. Based on these views and professing these voided concepts in Islam, Abdul Wahab made all the prominent sheikhs of Medina- namely Shaikh Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al-Kurdi and Shaikh Muhammad hayat al-Sindi, to strongly and openly oppose and contradict his ideology and doctrine. Alliance with Al-Saud This opposition was a major hurdle for Abdul Wahab and many historians and scholars believe that had he not had strong ties himself with a few political and rich people of those times in Arabia, at least his name would not have had been on the face of this movement. But, whether it was abdul wahab himself who had interest in such a movement or it was initiated to be used as a political reform in Arabia or a combination both- this debate has been unanswered in the course of history. However, in the course of the opposition form the prominent sheikhs of Medina, Abdul Wahab did manage to forge an alliance with a contemporary of his- Muhammad Ibn Saud. Muhammad Ibn Saud was then the string Najdi tribal chief of a small but strong and expanding urban clan in the central trading route of Arabia called Diriyya. The alliance between Abdul wahab and Ibn Saud was based on two reasons. Firstly, and the main strength of the alliance, was that Abdul Wahab was married to the daughter of Ibn Saud. The culture of Arabia was, and even today to some extent is, that family bonds held stronger and above of codes and practices. People were recognised by the tribe and the entire tribe would support the leader- and in most cases this support was blind. Abdul Wahab’s marriage to Ibn Saud’s daughter gave him the finances and the strength to nurture the movement further. Secondly, Abul Wahab wrote an essay to the tribal chief and his father in law, Ibn Saud titled: Clarifying the obscurities surrounding the creator of the Heavens and earth. This letter was a message and a request to uphold his vision and to support him in the manifesto that he had prepared for the Arabia initially, and then the rest of the world. The contents clearly described all non-followers to be infidels and subjected to extreme punishment. Ibn Saud, whether he took it as a political opportunity or believed in the cultural values deeply, took the letter as it came and initiated his support for the movement (Holden & Johns, 1982). The essay written to Ibn Saud was more of an attack on the faith of Islam and professed as profanity and un-Islamic many ideologies that had already propagated under the umbrella of Islam. Even though the other sects had been there and many concepts had been eveloved on some Islamic faith over the past six hundred years at the start of the movement of Wahhabism, Abdul Wahab contradicted the current standing of all Muslims and his grievous excesses made the presence of the movement suffocating for others. The doctrine fostered by Abdul wahab was excessively intolerant and conservative. It was based on taking religion to an extreme state where logic is defied and only one interpretation is upheld over many of the codes defined by Hadith or even the Quran. This basis has been the reason of the controversial aesthetics that dof the Muslim world today (Holden & Johns, 1982). Above and beyond all these practices and doctrine of Wahhabism at the time, Ibn Saud adopted the work of Abdul Wahab and started to convert his tribe to the new found faith by choice or by force. He made this letter by Abdul Wahab as the basis of a new revival of faith and declared that all those not following the movement to its true nature of revival and reform shall be declared an infidel and an unbeliever- a fate that grew to be worse than being originally a non-Muslim. He declared that all Muslims not following the new faith had been transformed into sinners and polytheists and that the land on which these non practicing Muslims live and breed had to be turned to Dar al-Harb (Adobe of war). The Hijaz tribe of Arabia, one of the first to be subjected to torture and slaughter, is a typical example and victim of the early Wahhabi movement (Holden & Johns, 1982). At this point in history, an inference can be made from the way the movement was being fostered in Arabia. Of the many people supporting the acts of Wahhabi movement, Ismail al-Faruqi writes in his own introduction of the translation of the book of Abdul wahab: The Book of Divine Unity, that the alliance has played an important and forecasting role in the development of a new structure in Arabia. He fabricates that the Najd tribe had been present in Arabia as an isolated group of people who had not been influenced by the Muslims of the east and even other religions form other parts of the world. He portrays that their minds had been free of the eveloved concepts of Islam in the rest of the Arabia and even gad no encounter with the caliphate in Istanbul (Holden & Johns, 1982). This dramatic portrayal of the Najd tribe was based to set the stage for the glorified acceptance of a true religion in the making of history truly