Wahhabism Religion: Past, Present, and Future Research Paper

Introduction

The world today is comprised of many religions, some of which began in ancient times to the most recent ones. Among the many religions that exist today are those that have been accepted by society, while others have been disregarded yet are still being practiced. One such religion is Wahhabism, which is one of the many forms of the Islam religion. “Wahhabism, by definition, is a puritanical form of Sunni Islam that is commonly practiced in Saudi Arabia and Qatar” (Blanchard 1).

Most of the Wahhabis are, however, found in Saudi Arabia more than they are in Qatar. It has also been noted that Wahhabism is spreading to other regions of the world; hence, Wahhabis can also be found in the rest of the world. Despite the fact that the Wahhabi is a form of Islam, Wahhabism criticizes the other forms of Islam, such as Shia and Sunni, as well as the other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. This paper will, therefore, be an exploration of the Wahhabism religion to find out its history, present state, and its future. Later in the paper, an annotated bibliography of the sources used in this research will also be given.

The History of Wahhabism

The origin of Wahhabism can be traced back from 1703 to 1792, during which the founder, known as Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab established the movement. “Muhammad al-Wahhab was one of the first modern Islamic fundamentalists and extremists” (Cline 1). On founding the movement, Muhammad Wahhab disregarded the other forms of Islam as well as their doctrines and beliefs. He termed them as idolatrous and went ahead to advocate for his movement, which he said had the essential fundamentals to Islam (Pike 1).

Because of this, there has been religious conflict between Wahhabism and the other forms of Islam. Most of the conflicts arise from the different doctrines and laws among the Muslim groups. For instance, “Wahhabis oppose most popular Islamic religious practices such as saint veneration, the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday, most core Shiite traditions, and some practices associated with the mystical teachings of Sufism” (Blanchard 2).

The founder of Wahhabism was also against polytheism, which was common among the other groups of Islam. “Practices like praying to the saints as well as making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques, venerating trees, caves, and stones, and using votive and sacrificial offerings are unacceptable among the Wahhabis” (Cline 1).

To form this movement, Muhammad al-Wahhab was forced to form an alliance with bandits of Saudi origin, hence, the history of Wahhabism is known to be of violence (Schwartz 1). These bandits were found in the desert. It also because of the violence that we now have the Al-Qaeda group who are majorly Muslims of Wahhabi origin. The Wahhabi group has been fighting against the other non-Wahhabis found in Saudi Arabia. As such, the Wahhabis have dominated most of the Saudi Arabia region, making them enslave the other Muslim groups that are not Wahhabis (Schwartz 1).

Wahhabism is built on a number of doctrines, just like other religions. First, the Wahhabis believe in tawhid, which means unity of God. This doctrine has led to the Wahhabis being referred to as Muwahiddun or rather Unitarians. Other doctrines are based on the accepted traditional Islamic beliefs. This is because, as mentioned earlier in the paper, Wahhabism disregards some of the Islamic beliefs, which it considers unacceptable. Wahhabism has, for a long time, considered it inappropriate to interpret the Quran so that it can conform to the contemporary ideas of the West (Cline 1).

Wahhabism Today

Today, Wahhabism has dominated the larger part of the Arabian Peninsula, specifically Saudi Arabia. A smaller group of Wahhabis is also found in the Middle East in Qatar state. From the time the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, the ruling family of the Saudis has had a close relationship with the Wahhabi movement. As such, the contemporary Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia is a blend of the ancient Wahhabism and the religious and cultural aspects of the Saudis. The vice versa is also evidenced whereby the governing rules and laws of the Saudi Arabia kingdom have adopted those of Wahhabism to incorporate in their judicial and educational policies.

Despite the fact that Wahhabism might be a minor group compared to other Islam groups, it has been very influential in areas where it has ventured. “For instance, it has been of significant influence in the Middle East” (Cline 1). “This can be seen with a couple of factors, first of which is al-Wahhab’s use of the term jahiliyyah to vilify a society which he does not consider pure enough, whether they call themselves Muslim or not” (Cline 1).

Up to now, the term is still commonly used by all Islamic groups to refer to the West and, in other cases, their own societies. At the same time, today, Wahhabism has learned to accept and acknowledge other religions. For example, one of the Wahhabi states by the name Qatar allowed churches to be established in their region in the recent past. This is a clear indication that Wahhabism is slowly changing from its adamant doctrines that disregarded other religions.

