Thomas F. Farr
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195179958
- eISBN:
- 9780199869749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179958.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Chapter 8 is woven around the author's trip to Saudi Arabia six months prior to 9/11. There are two faces of Saudi Arabia: Mecca, the birthplace of Islam and the prophet Mohammed, and Riyadh in the ...
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Chapter 8 is woven around the author's trip to Saudi Arabia six months prior to 9/11. There are two faces of Saudi Arabia: Mecca, the birthplace of Islam and the prophet Mohammed, and Riyadh in the Nadj region, the home of Mohammed bin Abd al-Wahhab and the birthplace of Osama Bin Laden. The chapter explores the tensions between the two kingdoms, and the connections between Islam and Islamist extremism, especially as manifested in Saudi understandings of jihad and tawhid. It traces the pernicious Wahhabi public theology from its origins in the 13th century to its ideological covenant with the House of Saud. The author's experiences with Saudi officials, religious minorities in the kingdom, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department lead him to conclude that Wahhabism will remain a source of terrorism, and a threat to U.S. national security, until the Saudis contain or destroy it via political reform grounded in religious freedom.Less
Chapter 8 is woven around the author's trip to Saudi Arabia six months prior to 9/11. There are two faces of Saudi Arabia: Mecca, the birthplace of Islam and the prophet Mohammed, and Riyadh in the Nadj region, the home of Mohammed bin Abd al-Wahhab and the birthplace of Osama Bin Laden. The chapter explores the tensions between the two kingdoms, and the connections between Islam and Islamist extremism, especially as manifested in Saudi understandings of jihad and tawhid. It traces the pernicious Wahhabi public theology from its origins in the 13th century to its ideological covenant with the House of Saud. The author's experiences with Saudi officials, religious minorities in the kingdom, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department lead him to conclude that Wahhabism will remain a source of terrorism, and a threat to U.S. national security, until the Saudis contain or destroy it via political reform grounded in religious freedom.
Ondrej Beránek and Pavel Tupek
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474417570
- eISBN:
- 9781474444774
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474417570.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
In various parts of the Islamic world over the past decades, virulent attacks have targeted Islamic funeral and sacral architecture. Rather than being random acts of vandalism, these are associated ...
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In various parts of the Islamic world over the past decades, virulent attacks have targeted Islamic funeral and sacral architecture. Rather than being random acts of vandalism, these are associated with the idea of performing one’s religious duty as attested to in the Salafi/Wahhabi tradition and texts. Graves, shrines and tombs are regarded by some Muslims as having the potential to tempt a believer to polytheism. Hence the duty to level the graves to the ground (taswiyat al-qubūr). In illuminating the ideology behind these acts, this book explains the current destruction of graves in the Islamic world and traces the ideological sources of iconoclasm in their historical perspective, from medieval theological and legal debates to contemporary Islamist movements including ISIS. The authors look at the destruction of graves in various parts of the Islamic world including the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, and trace the ideological roots of Salafi iconoclasm and its shifts and mutations in an historical perspective. The book contains case studies, among others, on Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, the Saudi religious establishment, Nasir al-Din al-Albani, and ISIS and the destruction of monuments.Less
In various parts of the Islamic world over the past decades, virulent attacks have targeted Islamic funeral and sacral architecture. Rather than being random acts of vandalism, these are associated with the idea of performing one’s religious duty as attested to in the Salafi/Wahhabi tradition and texts. Graves, shrines and tombs are regarded by some Muslims as having the potential to tempt a believer to polytheism. Hence the duty to level the graves to the ground (taswiyat al-qubūr). In illuminating the ideology behind these acts, this book explains the current destruction of graves in the Islamic world and traces the ideological sources of iconoclasm in their historical perspective, from medieval theological and legal debates to contemporary Islamist movements including ISIS. The authors look at the destruction of graves in various parts of the Islamic world including the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, and trace the ideological roots of Salafi iconoclasm and its shifts and mutations in an historical perspective. The book contains case studies, among others, on Ibn Taymiyya, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, the Saudi religious establishment, Nasir al-Din al-Albani, and ISIS and the destruction of monuments.
