Wahhabi movement
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The majority of the world's Wahhabis are from Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.[9] 22.9% of all Saudis are Wahhabis (concentrated in Najd).[9] 46.87% of Qataris[9] and 44.8% of Emiratis are Wahhabis.[9] 5.7% of Bahrainis are Wahhabis and 2.17% of Kuwaitis are Wahhabis.[9]
A number of terrorist organizations adhering to the Wahhabi movement include al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and, more recently, ISIS.[10] The radical takfiri beliefs of Wahhabism enables its followers to label non-Wahhabi and mainstream Muslims as apostates along with non-Muslims, thus paving the way for their bloodshed.[11][12] In July 2013, European Parliament identified the Wahhabi movement as the source of global terrorism and a threat to traditional and diverse Muslim cultures of the whole world.[13] Many buildings associated with early Islam, including mazaars, mausoleums, and other artifacts, have been destroyed in Saudi Arabia by Wahhabis from the early 19th century through the present day.[14][15]
Initially, Wahhabism was a revivalist movement instigated by an eighteenth century theologian, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) from Najd, Saudi Arabia,[16] who was opposed by his own father and brother for his non-traditional interpretation of Islam.[17] He attacked a "perceived moral decline and political weakness" in the Arabian Peninsula and condemned what he perceived as idolatry, the popular cult of saints, and shrine and tomb visitation,[18] advocating a purging of the widespread practices by Muslims that he considered impurities and innovations in Islam.[1] He eventually convinced the local Amir, Uthman ibn Mu'ammar, to help him in his struggle.[19] The movement gained unchallenged precedence in most of the Arabian Peninsula through an alliance between Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the House of Muhammad ibn Saud, which provided political and financial power for the religious revival represented by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The alliance created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Mohammed bin Abd Al-Wahhab's teachings are state-sponsored and the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
The terms Wahhabi and Salafi and ahl al-hadith (people of hadith) are often used interchangeably,[20] but Wahhabism has also been called "a particular orientation within Salafism",[1] considered ultra-conservative and which rejects traditional Islamic legal scholarship as unnecessary innovation.[21][22] Salafism, on the other hand, has been termed as the hybridation between the teachings of Ibn Abdul-Wahhab and others which have taken place since the 1960s.[23]
A number of terrorist organizations adhering to the Wahhabi movement include al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and, more recently, ISIS.[10] The radical takfiri beliefs of Wahhabism enables its followers to label non-Wahhabi and mainstream Muslims as apostates along with non-Muslims, thus paving the way for their bloodshed.[11][12] In July 2013, European Parliament identified the Wahhabi movement as the source of global terrorism and a threat to traditional and diverse Muslim cultures of the whole world.[13] Many buildings associated with early Islam, including mazaars, mausoleums, and other artifacts, have been destroyed in Saudi Arabia by Wahhabis from the early 19th century through the present day.[14][15]
Initially, Wahhabism was a revivalist movement instigated by an eighteenth century theologian, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) from Najd, Saudi Arabia,[16] who was opposed by his own father and brother for his non-traditional interpretation of Islam.[17] He attacked a "perceived moral decline and political weakness" in the Arabian Peninsula and condemned what he perceived as idolatry, the popular cult of saints, and shrine and tomb visitation,[18] advocating a purging of the widespread practices by Muslims that he considered impurities and innovations in Islam.[1] He eventually convinced the local Amir, Uthman ibn Mu'ammar, to help him in his struggle.[19] The movement gained unchallenged precedence in most of the Arabian Peninsula through an alliance between Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the House of Muhammad ibn Saud, which provided political and financial power for the religious revival represented by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The alliance created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Mohammed bin Abd Al-Wahhab's teachings are state-sponsored and the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
The terms Wahhabi and Salafi and ahl al-hadith (people of hadith) are often used interchangeably,[20] but Wahhabism has also been called "a particular orientation within Salafism",[1] considered ultra-conservative and which rejects traditional Islamic legal scholarship as unnecessary innovation.[21][22] Salafism, on the other hand, has been termed as the hybridation between the teachings of Ibn Abdul-Wahhab and others which have taken place since the 1960s.[23]
