Wahhabis, unbelievers and the problems of exclusivism

Bibliographic Data

ID19397182
AuthorsElizabeth Sirriyeh (corresponding author)
Year1989
Volume16
Issue2
Pages123-132
Publication date1989-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Society for Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-6139
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13530198908705492
OpenAlexW2022279711
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited4

The Wahhabi movement is now frequently seen as an especially violent manifestation of a much wider orthodox objection to the corrupt religion and immorality of the eighteenthand nineteenth-century Islamic lands. It is thus to be viewed as a part of the great revival of orthodoxy that first appeared within Indian Islam in the seventeenth century, being linked with the revitalizing efforts of Naqshbandi (Ar: 'Naqshabandi') Sufi shaykhs from the time of Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1625). From their power-base at Dar'iyya in Central Arabia Muhammad b. Abd al-Wahhab and the amir Muhammad b. Su'ud launched their campaign to reform Islam in Arabia. The alliance of spiritual and temporal authorities proved remarkably successful, and the impetus for the jihad against all whom they regarded as unbelievers did not fade with the death of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in 1792. It actually continued with the energy born of the conviction that it was the duty of the only true Muslim community, that of the Wahhabis, to call the entire Islamic world to repentance for having lapsed from the pure unitarianism of the early Muslims and for having espoused corrupt and decadent beliefs and practices incompatible with Islam. In 1802 the Shi'ites of Iraq had reason to be dismayed by violent Wahhabi attacks, the sacking of Karbala and destruction of the tomb of Husayn. By 1805 the holy cities of Mecca and Medina were in Wahhabi hands, and the Su'udi amir had the temerity to denounce the Ottoman sultan and call in question the validity of his claim to be caliph and guardian of the sanctuaries of the Hejaz. Effectively, the Wahhabis were to prevent him for a decade from affording protection to the great caravans of pilgrims making their way to Mecca for the annual hajj. Yet, while the Wahhabi challenge became an understandable concern for the Ottomans, it also became obvious that such inflexible and exclusivist policies presented real dangers to their advocates. They led directly to the Ottoman reaction which resulted in the crushing of the first Wahhabi and Su'iidi state. As early as December 1807 Muhammad 'Al as viceroy of Egypt received orders from Sultan Mustafa IV to undertake an expedition against the Wahhabis. He was delayed by events within Egypt, such that it was not until the winter of 1811-12 that the Egyptians were able to recapture the Holy Cities

Ancient history · Conviction · Duty · Immorality · Islam · Morality · Mysticism · Orthodoxy · Political science · Power (physics) · Repentance · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies

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