EDITOR'S NOTE

The Saudi-American Forum is very pleased to present excerpts from the new book Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad by Natana J. DeLong-Bas.  Today, we present excerpts from chapter five of the book.  In addition to reading the excerpts, we hope you will join a discussion of the book and view the additional material about Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad.

• Click here to read the introduction to the book.

• Click here to read excerpts from chapter one of the book, "Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the Origins of Wahhabism: Eighteenth-Century Context."

• Click here to read excerpts from chapter four of the book, "Women and Wahhabis:  In Defense of Women's Rights."

Related Material:

• Wahhabi Islam Book Page

• Conversation with Natana J. Delong-Bas

• Background Information on Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab

• From Oxford University Press -- Advance praise for Wahhabi Islam ..

• Glossary

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.

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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.

Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
By Natana J. DeLong-Bas

Book Description
Before 9/11, few Westerners had heard of Wahhabism. Today, it is a household word. Frequently mentioned in association with Osama bin Laden, Wahhabism is portrayed by the media and public officials as an intolerant, puritanical, militant interpretation of Islam that calls for the wholesale destruction of the West in a jihad of global proportions. In the first study ever undertaken of the writings of Wahhabism's founder, Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1702-1791), Natana DeLong-Bas shatters these stereotypes and misconceptions.