Nadav Samin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164441
- eISBN:
- 9781400873852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164441.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This concluding chapter examines the notion that a genealogical rule of governance pervades Saudi Arabia in relation to Wahhabism and Islam. It suggests that Saudi Arabia's modern genealogical ...
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This concluding chapter examines the notion that a genealogical rule of governance pervades Saudi Arabia in relation to Wahhabism and Islam. It suggests that Saudi Arabia's modern genealogical culture is a direct consequence of the rise of Salaf religiosity in the kingdom and that the acute genealogical consciousness of modern Saudi society is a form of bedouin tribal vengeance against modernity. Just as the economic paternalism of the Saudi state has influenced the discourse and strategies of al-Qaeda, the kingdom's economic model has played an important role in shaping its modern genealogical culture as well. The chapter also discusses Hamad al-Jāsir's genealogical project, which preceded the wholesale politicization of the Saudi oral culture, and argues that the attachment to the Arabian past that drove such project was real and visceral, rather than an ideological fetish encouraged or manufactured by the Saudi state.Less
This concluding chapter examines the notion that a genealogical rule of governance pervades Saudi Arabia in relation to Wahhabism and Islam. It suggests that Saudi Arabia's modern genealogical culture is a direct consequence of the rise of Salaf religiosity in the kingdom and that the acute genealogical consciousness of modern Saudi society is a form of bedouin tribal vengeance against modernity. Just as the economic paternalism of the Saudi state has influenced the discourse and strategies of al-Qaeda, the kingdom's economic model has played an important role in shaping its modern genealogical culture as well. The chapter also discusses Hamad al-Jāsir's genealogical project, which preceded the wholesale politicization of the Saudi oral culture, and argues that the attachment to the Arabian past that drove such project was real and visceral, rather than an ideological fetish encouraged or manufactured by the Saudi state.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It ...
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This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It focuses on the history of the Islamic University of Medina (IUM), founded in 1961 to offer fully-funded religious instruction to mostly non-Saudi students. It demonstrates that this Saudi state-backed missionary initiative built on political, cultural, and social transformations tracing back to the late Ottoman period. It goes on to show that, just as the IUM sought to extend the authority and influence of the Wahhabi religious establishment into distant Muslim communities, its own operation was both enabled and influenced by migrants from across the Islamic world who came to work and study on its campus. Moreover, the university’s missionary project was further complicated insofar as it was refracted through the agency of the itinerant students who were expected to convey its Wahhabi-inflected message. The book argues that the complex history of such projects of Wahhabi “religious expansion” is best understood as involving a series of unequal transactions within the terms of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows of spiritual capital, material capital, religious migrants and social technologies. This analytical framework suggests new ways of thinking about the evolution of Wahhabism, the rise of Salafism in locations around the world, and the forms of power and agency at stake in border-spanning struggles to steer the future course of the Islamic tradition.Less
This book considers efforts undertaken by the Saudi political and religious establishments to widen the sphere of Wahhabi influence beyond the kingdom’s borders from the mid-twentieth century. It focuses on the history of the Islamic University of Medina (IUM), founded in 1961 to offer fully-funded religious instruction to mostly non-Saudi students. It demonstrates that this Saudi state-backed missionary initiative built on political, cultural, and social transformations tracing back to the late Ottoman period. It goes on to show that, just as the IUM sought to extend the authority and influence of the Wahhabi religious establishment into distant Muslim communities, its own operation was both enabled and influenced by migrants from across the Islamic world who came to work and study on its campus. Moreover, the university’s missionary project was further complicated insofar as it was refracted through the agency of the itinerant students who were expected to convey its Wahhabi-inflected message. The book argues that the complex history of such projects of Wahhabi “religious expansion” is best understood as involving a series of unequal transactions within the terms of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows of spiritual capital, material capital, religious migrants and social technologies. This analytical framework suggests new ways of thinking about the evolution of Wahhabism, the rise of Salafism in locations around the world, and the forms of power and agency at stake in border-spanning struggles to steer the future course of the Islamic tradition.