authored by the movement believers themselves to show acceptance of knowledge for a purified Islam that was tried to be linked to the original Islam. However, this attempt to justify the movement proceeding as a replica of how Islam developed initially in the prophet’s time has been proved wrong in history as the social conditions present of Najd had were no different than the time of the Prophet and the Kharajite rebellion against Ali ibn Abu Talib or at the time of Abdul Wahab (Holden & Johns, 1982). Moreover, an appropriate and more learned approach towards comparison would have been for Faruqi to compare these two conditions rather than seeking a relationship between the conditions of Najd at the time of Abdul Wahab and the conditions of Najd at the time of Prophet Muhammed. As an example, Abul Wahab comes form the same clan- Banu Tamim, which was the strong base of the Kharjites during the time of Ali ibn Abu Talib. Banu tamim had always had the ideologies to make a ground more suitable for themselves to gain power and riches in the Arabia. Hence, a better comparison which would be more logical and of more interest would have been the structure of ideology in the tribe of Banu Tamim and any linkage that can be correlated to the formation of another Islamic faction. The Kharjites had always had been looking for an opportunity to regain power over land and governance of the region in the form of as regional governers or representatives of the state. And since the Arabian values have been known to be string, especially the great virtues in which their life is known for their strength in oral traditions (Al-Rasheed, 2002). The effects in the Society Based on the cultural values and strengths in the tribal system the politics of Arabia have been proved to be a more complex system to comprehend and understand than any other system known at the time and even today. Since the time of the conception of Wahhabism, it has undergone several changes. And along these changes and revisions, there have been many conflicts and many more sub sects that have evolved from the movement defined by Abdul Wahab. The current tension between the Saudi Arabia- which has developed an image of a moderate Islamic state today, and Dr. Safar al-Hawalj leading to the Muhajirin movement in stationed in London. These three, ideologically different forms of the Wahhabi theology, have been seen in the past and present to cut each others paths in a very non conformist point of views and oppose each others ways and methods of handling Islam. In addition the Wahhabites and the Tabligh Jama’at – which is based on the Kitab al-Tawhid of Muhammad Abdul Wahhab as its founding inspiration, are also standing against each other (Al-Rasheed, 2002). However, in today’s economical status of Saudi Arabia, it not the foundations of Wahhabism that is making things run in the state but the strong source of the oil money that drives the economy and is holding the region together. Running parallel to the same strong economy it is the Wahhabite propoganda that is constantly pushing the rest of the Muslim world in involuntarily pushing the Muslim world into bringing the fundamentalist approach of the theology to their homes through the same financial resources. The politics of the situation may not have changed and even the means may not have been very different than that of Ibn Saud and Abdul Wahab, but the Saudi oil money has found its way to erect school sand religious paradigms around the globe to propagate the Wahhabi movement in today’s world (Al-Rasheed, 2002). The control for power has been seen in the Wahhabi movement since its conception and throughout the history which makes the gorunds for the statement tahte veen today the movement has found its way into more of politics of the world. Since its conception, Wahhabisim has grown in a very ferocious manner. Under the Wahhabi control of the regions in Arabia, the followers and leaders of the movement had started the desecration of shrines. Under the leadership of Saud b. Abdul Aziz, many Shrines were taken down in makkah and Medina during 1803 and 1805. A few years before this period the Wahhabis had captured Karbala and the houses and shrines of Hussain ibn Ali. Eventually, after fifteen years of war between the Wahhabis and non Wahhabis, a peace settlement was made between the two groups in the region between Ghalib and Ibn Saud and the later went on to rule the Hijaz (Al-Rasheed, 2002). Moreover the wahhabi movement had always attempted to not only to gain control of the Arabian peninsula but also had desire to extend its reach to outer boarders including Iraq, Syria, Oman, and Yemen. This was cause for massive concern to the Ottomans. The reign of the ottomans placed a radical change in the movements foundation as the Ottomans, more to deal with the threat of being robbed of their power than anything else, set out to oust the Wahhabis from the region. Muhammad Ali of Egypt and his son were set forth to take up the task to ensure that the