The other issue at hand concerning Wahhabism is the rate at which this religion is spreading throughout the globe. Recent research has indicated that the number of Wahhabis is increasing at an alarming rate (Kouri 1). The increase is partly attributable to the financiers of the religious group who have been noted to fund religious institutions, organizations, and media publications of Wahhabi origin.

In doing this, they have managed to attract more people into the religious group. However, the increase of Wahhabis in the world is not any good news because most of the terrorists are of Wahhabi origin. Mention the Al-Qaeda and its deceased leader Osama bin Laden, they are all Wahhabis (Cline 1). Al-Qaeda, as a group of Wahhabis, has been responsible for several bombing attacks that have taken place in countries such as the United States of America, Indonesia, Kenya, and Israel. The September 11 bombing in the United States of America gave a clear picture that the source of the terrorism money is Saudi Arabia (Schwartz 1).

As a result, the government of the United States has raised its concern over this issue, and through the help of the US Agency for International Development, it has implemented ways of countering the financial support to the Wahhabis.

The Future of Wahhabism

It is understood that because the Wahhabis from the larger group of the world’s most hated criminals (terrorists), their future is short-lived. This is because of the significant opposition they face from most nations of the world, especially the United States of America that is the world’s superpower. In the past, the Al-Qaeda has been responsible for the demise of many people through bombing attacks. As such, the governments of the affected and non-affected states have been on the lookout for the Al-Qaeda members to destroy them.

Just recently, the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was killed after several years of being sought for by the American military. This is undoubtedly a big blow to the group as it has been weakened. Nevertheless, the other nations have vowed to never rest until the Al-Qaeda group is completely gotten rid of. This therefore, means that the eradication of the Al-Qaeda will definitely affect the Wahhabi group in terms of numbers.

Other than the opposition Wahhabism is facing from other nations of the world, most of the Saudis have begun resisting the movement because the reasons listed below. First, the young generation of the Saudis wants to change their way of living to the modern ways in which they can make good use of the talents they possess (Schwartz 1). This is something that is against the doctrines of Wahhabism, whereby it disregards the western culture.

Secondly, “a group of Muslims known as the Shiite in the southern and eastern provinces are tired of the violent persecution they have suffered at the hands of the Wahhabist clergy” (Schwartz 1). The last reason is that of a call for rejection by the non-Wahhabi scholars, which has led to most people opting to join the Sufis group of Islam. Incorporating all forces of resistance to Wahhabism it can be deduced that this religion is being threatened to extinction. If the current trend is to continue in the next two decades, Wahhabism will be an extinct religion.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, the Wahhabi religion has been well-described beginning from its history, to the present and future. The founder of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, was noted to disregard other groups of Islam as well as other religions (Pike 1). This led to the group also disregarding the other religious sects and terming them as idolaters. As a religious group, Wahhabism has its doctrines, which make it different from the other Islam groups such as Sufis and Shiite.

In the discussion, it was also noted that Wahhabism is mostly dominant in Saudi Arabia and a smaller group are found in Qatar. However, recent research has indicated that Wahhabis are spreading all over the world at an alarming rate (Kouri 1). This is a threat to the entire world as most of the terrorist groups including the Al-Qaeda are of Wahhabi origin. These groups are responsible for several instances of bombing attacks that have taken place in different regions of the world. Keeping that in mind, it means that the other nations do not condone Wahhabism hence they have resulted to fighting the group.

As such, it is evident that the group is a threat hence being fought back towards its extinction. For example, the United States of America has been on the neck of the Al-Qaeda group which is formed by Wahhabis until recently when they managed to kill the leader of the group Osama bin Laden. This is by no doubt a big blow to the group as well as a threat to Wahhabism hence curbing its future (Schwartz 1).

Annotated Bibliography

Blanchard, Christopher. The Islamic Traditions of Wahhabism and Salafiyya. 2008. Web.

Blanchard begins his paper by defining what Wahhabism is. In this, he clearly indicates, “Wahhabism is a puritanical form of Sunni Islam that is commonly practiced in Saudi Arabia and Qatar” (Blanchard 1). Just like other scholars who have written on Wahhabism, Blanchard explains that the name Wahhabi has its origin from the Muslim Scholar known as Muhammad bin Abd al Wahhab. The author of this paper is seen to have an in-depth evaluation of Wahhabism by tracing back its history as well as the present Wahhabism especially in Saudi Arabia. Blanchard notes that Wahhabism attracted a lot of criticism from the other Muslim groups mainly because of its different philosophies (Blanchard 2).