Henri Lauzière
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231175500
- eISBN:
- 9780231540179
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175500.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others ...
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Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others argue Salafism is an anti-innovative and antirationalist movement of Islamic purism that dates back to the medieval period yet persists today. Though they contradict each other, both narratives are considered authoritative, making it hard for outsiders to grasp the history of the ideology and its core beliefs. Introducing a third, empirically based genealogy, The Making of Salafism understands the concept as a recent phenomenon projected back onto the past, and it sees its purist evolution as a direct result of decolonization. Henri Lauzière builds his history on the transnational networks of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1894–1987), a Moroccan Salafi who, with his associates, participated in the development of Salafism as both a term and a movement. Traveling from Rabat to Mecca, from Calcutta to Berlin, al-Hilali interacted with high-profile Salafi scholars and activists who eventually abandoned Islamic modernism in favor of a more purist approach to Islam. Today, Salafis tend to claim a monopoly on religious truth and freely confront other Muslims on theological and legal issues. Lauzière’s pathbreaking history recognizes the social forces behind this purist turn, uncovering the popular origins of what has become a global phenomenon.Less
Some Islamic scholars hold that Salafism is an innovative and rationalist effort at Islamic reform that emerged in the late nineteenth century but gradually disappeared in the mid twentieth. Others argue Salafism is an anti-innovative and antirationalist movement of Islamic purism that dates back to the medieval period yet persists today. Though they contradict each other, both narratives are considered authoritative, making it hard for outsiders to grasp the history of the ideology and its core beliefs. Introducing a third, empirically based genealogy, The Making of Salafism understands the concept as a recent phenomenon projected back onto the past, and it sees its purist evolution as a direct result of decolonization. Henri Lauzière builds his history on the transnational networks of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1894–1987), a Moroccan Salafi who, with his associates, participated in the development of Salafism as both a term and a movement. Traveling from Rabat to Mecca, from Calcutta to Berlin, al-Hilali interacted with high-profile Salafi scholars and activists who eventually abandoned Islamic modernism in favor of a more purist approach to Islam. Today, Salafis tend to claim a monopoly on religious truth and freely confront other Muslims on theological and legal issues. Lauzière’s pathbreaking history recognizes the social forces behind this purist turn, uncovering the popular origins of what has become a global phenomenon.
Henri Lauzière
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231175500
- eISBN:
- 9780231540179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175500.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Chapter 2 focuses on Rashid Rida’s campaign for the rehabilitation of Wahhabism in the 1920s, which brought Taqi al-Din al-Hilali and other disciples of Rida to the Saudi state in an effort to assist ...
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Chapter 2 focuses on Rashid Rida’s campaign for the rehabilitation of Wahhabism in the 1920s, which brought Taqi al-Din al-Hilali and other disciples of Rida to the Saudi state in an effort to assist and moderate the most intransigent Wahhabis.Less
Chapter 2 focuses on Rashid Rida’s campaign for the rehabilitation of Wahhabism in the 1920s, which brought Taqi al-Din al-Hilali and other disciples of Rida to the Saudi state in an effort to assist and moderate the most intransigent Wahhabis.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Beginning with an examination of medieval Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Kharjism, Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism, this book looks at the similarities and differences between them and ...
