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The Roots of Islamic Terrorism: the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia

In this article I will show that Islamic Terrorism is the direct offshoot of a fanatical Islamic cult known as "Wahhabism" (modern Wahhabism is a form of Salafism).  This once small but fanatical cult effectively runs Mecca, having captured it by force in 1924, and believes in the extirpation of non-islamic cultures and is now financed by one of the the wealthiest oil producing countries in the world. The links between Wahhabism and Islamic terrorism are widely publicised and direct. Consider the following brief review.

Picture of son (?) of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab
The attack on the New York World Trade Center on 11th September 2001 was committed by nineteen hijackers of whom fifteen were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. (See Wikipedia article). The Saudi response to this evident link with Saudi Arabia was that Al Qaeda had recruited Saudis "in an effort to strain relations between the United States and the kingdom". This misses the obvious point that Al Qaeda is founded and run by a Saudi. Al Qaeda was founded by Osama Bin Laden. "As a teen-ager, bin Laden joined the ultraconservative Wahhabi sect of Islam and served with the (religious) police enforcing sharia laws" (Forbes article).

The Wahhabi's were founded by Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. They are the religious wing of the Royal family of Saudi Arabia: "Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was invited to settle in neighboring Diriyah by its ruler Muhammad ibn Saud in 1740 (1157 AH), two of whose brothers had been students of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Upon arriving in Diriyya, a pact was made between Ibn Saud and Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, by which Ibn Saud pledged to implement and enforce Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings, while Ibn Saud and his family would remain the temporal "leaders" of the movement".(See for instance Wikipedia article on Wahhabism).

It is possible that Osama Bin Laden was just a rogue multi-millionaire Saudi policeman who happened to be a member of the Wahhabi cult. However, the Wahhabis have been actively sponsoring terrorism on their own behalf. Wahhabis can wield a substantial part of the wealth of Saudi Arabia and sponsor extremist mosques and educational establishments on a global scale from schools and mosques in the UK and Europe to extremist Madrassas in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc. It was the well-funded Wahhabis who created and radicalised the Taliban.

A Wahhabi cleric, Anwar Al Awlaki, has the dubious distinction of radicalising the US Major Nidal Hassan who killed 13 personnel in a rampage at Fort Hood in the USA and the Christmas Day bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, as well as being implicated in numerous other substantial terrorist connections (See Centre for Social Cohesion Report and ‘Londonistan’ is still the weakest link.). The most interesting aspect of Awlaki's Wahhabi activities is his connections with the Islamic groups and extreme clerics in the UK and their widespread acceptance of the Wahhabi viewpoint. The extremist Islam of Somalia is also due to the: connections and influences of the Salafia (Wahabi) school of Saudi Arabia.

I promised a brief review so will not pursue the many other links in any depth. There are two huge outstanding questions.

The first question is whether or not the Government of Saudi Arabia is directly involved in international terrorism. Unfortunately we know after the "Death of a Princess", in which a young woman was publicly beheaded for alleged adultery, that the Saudi Government can ruthlessly and successfully intervene in Western States to ensure that it gets good publicity and suppress the media. The only definite semi-official connection of the Saudi state to terrorism that I have seen is the discovery of terrorist materials in the Saudi High Commission for Aid to Bosnia although there is plentiful indirect evidence of the Saudi state financing terrorism. My guess is that the Wahhabi establishment in Saudi Arabia is indeed directly involved in global terrorism and is clearly the main sponsor of islamic radicalisation programmes worldwide. It is protected by the Saudi Government but not controlled by the Saudi Government directly. As a Daily Mirror article says: "In return for their support, the dynasty, in public at least, promotes a fanatical Islamic sect called Salafism. In this vicious creed most other Muslims, never mind Christians, are infidels who should be killed or enslaved.".

The second question is, given that the Wahhabis are indeed directly involved in Islamic terrorism and are fundamental to the creation of Al Qaeda and the Taliban why are our troops fighting eveywhere but Saudi Arabia - we will never stop international terrorism if we do not destroy the well funded source. Given the direct connection between Saudi and 9/11 the USA should have demanded the cessation of Wahhabi funding of mosques and maddrassas and a purge of clerics who preached violent Islamic expansion. They should still be offered the choice of doing this or having Mecca and the Arabian peninsula forcibly returned to Turkish control.

The sad truth is that Wahhabism is not forbidden by the Koran. Western Moslems should be asked to distinguish themselves from this extremism by taking the oath described in this link..

Another sad truth is that the post-modern West, especially the British, have lost the plot - see Multiculturalism.

See

An Oath for Moslems in the West including the verses in the Koran that deal with clothing.

Are women the cause of conflict with Islam?

Multiculturalism

The future of Afghanistan

The Egyptian Election Results


Further reading

(Notice how academics call Modern Wahhabism 'Salafism' - this probably fooled our politicians).

Radical Salafism: Osama's ideology. By Bernard Haykel http://muslim-canada.org/binladendawn.html
The development of British Salafism http://www.isim.nl/files/review_21/review_21-10.pdf
Understanding the origins of Wahhabism and Salafism http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=528&tx_ttnews[backPid]=180&no_cache=1

First published 1/12/10

Comments

songdongnigh said…
Nice analysis of the Saudi kingdom and it's relationship to Wahhabism. The royal family are fine with radicalism as long as it leaves them alone. They do however fund hundreds if not thousands of mosques and Islamic centers throughout the Western world to spread Wahhabism. However that's another case of feeding the crocodile, hoping to be last.
Anonymous said…
The BBC should air this excellent programme again.
In the present climate though it wouldn't dare!

Part 3 - The Shadows In The Cave

The Power of Nightmares assesses whether the threat from a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. In the concluding part of the series, the programme explains how the illusion was created and who benefits from it.

http://www.rense.com/general61/aaq.htm

Western leader's cosying up to Saudi royal's should be more of a concern.
Anonymous said…
The Quran does not agree with the teachings of ibn abdul wahhab(the founder of wahhabism) because there was many inhumane acts that were committed by him against the muslims leave alone the non-muslims, and this was the root of strife when it took place
Anonymous said…
Please use correct and complete translations of the Quran, not just parts of a verse. Quoting out of context is mis leading.
Thank you.
John said…
There are no quotes from the Quran in the article.
Unknown said…
I have written a 34-page research about Wahhabism which I would like to send in PDF format to anyone who asks for it; send me an email to: yasinaljibouri@hotmail.com and ask for it, and it will reach you the same day. I spent two years in Saudi Arabia and saw the living, political, religious and economic conditions first-hand, so my research is based not only on books I read in Arabic and English but also on my experience living there for two years. Take care. Your friend Yasin T. al-Jibouri
Unknown said…
assalaamu alaikum , al hamdu lillaah... asswalaathu wassalaamu alaaa rasoolillaah...
habeeb.. pls send me your article to my email.... rameezsaqafi@gmail.com

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