However, the case is different today, as the Saudi family has had a close relationship with the religious establishments of the Wahhabis. In fact, Wahhabism has had a significant influence in the political and religious establishments of Saudi Arabia. This is because, the aforementioned establishments are governed by the laws and rules formed based on Wahhabis. Blanchard concludes on Wahhabism by noting that the judicial and educational policies of Saudi Arabia have also adopted the Wahhabi rules and laws.

Cline, Austin. Wahhabism and Wahhabi Islam: How Wahhabi Islam Differs from Sunni, Shia Islam. 2011. Web.

This article introduces the basic facts about Wahhabism and discusses important issues about Wahhabism. The latter includes origins of religion, the doctrines of Wahhabi and contemporary issues related to extremist Islam and Wahhabism. Cline introduces his discussion with a clarification that, contrary to the misconceptions held by a number of people, Islam is as diverse as Christianity and thus branding the former as an extremist religion in general would not only be a mistake, but it will also be unethical.

What comes out clearly from his introduction is that Wahhabism is a subset of Islam that engages in extremist activities, and whose teachings are different from those of other branches of Islam. The author introduces Wahhabi Islam as “the primary religious movement behind extremist Islam” (Cline 1).

Cline starts his discussion with the origin of Wahhabism. He gives the founder of Wahhabi Islam as “Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1792)” (Cline 1), who Cline says that was the first modern extremist of Islamic beliefs. The former believed that addition of ideas to the Islamic faith after about 950 CE was inappropriate, and that the ideas are supposed to be eliminated from the Islamic faith. Wahhabi, therefore, founded the extremist Islamic religion using the idea that the original beliefs that were introduced by Muhammad should be strictly followed. His focus was to avoid a return to pre-Islamic polytheism.

The Wahhabi faith therefore, shuns “praying to saints, making pilgrimages to tombs, special mosques, venerating trees, caves, and stones, and using votive and sacrificial offerings” (Cline 1). In addition to these, the Wahhabis also fight modernity, enlightenment, and secularism. Their stand against modernity and secularism has contributed to their extremism and even made them result to using violence.

The author’s discussion is enriched with an incisive and comparative look at the basic doctrines on which the Wahhabi religion is built. These include the fact that the Wahhabis believe in tawhid, unity of God, a belief that has earned them names like Muwahiddun (Unitarians). The religion also focuses on the traditional Islamic beliefs while avoiding the aforementioned questionable practices. This stemmed out the fact that the founder of the religion viewed the questionable practices as a regression to the barbarism and ignorance that the Islamic faith associates with pre-Islamic times. Wahhab therefore, saw the people who engaged in the questionable practices while professing the Islamic faith as Muslims who were not true to the Islamic faith. This means that they were disqualified to be true Muslims.

This belief is the main driving force of contemporary Islamic extremism and terrorism because the Islamic faith forbids Muslims from killing their fellow Muslim brothers. It thus follows that declaring a certain group of Muslims as being non-true Muslims is a significant step in authorizing Islamic terrorism because it makes the killing of a Muslim licit according to Islamic teachings. Lastly, on the doctrines of Wahhabi Islam, Cline explains that to Wahhabis, re-interpretation of the Quran to be in conformance with contemporary ideas, especially those from the west is inappropriate. The Wahhabis therefore, oppose ideas that were introduced to Islam in the 19^th and 20^th century by re-interpreting issues that were already interpreted by Muslims of earlier times.

Cline ends his discussion by evaluating facts about contemporary Wahhabism and extremist Islam. He states the fact that “Wahhabism is the dominant Islamic tradition on the Arabian peninsula” (Cline 1). However, the religion has less influence on other parts of the Middle East. Osama bin Laden was himself a Wahhabi from the aforementioned area, specifically Saudi Arabia. His terrorist activities were largely influenced by his Wahhabi beliefs, which make its followers vilify other societies on the basis that they are not Muslims, or even that they are not true Muslims. This therefore, justifies an attack on that society when the Wahhabis have something against the said society.