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Beginning with an examination of medieval Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Kharjism, Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism, this book looks at the similarities and differences between them and present organizations such as al-Qa'ida. It may be surprising that many of the radical narratives embraced by modern groups have not emerged recently. Identifying these roots can lead to a better understanding of al-Qa'ida's theological and intellectual narratives, and how they effectively indoctrinate youths and attract many of them to violent acts of terrorism. The book then focuses on al-Qa'ida's theology, ideology, and tactics; the geographic contours and implications of al-Qa'ida's political strategy in relation to the western and eastern countries that are considered enemy states; the impending clash of cultures; and the ideological war within al-Qa'ida. Examining political Islamic thought from a historical to a contemporary perspective, it generates new understanding of the many complexities of political Islam, and the role of violence and terrorism.Less
Beginning with an examination of medieval Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Kharjism, Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism, this book looks at the similarities and differences between them and present organizations such as al-Qa'ida. It may be surprising that many of the radical narratives embraced by modern groups have not emerged recently. Identifying these roots can lead to a better understanding of al-Qa'ida's theological and intellectual narratives, and how they effectively indoctrinate youths and attract many of them to violent acts of terrorism. The book then focuses on al-Qa'ida's theology, ideology, and tactics; the geographic contours and implications of al-Qa'ida's political strategy in relation to the western and eastern countries that are considered enemy states; the impending clash of cultures; and the ideological war within al-Qa'ida. Examining political Islamic thought from a historical to a contemporary perspective, it generates new understanding of the many complexities of political Islam, and the role of violence and terrorism.
Ahmad S. Dallal
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469641409
- eISBN:
- 9781469640365
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469641409.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as ...
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Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as one of decline, stagnation, and the engendering of a widespread fundamentalism. Far from being moribund, Dallal argues, the eighteenth century--prior to systematic European encounters--was one of the most fertile eras in Islamic thought. Across vast Islamic territories, Dallal charts in rich detail not only how intellectuals rethought and reorganized religious knowledge but also the reception and impact of their ideas. From the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic, commoners and elites alike embraced the appeals of Muslim thinkers who, while preserving classical styles of learning, advocated for general participation by Muslims in the definition of Islam. Dallal also uncovers the regional origins of most reform projects, showing how ideologies were forged in particular sociopolitical contexts. Reformists’ ventures were in large part successful--up until the beginnings of European colonization of the Muslim world. By the nineteenth century, the encounter with Europe changed Islamic discursive culture in significant ways into one that was largely articulated in reaction to the radical challenges of colonialism.Less
Replete with a cast of giants in Islamic thought and philosophy, Ahmad S. Dallal’s pathbreaking intellectual history of the eighteenth-century Muslim world challenges stale views of this period as one of decline, stagnation, and the engendering of a widespread fundamentalism. Far from being moribund, Dallal argues, the eighteenth century--prior to systematic European encounters--was one of the most fertile eras in Islamic thought. Across vast Islamic territories, Dallal charts in rich detail not only how intellectuals rethought and reorganized religious knowledge but also the reception and impact of their ideas. From the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic, commoners and elites alike embraced the appeals of Muslim thinkers who, while preserving classical styles of learning, advocated for general participation by Muslims in the definition of Islam. Dallal also uncovers the regional origins of most reform projects, showing how ideologies were forged in particular sociopolitical contexts. Reformists’ ventures were in large part successful--up until the beginnings of European colonization of the Muslim world. By the nineteenth century, the encounter with Europe changed Islamic discursive culture in significant ways into one that was largely articulated in reaction to the radical challenges of colonialism.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter examines four medieval movements to which al-Qa'ida networks are the legatees. The four sections of this chapter focus on Kharijism, 'Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism. Kharijism is the ...
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This chapter examines four medieval movements to which al-Qa'ida networks are the legatees. The four sections of this chapter focus on Kharijism, 'Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism. Kharijism is the ideology of the Kharijis (al-Khawarij), the first rebel group to take the law into its own hands and change the government by force in the early decades of Islam. 'Ibadism (al-'Ibadiya) is the ideology of a Khariji offshoot, which survives to this day. Hanbalism refers to the Islamic school of law that was named after its founder, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and represents another trend within Sunni Islam. The last section concentrates on the ideology of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, from whose name the term ‘Wahhabism’ derives. It investigates this ideology within the Ottoman-Turkish and Arab-Islamic contexts. The link between Wahhabism and both earlier and later movements, including al-Qa'ida, is also outlined. Overall, these sections link medieval to modern movements, including al-Qa'ida, and highlight the similarities and differences between them.Less
This chapter examines four medieval movements to which al-Qa'ida networks are the legatees. The four sections of this chapter focus on Kharijism, 'Ibadism, Hanbalism, and Wahhabism. Kharijism is the ideology of the Kharijis (al-Khawarij), the first rebel group to take the law into its own hands and change the government by force in the early decades of Islam. 'Ibadism (al-'Ibadiya) is the ideology of a Khariji offshoot, which survives to this day. Hanbalism refers to the Islamic school of law that was named after its founder, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and represents another trend within Sunni Islam. The last section concentrates on the ideology of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, from whose name the term ‘Wahhabism’ derives. It investigates this ideology within the Ottoman-Turkish and Arab-Islamic contexts. The link between Wahhabism and both earlier and later movements, including al-Qa'ida, is also outlined. Overall, these sections link medieval to modern movements, including al-Qa'ida, and highlight the similarities and differences between them.