movement no longer existed in its roots. In 1813, the wahhabis were finally removed from the Hijaz and later on from Darriyyah as well. However, having lost their home ground, they regrouped under the leadership of turki and set up a new capital in Riyadh(Al-Rasheed, 2002). Shortly after their settlement in Riyadh, the wahhabis in revenge or in order to make their movement stronger acted upon their fundamentalist beliefs and committed one of the worst crimes remembered in history. The Wahhabi followers attacked the Muslims in the region of Taif and it turned out to be a major massacare. As Hitler had opposed the Jews and now germans would not like to be remembered by what he did, once again in history, this is one of the things that the Wahhabis would rather try to cover up and not talk about in their course of history and the stories behind their success. Although Islamic teachings may see this action as forgivable as it is a religion of peace, still the act alone is reasons for a group or an individual to be stripped of integrity and morality. (Al-Rasheed, 2002). The ends, according to his dictum, were everything; the means were simply irrelevant - even if those actions were meant to be written in blood. The Sauds were expelled form Riyadh in 1891 by Muhammad al-Rashid of Hail- a strong opposition leader of the Wahhabi movement. The Sauds after being expelled took refuge in Kuwait but a change of fortune brought them back in the game and power in 1901 when Abdul Aziz b. Saud raided and took control of Riyad (Holden & Johns, 1982). With Riyad in the control of Sauds once again, Abdul Aziz was appointed as king. He steadily started to increase his power and even consolidated the Najd as well. His reign grew stranger and in 1924 he captured the Hijaz and the Asir region and expaned more to form what is known as the present day Saudi Arabia. In 1938, Oil was discovered in the region controlled by the Wahhabis- in a town called Dhahran and immediately, Abdul Aziz negotiated an agreement with the American company- Standard Oil of Californi to extract the fortunes from the newly found oil reserves in the region (Ayoob, 2004). Apart form the atrocious and destructiveness of the Wahhabism, Abdul Aziz being a strong statesman and an insightful leader managed to bring the different region together and return different standards of security and provision to Saudi Arabia. The region had been faced with many social dangers till the time he took over and also inclined towards total disintegration. It was the very nature of human selfishness that even the pilgrims performing the absolute form of their worship- the pilgrimage, were being subjected to being robbed and killed at that time. Their systems had been corrupted and all trade routes had been systematically taken control by the thieves who would steal and plague the earnings of these traders everywhere (Ayoob, 2004). Even if we exclude Abdul Wahab form the movement- we still have wahhabism’s historical unfolding. The approach of governance and decision making in the leaders and the movement in the whole has lead to massive dislocations of Muslims and the entire religion being divided and separated by blood shed and inherent differences. The way that the Wahhabis have dealt with other sects of Islam and their extremist actions have proved that Wahhabism, even today, is a neo-Kharjite movement- set to gain political influence and gain cintrool over finaces of the region to claim the power that eventually leads to a demise in true Islamic values (Shea, 2006). The present status of the movement The teachings and strong following of Wahhabism were isolated along with the Salafi Jihadist theology of Sayyid Qutb, which had long propagated that the worldly Arab rulers of the region had turned away from Islam and were declared as unbelievers. After this declaration towards the Arab rulers, they were labelled as primary targets of war to transform the so called unbeliever society of Arabia to teachings of Wahhabism. It was the amalgamation of the dual sided conservatism of Wahhabism and Qutbist political extremism that a conservative society based on an intolerant culture was eveolved. Furthermore, this militant theology further on developed to form what is known today as the Al-Qaeda. This radical faction of people evolved from the same Wahhabi movement and the practices from the time of Ibn Saud, exists and functions today to be the same extremist and intolerant group which lead to the 9/11 tragedy- of which the Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility as well. However, although the Saudi-funded religious organisations have been taking themselves I the background in funding religious institutions, they still are playing an active part in the process of promoting differentiation and aggression among Muslims themselves and a formal declared war against the non-Muslims as well. This funding has lead many offshoots of the Wahhabi movement to set the stage for the same extremism around the globe in