Kouri, Jim. Wahhabism Spreading Throughout the Globe? 2007. Web.

Kouri begins this article by giving a definition of Wahhabism, in which he says that it is a movement founded between 1703 and 1792 by Muhammad bin Abd al Wahhab hence the name Wahhabism (Kouri 1). He goes further to explain that Wahhabism disregards all the other forms of Islam as it has dominated most of Saudi Arabia. In this article, Kouri warns of Wahhabism spreading all over the globe. This is because most of the government officials and religious leaders of Saudi Arabia have been noted to finance religious institutions, organizations, and newspapers all of which are Wahhabi-oriented.

As a result, the Wahhabi Muslims have been on the rise thus spreading to other parts of the world (Kouri 1). The government of the United States has raised its concern over this issue and through the help of the US Agency for International Development; it has implemented ways of countering the financial support to the Wahhabis. On the other hand, the government of Saudi Arabia is still putting more efforts to expand Wahhabism by publishing and revising religious textbooks in addition to making reforms in education and religious sectors. As he concludes his article, Kouri notes that the two governments are not aware of each other’s doings regarding the spread of Wahhabism (Kouri 1).

Pike, John. Wahhabi. 2011. Web.

In his paper, Pike notes that Wahhabi is one of the branches of Islam commonly referred to as Salafi, which is in accordance to the ancestors of Islam. He at times refers to Wahhabi as a movement known as ad dawa lil tawhid meaning the call to unity (Pike 1). According to Pike, the people who follow this movement are therefore, called muwahhidun or rather Unitarians (Pike 1). Pike explains that despite the fact that this movement was underestimated in the past years, it has recently gained popularity with more Muslims joining the movement. Actually, the highest population of the Wahhabi is found in Saudi Arabia with most people in Mecca and Medina also joining this movement.

On a brief history of the Wahhabi, Pike notes that this reform movement began more than 200 years ago with the aim of getting rid of the cultural practices of the ancient Islamic societies (Pike 1). He further indicates that the Wahhabis are known to be followers of Abdu l- Wahhab who is the founder of the movement. As he concludes his paper, Pike notes that the Wahhabis just like the other Muslims, they also believe in the Koran. They fully follow the doctrines of the Koran as well as the teachings.

Schwartz, Stephen. Saudi Arabia and the Rise of Wahhabi Threat. 2003. Web.

This article is purely on the threats that Wahhabism has posed to the world in the name of Al-Qaeda. The author indicates that the Al-Qaeda is composed of Wahhabis whose doctrine does not accept all the other Muslims who are not Wahhabis. Schwartz explains that the aim of the Al-Qaeda is to get rid of the other faiths that are not Wahhabism including Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism among others (Schwartz 1).

The article goes further to explain that Wahhabism has a history of violence because of the way it was formed. In this, Schwartz explains that Wahhabism begun about 250 years ago, founded by a leader known as Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab. This leader is noted to have formed alliances in the desert with a group known as bandits who were of Saudi origin. The group differed so much with the other Saudi Arabians hence leading to instances of war. Schwartz also notes that the Wahhabis under the Al-Qaeda were responsible for the September 11 bomb attacks in the United States.

Saudi Arabia is known to be the main source of the terrorists’ money that has been used in other previous bombings in countries such as Indonesia, Israel, and Kenya just to mention a few (Schwartz 1). Further, in the paper, Schwartz discusses on the false arguments against Wahhabism in which he explains that not all the Saudis are to be blamed for the terrorist attacks that occur worldwide. He notes that Wahhabis are no longer the discriminatory group that was years back. In this, he gives the example of Qatar, which is a Wahhabi nation yet it has allowed churches to be established in the country (Schwartz 1). In conclusion, Schwartz affirms that Wahhabism is a threat to most nations and especially the United States of America.

Works Cited

Blanchard, Christopher. The Islamic Traditions of Wahhabism and Salafiyya. 2008. Web.

Cline, Austin. Wahhabism and Wahhabi Islam: How Wahhabi Islam Differs from Sunni, Shia Islam. 2011. Web.

Kouri, Jim. Wahhabism Spreading Throughout the Globe? 2007. Web.

Pike, John. Wahhabi. 2011. Web.

Schwartz, Stephen. Saudi Arabia and the Rise of Wahhabi Threat. 2003. Web.