Ondřej Beránek and Pavel Ťupek
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474417570
- eISBN:
- 9781474444774
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474417570.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter focuses on Wahhabism during the period of the first Saudi state, as this period provides us with the most influential sources of iconoclastic ideas. The teachings of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab ...
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This chapter focuses on Wahhabism during the period of the first Saudi state, as this period provides us with the most influential sources of iconoclastic ideas. The teachings of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and his disciples constitute the core part of current Salafi thought, appearing in a variety of mutated forms. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it expounds on classical Wahhabi doctrine, as excerpted from early texts. Second, as Wahhabism, or indeed Hanbalism, were not the only strongly iconoclastic trends, this chapter also focuses on other influential movements, especially those of Yemeni, Syrian, Iraqi and Indian traditionalists, with Muhammad al-Shawkani, Ibn al-Amir al-San‘ani, Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi and Siddiq Hasan Khan in the forefront of developments. Finally, the chapter also provides a description of the two waves of destruction committed by Wahhabis after their conquest of the Hijaz, first in the early nineteenth century and then again in the first quarter of the twentieth century.Less
This chapter focuses on Wahhabism during the period of the first Saudi state, as this period provides us with the most influential sources of iconoclastic ideas. The teachings of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and his disciples constitute the core part of current Salafi thought, appearing in a variety of mutated forms. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it expounds on classical Wahhabi doctrine, as excerpted from early texts. Second, as Wahhabism, or indeed Hanbalism, were not the only strongly iconoclastic trends, this chapter also focuses on other influential movements, especially those of Yemeni, Syrian, Iraqi and Indian traditionalists, with Muhammad al-Shawkani, Ibn al-Amir al-San‘ani, Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi and Siddiq Hasan Khan in the forefront of developments. Finally, the chapter also provides a description of the two waves of destruction committed by Wahhabis after their conquest of the Hijaz, first in the early nineteenth century and then again in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
Ondřej Beránek and Pavel Ťupek
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474417570
- eISBN:
- 9781474444774
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474417570.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explains the process of Wahhabism institutionalisation that occurred during the period of the third Saudi state, as well as the proselytic mechanism that has been part of Saudi-led ...
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This chapter explains the process of Wahhabism institutionalisation that occurred during the period of the third Saudi state, as well as the proselytic mechanism that has been part of Saudi-led pan-Islamism since the 1960s. It focuses mostly on the opinions of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh, Ibn Baz and Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, especially with regard to funeral architecture and the legality of visits to graves by women. In the case of al-Albani, the chapter looks at the methodology he advocated in relation to the fulfilment of Salafi goals. It also identifies some of the patterns regarding opposition to the Saudi regime, such as those associated with Juhayman al-ʿUtaybi and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, both of whom were influenced by the Saudi propagation of tawhīd and iconoclasm. This chapter also describes the internal mechanisms and structures of the official Saudi religious establishment, especially its fatwā institutions.Less
This chapter explains the process of Wahhabism institutionalisation that occurred during the period of the third Saudi state, as well as the proselytic mechanism that has been part of Saudi-led pan-Islamism since the 1960s. It focuses mostly on the opinions of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh, Ibn Baz and Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, especially with regard to funeral architecture and the legality of visits to graves by women. In the case of al-Albani, the chapter looks at the methodology he advocated in relation to the fulfilment of Salafi goals. It also identifies some of the patterns regarding opposition to the Saudi regime, such as those associated with Juhayman al-ʿUtaybi and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, both of whom were influenced by the Saudi propagation of tawhīd and iconoclasm. This chapter also describes the internal mechanisms and structures of the official Saudi religious establishment, especially its fatwā institutions.