many countries to not just to lay the foundations of teachings of Wahhabism but also for recruitment to execute the fundamentalist way of the Wahhabi movement as set by Abdul Wahab (Pipes, 2003). Saudi oil money has not just been traced back to the Al-Qaeda, but to many different religious organisations such as the American Muslim Council (AMC). This council has been the pioneer in representing the American Muslim community in the united States of America and has strong representation in the US Government as well. The founder and the policy maker of the American Muslim Council, Abdurahman Almoudi, had been active supporter of the Palestinian terrorist group- Hamas. Although he had publicaly supported his alliance with the group, still he has had gone as one of the frequent negotiator and visitor to the American policy makers in the past (Morse & Richard, 2002). The influence of these groups to the high level politics of governments has been able to make paths to influence many different systems across the globe and especially in America. Such an example of the influence these organizations have over politics and systems is of the American prison system. The US Bureau of prisons is dependent upon affirmations form the much illusional graduate school of Islamic and social sciences (GSISS). The GSISS is a heavily funded organization by the Saudis and the specific case of Imam Deen Umar, who was the administrative head for the New York Department of corrections. Umar had converted to Wahhbism and was a staunch scholar at the GSISS had an checked access to the entire prison lot in the New York prison system. An investigation that unfolded the events at the prison facility stated that he had denied the Muslim prisoners the chance of reading and listening to the Islamic literature of their choice. Moreover, Umer had been found to have incite and brain wash prisoners against other religions and propagated the terrorists of 9/11 activities as heroes and role models for others (Ignatius, 2006). Conclusion The frontline of Islamic theofascism around the globe has been the citizens of the Saudi state themselves, and the growth of the Wahhabi movement around the globe has come around through the same. The Saudi radicals controlling the oil money have spent billions of dollars propagating Wahhabism around the world. The depth of their financing has never decreased but over the period of time and even after 9/11 has actually increased as the oil prices around the globe are rising up intangibly. The funding and the increase of which, can be seen in the additional number of mosques, religious schools, and other institutions that have risen and are based on the fundamental Wahhabism. Of the many strengths of the Wahhabi movement in the past and present and the oil money playing the major role in the foundations and evolution, there have been many other opportunities that have enacted to make the movement stronger. One of the other reasons, that are as important, is the lack of religious leadership that has gotten the chance to come forward properly and take a stand against Wahhabism. Other Islamic sects, such as the Sunni and the Shia have not been able to set the same influence on people as the Wahhabis have- who in turn have been better funded and organised in the form of one organisation. Majority of the followers of Islam are highly dependent upon the local clergymen to seek the answers or to learn about their religion and its ways. Moreover, in poor countries, where education has yet to take a stand, and where resources are scarce to even set a standard of living- the local clergymen are often bought out amongst donations and other funding so that they start preaching what the funding organisation has set them to do. And eventually, the poor people- for whom even the basic education may be just a dream, fall in the trap and believe that the source of their life comes form these very fundamentalist teachings. Wahhabi movement has and even now will outrun any counter preaching in the third world countries because they are better financed and hence more influential. Works Cited Al-Rasheed, M. 2002. A History of Saudi Arabia, Cambridge University Press. Ayoob. M. Fall 2004. "Political Islam: Image and Reality," World Policy Journal,Vol. 11, No. 3. Delong-Bas. N. 2004. Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad, Oxford University Press. Holden, D. & Johns, R. 1982. The House of Saud, Pan. Ignatius, D. 2006. "The Operator," The Washington Post, 5 November, p.7. Morse, E & Richard, J. March/April 2002, "The Battle for Energy Dominance," Foreign Affairs. Peterson, J.E. February 2002. “Saudi-American Relations After 11 September 2001.” Asian Affairs. London, Vol. 33, Part 1, pp. 102-114. Pipes, D. Winter 2002/2003. "The Scandal of U.S.-Saudi Relations," The National Interest. Schwartz, S. 2003. The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism, Anchor. Shea, N. 2006. Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, Freedom House. Read More