09-08-2004, 12:08 PM
|
#45 (permalink)
|
|
Loser
|
Quote:
The Wahhabi movement began some 250 years ago as a relatively obscure schismatic sect based among the Bedouin tribes of eastern Arabia. It was founded by Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab (1703-92), a theological firebrand who believed that innumerable errors and innovations had corrupted Islam’s original message, and who set out to purge them with puritanical zeal. He and his followers denounced many aspects of the religion, including mysticism and traditional Islamic jurisprudence. This allowed the Wahhabis to reinterpret Islam without reference to previously accepted beliefs, traditions and norms. To emphasize this point, the Wahhabis declared most scholars and religious thinkers who preceded them “unbelievers” and announced that any Muslims who did not embrace their new doctrine would, along with Jews and Christians, be viewed as “enemies of Islam.”
The mainstream scholars of his day quickly branded Abdul-Wahhab as a heretic, but he forged a political alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, a powerful tribal chief in the Najd region of Arabia. Together, they launched a bloody insurrection against the Ottoman Empire in 1744. The rebellion was soon crushed, but the descendants of the two men continued to work together to promote Wahhabism and undermine the authority of the Ottoman state. With the help of the British, the Wahhabis launched a new revolt on the eve of World War I. This time they were more successful, helping to destroy the Ottoman Empire and ultimately establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
|
<a href="http://mediaguidetoislam.sfsu.edu/intheworld/" target=_blank>SFSU Media Guide To Islam</a> |
|
|