Jonathan Benthall and Jonathan Benthall
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781784993085
- eISBN:
- 9781526124005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781784993085.003.0018
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology
This Chapter reflects on the alleged special association between religion in general and violence – an association rebutted by both authors under review, David Martin (in Religion and Power: No logos ...
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This Chapter reflects on the alleged special association between religion in general and violence – an association rebutted by both authors under review, David Martin (in Religion and Power: No logos without mythos) and Karen Armstrong (in Fields of Blood: Religion and the history of violence). It was first published in the Times Literary Supplement on 10 December 2014, under the heading “Poplars in the marsh”. These two very different authors also agree that violent resistance is an inevitable response to policies that oppress large populations. The Chapter goes on to consider briefly the exorbitant reworking of Wahhabism that underpins the so-called Islamic State (Isis), and finally the obstacles that beset all attempts to found non-violent movements.Less
This Chapter reflects on the alleged special association between religion in general and violence – an association rebutted by both authors under review, David Martin (in Religion and Power: No logos without mythos) and Karen Armstrong (in Fields of Blood: Religion and the history of violence). It was first published in the Times Literary Supplement on 10 December 2014, under the heading “Poplars in the marsh”. These two very different authors also agree that violent resistance is an inevitable response to policies that oppress large populations. The Chapter goes on to consider briefly the exorbitant reworking of Wahhabism that underpins the so-called Islamic State (Isis), and finally the obstacles that beset all attempts to found non-violent movements.
Benjamin F. Soares
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748622856
- eISBN:
- 9780748670635
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748622856.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, African Studies
Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa ...
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Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa and in Mali in particular. It also considers some of the ways reformists and those within the Sufi tradition they criticize have certain shared objectives and values. At the same time, it points to the influence of reformist discourses on the Sufi tradition in spite of their limited success.Less
Chapter 7 looks at so-called Islamic reform, particularly the activities and influence of Muslim reformists, their discourses, and efforts to change the way Islam has been practiced in West Africa and in Mali in particular. It also considers some of the ways reformists and those within the Sufi tradition they criticize have certain shared objectives and values. At the same time, it points to the influence of reformist discourses on the Sufi tradition in spite of their limited success.
Abdullah Hamidaddin
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- October 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190062583
- eISBN:
- 9780190062613
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190062583.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
How should we understand religion in Saudi Arabia? To what extent does religion control the various aspects of Saudi life? Why are more and more Saudis and generally Muslims leaning toward heresy? ...
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How should we understand religion in Saudi Arabia? To what extent does religion control the various aspects of Saudi life? Why are more and more Saudis and generally Muslims leaning toward heresy? Why are many others exhibiting an indifference toward religion? And how does our understanding of the state of religion in Saudi Arabia inform us about the state of religion in other Islamic communities? This book explores the emergence of nonbelief and the response to it from the Salafi-Wahhabi religious institutions of Saudi Arabia. While previous studies have focused on particular institutions and their role in religious change, this study focuses on individuals that have criticized religion by taking advantage of the virtual space of social media. In doing so, they have questioned the most fundamental aspects of Saudi society: politics, religion, social justice, gender, sexuality, and the future of the country. Just as importantly, these individuals, who emerged first on the Internet, have mounted a frontal challenge to religious orthodoxy, whether through calls for religious reform or, even more provocatively, through debates over concepts of deity, duty to Allah, and morality.Less
How should we understand religion in Saudi Arabia? To what extent does religion control the various aspects of Saudi life? Why are more and more Saudis and generally Muslims leaning toward heresy? Why are many others exhibiting an indifference toward religion? And how does our understanding of the state of religion in Saudi Arabia inform us about the state of religion in other Islamic communities? This book explores the emergence of nonbelief and the response to it from the Salafi-Wahhabi religious institutions of Saudi Arabia. While previous studies have focused on particular institutions and their role in religious change, this study focuses on individuals that have criticized religion by taking advantage of the virtual space of social media. In doing so, they have questioned the most fundamental aspects of Saudi society: politics, religion, social justice, gender, sexuality, and the future of the country. Just as importantly, these individuals, who emerged first on the Internet, have mounted a frontal challenge to religious orthodoxy, whether through calls for religious reform or, even more provocatively, through debates over concepts of deity, duty to Allah, and morality.
