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Wahhabi
Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
By Natana J. DeLong-Bas
EXCERPTS
FROM CHAPTER FIVE
JIHAD:
CALL TO ISLAM OR CALL TO VIOLENCE
Pages 193-194, 224-225
There is no more
controversial or troubling topic with respect to Islam than that
of jihad. Public debates over whether to use a term that many
have come to associate with terrorism should even be permitted
in the public sphere have come to dominate American discussions
of Islam in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September
11. 2001. [1] These events raised
many questions about the relationship between Islam and
terrorism. Were the two irrevocably connected or was this a
perverse distortion of Islam's teachings.
As information about
the perpetrators of these horrific events slowly became
available, Americans not only heard a great deal about the
exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and his shadowy Al-Qaida
terrorist network, but they also became familiar with the term Wahhabi
and the fact that fifteen out of the nineteen hijackers involved
in these attacks were Saudi. For some, the implications were
clear. Wahhabis and Saudis were inherently terrorists.
However, this portrayal
makes many assumptions that are based more on reactive emotions
than they are on data and factual evidence. In the aftermath of
9/11, soul-searching for answers to the question, What went
wrong? [2] has been accompanied by
a national need to assign blame and seek justice for victims.
Unfortunately, these quests for definitive answers have tended
to project current events backward in time rather than analyzing
the past within its own context and trying to understand how
events, contexts, and new developments over time have resulted
in reinterpretations and even distortions of the past that have
led some to proclaim the militant version of Islam preached by
Osama bin Laden and his followers.
Sadly, in the process
not enough recognition has been given to the fact that the
majority of Muslims throughout the world, including in Saudi
Arabia, decried and denounced the attacks of 9/11 as being
anathema to Islam rather than inherent to it. The actions of a
minority of extremists have come to define for many non-Muslims
the religion of Islam, creating another barrier to understanding
between world religions and fueling fears of an impending clash
of civilizations. [3]
This chapter fills an
important void in the quest for answers by analyzing the
writings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab on the important topic of
jihad. If militant extremism is inherent to Wahhabism, then this
theme should dominate the writings of its founder and ideologue.
The fact that it does not suggests the more careful attention
needs to be paid to when and how this term was used by Ibn Abd
al-Wahhab and for what purposes.
The chapter begins by
asking, "How did Ibn Abd al-Wahhab believe that Islam
should be spread?" Although many have claimed that Wahhabis
believe that jihad is the appropriate means of proselytization,
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's writings make it clear that he believed that
da'wah, or missionary work, was the preferred method for
gaining true adherents. According to his vision, becoming a
Muslim was to be the result of an educational process rather
than a one-time declaration of belief made under the threat of
death. Only when this approach to the call of Islam is made
clear can the topic of jihad be undertaken -- What is its
purpose; against whom is it to be undertaken, and under what
circumstances is it invoked? What is revealed is an approach to
jihad that places severe and strict limitations on its
declaration, scope, and purpose rather than one that seeks to
expand its appropriateness and engagement at all times and
against all people. Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings are then
compared to the writings of other jurists and activists on this
topic, both past and present, placing him within a long
tradition of jurisprudence on this topic and demonstrating a
marked contrast between his teachings and those of contemporary
militants.
[next
excerpt]
Conclusion
Across time and space,
the Wahhabis have been depicted as violent fanatics, wreaking
havoc, death, and destruction against anyone whom they
considered to be unbelievers or associationists. This depiction
clearly has no basis in the written works of Muhammad Ibn Abd
al-Wahhab. Although he taught that monotheism should always be
upheld and associationism must be eradicated, violence and
killing were not the prescribed methods for achieving these
goals. He always emphasized education and discussion as the
appropriate means for calling people to monotheism. Rather than
calling for violence and destruction, his writings on jihad were
permeated with an emphasis on the importance of the preservation
of life, human, plant, and animal, and property, both human and
material.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's
writings reflect a constant emphasis on the importance of
individual knowledge to be gained through education and the need
for believing Muslims to be engaged in missionary work (da'wah)
in order to call others to the faith. The preferred method for
carrying out these activities was a process of dialogue, debate
and discussion rather than violence and militancy. Ibn Abd
al-Wahhab asserted the need for all believers, both male and
female, to acquire individual knowledge of the Quran and Sunna
not only to strengthen them in their faith but also to help them
in the critical duty of evaluating correct religious belief and
behavior, as well as to choose appropriate religious and
political leaders.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's
careful, and detailed discussion of jihad -- how it is defined,
who is to carry it out, and under what circumstances and the
regulations applying to it both during and afterward --
demonstrates a concern for placing limitations of violence and
destruction rather than calling for indiscriminate militance
against nonadherents to his teachings. His focus on the
preservation of life -- human, plant, and animal -- as well as
property reflects his concern for respect of others and the
desire to pursue peaceful means of conversion and the
establishment of cooperative relationships with others. In
keeping with this vision, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab sought to limit
violence, particularly applications of the death penalty,
because he believed that this was counterproductive and likely
only to produce fear, not faith.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's
overwhelming concern was the winning of adherents through faith
of the heart -- a goal that he believed could best be achieved
through dialogue rather that destruction. According to this
vision, jihad has no place as an offensive activity. It is a
method of last resort in defending the Muslim community from
aggression so that the work of proselytization can continue.
Terms:
- da'wah -
missionary work, proselytizing
[for
more visit the SUSRIS Glossary]
Notes:
1.
See, for example, the furor over the address by a Muslim student
at Harvard University's commencement ceremonies in May 2002
entitled "My Personal Jihad." Although the content of
the speech remained the same, he was ultimately pressured into
altering the title because the term jihad is offensive to
so many.
2. See
Bernard Lewis's book by this title: What Went Wrong: Western
Impact and Middle Eastern Response (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2001).
3. See
the landmark article by Samuel P. Huntingdon, "A Clash of
Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs (summer 1993):
22-39.
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From
Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
by Natana DeLong-Bas, copyright 2004 by Oxford University Press,
Inc. and used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.
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