"Erosion" of Wahhabism Wahhabism

1 erosion of wahhabism

1.1 islamic revolution in iran
1.2 grand mosque seizure
1.3 1990 gulf war
1.4 after 9/11
1.5 muhammad bin salman

erosion of wahhabism
islamic revolution in iran

the february 1979 islamic revolution in iran challenged saudi wahhabism in number of ways on number of fronts. revolution of shia not sunni islam , wahhabism held shia not muslims. nonetheless, massive popularity in iran , overthrow of pro-american secular monarchy generated enormous enthusiasm among pious sunni, not shia muslims around world. leader (ruhollah khomeini) preached monarchy against islam , america islam s enemy, , called overthrow of al-saud family. (in 1987 public address khomeini declared “these vile , ungodly wahhabis, daggers have pierced heart of muslims back,” , announced mecca in hands of “a band of heretics.” ) spurred saudi arabia -- kingdom allied america -- redouble efforts counter iran , spread wahhabism around world , , reversed moves saudi leaders distance wahhabism or soften ideology.

grand mosque seizure

in 1979, 400–500 islamist insurgents, using smuggled weapons , supplies, took on grand mosque in mecca, called overthrow of monarchy, denounced wahhabi ulama royal puppets, , announced arrival of mahdi of end time . insurgents deviated wahhabi doctrine in significant details, associated leading wahhabi ulama (abd al-aziz ibn baz knew insurgent s leader, juhayman al-otaybi). seizure of islam s holiest site, taking hostage of hundreds of hajj pilgrims, , deaths of hundreds of militants, security forces , hostages caught in crossfire during two-week-long retaking of mosque, shocked islamic world , did not enhance prestige of al saud custodians of mosque.

the incident damaged prestige of wahhabi establishment. saudi leadership sought , received wahhabi fatawa approve military removal of insurgents , after execute them, wahhabi clerics fell under suspicion involvement insurgents. in part consequence, sahwa clerics influenced brethren s ideas given freer rein. ideology thought more compete recent islamic revolutionism/third-worldism of iranian revolution.

although insurgents motivated religious puritanism, incident not followed crackdown on other religious purists, giving greater power ulama , religious conservatives more strictly enforce islamic codes in myriad ways – banning of women s images in media adding more hours of islamic studies in school , giving more power , money religious police enforce conservative rules of behaviour.

1990 gulf war

in august 1990 iraq invaded , annexed kuwait. concerned saddam hussein might push south , seize own oil fields, saudis requested military support , allowed tens of thousands of troops based in kingdom fight iraq. amounted seeking infidels assistance against muslim power difficult justify in terms of wahhabi doctrine.

again saudi authorities sought , received fatwa leading wahhabi ulama supporting action. fatwa failed persuade many conservative muslims , ulama opposed presence, including muslim brotherhood-supported sahwah awakening movement began pushing political change in kingdom. outside kingdom, islamist revival groups had long received aid saudi , had ties wahhabis (arab jihadists, pakistani , afghan islamists) supported iraq, not saudi.

during time , later, many in wahhabi/salafi movement (such osama bin laden) not no longer looked saudi monarch emir of islam, supported overthrow, focusing on jihad against , (what believe are) other enemies of islam. (this movement called neo-wahhabi or neo-salafi.)

after 9/11

the 2001 9/11 attacks on saudi s putative ally, us, killed 3,000 people , caused @ least $10 billion in property , infrastructure damage, assumed many, @ least outside kingdom, expression of wahhabism since al-qaeda leader osama bin laden , of 9/11 hijackers saudi nationals. backlash in formerly hospitable against kingdom focused on official religion came considered doctrine of terrorism , hate.

inside kingdom, crown prince abdullah addressed country s religious, tribal, business , media leadership following attacks in series of televised gatherings calling strategy correct had gone wrong. according robert lacey, gatherings , later articles , replies top cleric, abdullah turki, , 2 top al saud princes, prince turki al-faisal , prince talal bin abdul aziz, served occasion sort out had ultimate power in kingdom: not ulama, rather al saud dynasty. declared muslim rulers meant exercise power, while religious scholars meant advise.

in 2003–04, saudi arabia saw wave of al-qaeda-related suicide bombings, attacks on non-muslim foreigners (about 80% of employed in saudi private sector foreign workers , constitute 30% of country s population), , gun battles between saudi security forces , militants. 1 reaction attacks trimming of wahhabi establishment s domination of religion , society. national dialogues held included shiites, sufis, liberal reformers, , professional women. in 2009, part of called effort take on ulama , reform clerical establishment , king abdullah issued decree officially approved religious scholars allowed issue fatwas in saudi arabia. king expanded council of senior scholars (containing officially approved religious scholars) include scholars sunni schools of islamic jurisprudence other hanbali madhab—shafi i, hanafi , maliki schools.

relations muslim brotherhood have deteriorated steadily. after 9/11, interior minister prince nayef blamed brotherhood extremism in kingdom, , declared guilty of betrayal of pledges , ingratitude , source of problems in islamic world , after elected power in egypt. in march 2014 saudi government declared brotherhood terrorist organization .

in april 2016, saudi arabia stripped religious police, enforce islamic law on society , known commission promotion of virtue , prevention of vice, power follow, chase, stop, question, verify identification, or arrest suspected persons when carrying out duties. told report suspicious behaviour regular police , anti-drug units, decide whether take matter further.

muhammad bin salman

bold reformist actions on religious policy taken crown prince muhammad bin salman (mbs) in 2017 have led question future of wahhabi conservatism. in october 2017 interview guardian newspaper, mbs stated

“what happened in last 30 years not saudi arabia. happened in region in last 30 years not middle east. after iranian revolution in 1979, people wanted copy model in different countries, 1 of them saudi arabia. didn’t know how deal it. , problem spread on world. time rid of it”.

mbs has ruled in favor of allowing women drive , enter sport stadiums, reopening cinemas. according kamel daoud, mbs above ... putting pressure on clergy , announcing review , certification of great canons of muslim orthodoxy, including hadiths, collection of prophet muhammad’s sayings.

mbs pronouncements, international conference on sunni islam in grozny (funded government of united arab emirates) 200 muslim scholars egypt, russia, syria, sudan, jordan, , europe reject[ed] saudi arabia’s doctrine , have been called frontal assault on wahhabism (as assault on other conservative interpretations of islam, such salafism , deobandism ).