Mohammad Hassan Khalil
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796663
- eISBN:
- 9780199933082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796663.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Ibn Taymiyya is often hailed as a vanguard of Islamic traditionalism. He argues that anyone who receives the divine message and turns away from it will be held accountable on Judgment Day. ...
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Ibn Taymiyya is often hailed as a vanguard of Islamic traditionalism. He argues that anyone who receives the divine message and turns away from it will be held accountable on Judgment Day. Nevertheless, even the wicked will one day be spared of chastisement and even redeemed. This chapter examines Ibn Taymiyya’s arguments for universalism, a refutation by Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 1355), and a re-articulation of Ibn Taymiyya’s arguments by his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350). This chapter also looks at a somewhat similar modern debate between Muhammad ‘Ali (d. 1951) of Lahore and the Western academic James Robson (d. 1981).Ibn Taymiyya (or: Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Taymiya, Ibn Taimiyyah, Ibn Taimiyya, Ibn Taimiyah).Less
Ibn Taymiyya is often hailed as a vanguard of Islamic traditionalism. He argues that anyone who receives the divine message and turns away from it will be held accountable on Judgment Day. Nevertheless, even the wicked will one day be spared of chastisement and even redeemed. This chapter examines Ibn Taymiyya’s arguments for universalism, a refutation by Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 1355), and a re-articulation of Ibn Taymiyya’s arguments by his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350). This chapter also looks at a somewhat similar modern debate between Muhammad ‘Ali (d. 1951) of Lahore and the Western academic James Robson (d. 1981).Ibn Taymiyya (or: Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Taymiya, Ibn Taimiyyah, Ibn Taimiyya, Ibn Taimiyah).
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s ...
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This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s borders in the course of the twentieth century — and it situates the Islamic University of Medina as a key institution in relation to such dynamics. It establishes the contours of the Salafi and Wahhabi traditions, before setting out the historiographical framework employed throughout the remainder of the book. The latter is grounded in a particular conception of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows — both within and across borders — of material capital, spiritual capital, religious migrants and social technologies. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the historical narrative and arguments that run through the book.Less
This chapter introduces the question of Saudi “religious expansion” — that is, the various processes by which Saudi actors are said to have exerted increasing religious influence beyond the kingdom’s borders in the course of the twentieth century — and it situates the Islamic University of Medina as a key institution in relation to such dynamics. It establishes the contours of the Salafi and Wahhabi traditions, before setting out the historiographical framework employed throughout the remainder of the book. The latter is grounded in a particular conception of a transnational religious economy, comprising flows — both within and across borders — of material capital, spiritual capital, religious migrants and social technologies. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the historical narrative and arguments that run through the book.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was ...
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This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was fraught with tensions, occurring as it did in the context of a process of state-building within an occupied territory with its own religious traditions quite different from those of the Wahhabi heartlands of Najd. The chapter argues that this period saw the consolidation of numerous strategies — including not only material investment but also cultural appropriation, hegemonic modification of religious discourse, and the recruitment of migrants from across the Middle East to lend legitimacy to Wahhabi proselytizing — which would later become central to the role of education in expanding Saudi religious influence beyond the Peninsula. These arguments are illustrated with reference to the content and styles of teaching that developed in the Saudi Scholastic Institute in Mecca.Less
This chapter explores the use of education as a tool for expanding Wahhabi influence in the Hijaz, in the period immediately following its occupation by the Saudis in the 1920s. This project was fraught with tensions, occurring as it did in the context of a process of state-building within an occupied territory with its own religious traditions quite different from those of the Wahhabi heartlands of Najd. The chapter argues that this period saw the consolidation of numerous strategies — including not only material investment but also cultural appropriation, hegemonic modification of religious discourse, and the recruitment of migrants from across the Middle East to lend legitimacy to Wahhabi proselytizing — which would later become central to the role of education in expanding Saudi religious influence beyond the Peninsula. These arguments are illustrated with reference to the content and styles of teaching that developed in the Saudi Scholastic Institute in Mecca.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the ...
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This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the remaking of Wahhabi religious authority. It argues that until the mid-twentieth century, the relatively parochial and insular nature of the Wahhabi scholarly milieu meant that Wahhabi scholars lacked the kinds of symbolic resources that would be required to launch such an ambitious missionary project. It then traces the trajectories that brought migrants from across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond to work at the IUM. It argues that, by bringing diversified reserves of spiritual capital — including qualifications acquired in venerable centers of learning like al-Azhar — these migrants lent legitimacy to the new effort to extend the Wahhabi mission to broad audiences beyond the kingdom’s borders.Less
This chapter explores the role of large numbers of non-Saudi staff members at the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and considers the part that they played in the remaking of Wahhabi religious authority. It argues that until the mid-twentieth century, the relatively parochial and insular nature of the Wahhabi scholarly milieu meant that Wahhabi scholars lacked the kinds of symbolic resources that would be required to launch such an ambitious missionary project. It then traces the trajectories that brought migrants from across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond to work at the IUM. It argues that, by bringing diversified reserves of spiritual capital — including qualifications acquired in venerable centers of learning like al-Azhar — these migrants lent legitimacy to the new effort to extend the Wahhabi mission to broad audiences beyond the kingdom’s borders.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter considers the content of teaching at the Islamic University of Medina, from the time of its founding and over the decades that followed. While IUM syllabuses were from the start strongly ...
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This chapter considers the content of teaching at the Islamic University of Medina, from the time of its founding and over the decades that followed. While IUM syllabuses were from the start strongly influenced by Wahhabi norms, the bodies of knowledge that were to be transmitted to its students underwent certain subtle shifts over time. These shifts in many ways map onto, and no doubt in part reflect, the broader evolution of the Wahhabi tradition in the second half of the twentieth century. However, the chapter highlights evidence that they also related to the university’s status as a node within a transnational religious economy and its engagement in far-reaching struggles to steer the course of the Islamic tradition.Less
This chapter considers the content of teaching at the Islamic University of Medina, from the time of its founding and over the decades that followed. While IUM syllabuses were from the start strongly influenced by Wahhabi norms, the bodies of knowledge that were to be transmitted to its students underwent certain subtle shifts over time. These shifts in many ways map onto, and no doubt in part reflect, the broader evolution of the Wahhabi tradition in the second half of the twentieth century. However, the chapter highlights evidence that they also related to the university’s status as a node within a transnational religious economy and its engagement in far-reaching struggles to steer the course of the Islamic tradition.
Michael Farquhar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798358
- eISBN:
- 9781503600270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798358.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter revisits the arguments that run throughout the book and considers their broader implications in regard to debates about Saudi “religious expansion”, the evolution of the Wahhabi ...
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This chapter revisits the arguments that run throughout the book and considers their broader implications in regard to debates about Saudi “religious expansion”, the evolution of the Wahhabi tradition within the kingdom’s borders, and the rise of Salafism in locations around the world in the last decades of the twentieth century.Less
This chapter revisits the arguments that run throughout the book and considers their broader implications in regard to debates about Saudi “religious expansion”, the evolution of the Wahhabi tradition within the kingdom’s borders, and the rise of Salafism in locations around the world in the last decades of the twentieth century.
