IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL, PRAISE AND PEACE BE UPON OUR BELOVED PROPHET MUHAMMAD
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I remember talking to a Minister in July 2006 just shortly after a television programme discussing the afternath of the bombings in London. Upon mentioning the Prime Ministers remarks at the Labour Party Conference and the support that he could muster up around the community; I was met with a very coy smile. “You do  know who a Wahabi is don’t you?” I questioned, upon which I received an even more bashful shake of the head. It was at this moment that a quotation from a film came to my mind – “the greatest trick that the devil ever pulled, was convincing people that he does not exist” So for all of you Ministers or anyone else that may be interested, here is some background information on the two terms that are mentioned above (If you read further issues, you will see more info as to who these guys are in the UK). Wahhabism The Wahabi sect was founded by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab ibn Suleiman al-Najdi (1703 – 1792 AD.). In 1735, Muhammad ibn (son of) Abdul Wahab called upon the people of Najd (in Arabia)  to follow a new doctrine that he had devised. However, his father and religious teachers vehemently opposed him and publicly refuted his ideas. Consequently, his mission remained unpopular until his father’s death ten years later. He was thus, forced to flee to another town, Uyayna, where he won the favour of its ruler by marrying his sister. He remained there preaching his new doctrines until the indignant population drove him out. In al-Daria in eastern Najid he finally found permanent refuge. It was there that his ideas fell on fertile ground and its ruler, Muhammad ibn (son of) Saud, and most of its inhabitants converted to the new doctrine. At that time Ibn Abdul Wahab behaved as if he had absolute monopoly over ijtihad, i.e. the ability to arrive at logical deductions on religious questions. There was great disbelief at his rulings and his brother, Suleiman, authored a book refuting his brother’s invocation and demonstrating its falsehood. His book includes the following passage re the new doctrine – Wahabia and its founder One of the consequences of this new doctrine was that it enabled the followers in the Middle East to fight against the Ottoman rulers as any Muslims that were not of the same doctrine as “Wahabia,” was pronounced as non Muslims or apostates thus justifying Holy War against them, and ah le kitab (people of the book – Jewish and Christian) were pronounced as “non-believers” – kafir. This was the start of a relationship that would eventually yield the independent state of Saudi Arabia The Muslims lands in the Middle East were under Ottoman rule and after the defeat of Germany (and its allies – Ottomans), their governor was driven out of Makkah, and the area around Makkah was known as Hijaz (1920). The House of Saud (now fully indoctrinated with “Wahabia”) was now leading the tribe of Najd, and they were now constantly at war with Hijaz to gain control of the holiest site for Muslims (the Kabah) in Makkah. In 1926, the House of Saud gained the upper hand and in 1932, the region was renamed as Saudi Arabia. In 1933, Oil was discovered in the Kingdom, and now everyone was interested in the area, and through the 1950s, the Saudi government built its infrastructure around the oil industry, and the wealth of the region grew exponentially. Today, Wahabism is strong in Saudi Arabia, and is regarded by many as the forefathers of the modern Islamist threat that the world is currently facing, as indicated by Dr Zeyno Baran,  Director of International Security and Energy Programmes – The Hudson Institute,  in her recent statement to Congress. “It is now widely known that, since the oil boom of the 1970s, one middle eastern has spent over $80 billion to promote Wahabism—money that has been spent on funding leading terrorist and other extremist organizations that disseminate hatred in “educational centers,” charities, mosques, and even prisons.  Although Wahabism’s place in Islam is sometimes considered similar to that of American Protestantism within Christianity, in reality it is only a minority radical religious cult, fueled by petrodollars. As historian Bernard Lewis more correctly contends, “Wahabis teaching Islam is like the KKK teaching Christianity.” Wahabiism is today regarded as a “catch-all” phrase and has spawned many groups such as Salafis, Al Qaeeda and the Ikhwan al Muslimeen (The Muslim Brotherhood), and others and Since the 1950s, the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen), an organization founded in Egypt in 1929, has been the main instrument for propagating Wahabi influence internationally. The Muslim Brotherhood “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna (1906-1949, grandfather of Tariq Ramadan (advisor to the Home Office on Preventing Extremism and Radicalisation). Al-Banna was very critical of western civilisations, and commented “..that it is a civilization which caries in its own body the viruses of its own destruction” Emerging from the Salafi movement, it was the first of the plethora of radical Islamic organizations which exist today, those which are often called “fundamentalist” or – as their followers prefer – “Islamist”. Al-Banna aimed to seize political power by a gradual process which began with education, recruitment and training. The main ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood was Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) whose writings became an important reference for many radical Islamic movements, especially with regard to how to assess the Islamic credentials of societies and governments.  Qutb promoted the Khariji doctrine of takfir-  the process of judging Muslims (individuals, regimes, societies and states) to be apostates and infidels  (non Muslim) if they did not wholly conform to their version of shari‘a.  This condemnation justifies combatitive jihad against them.  He also took the term hijra (emigration) and developed its meaning from a simple description of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) migration to an ideological goal in the staged process of developing true Islamic societies.  He held that all Muslim societies had reverted to pre-Islamic paganism (jahiliyya), so that true Muslims were living in a context similar to that of Muhammad (PBUH) in his early career i.e. surrounded by idolatry.  Qutb saw three definite stages in the hijra process: Proclamation (da‘wa) of the message to jahili (the state of pagan ignorance and immorality in pre-Islamic Arabian) society. Separation (mufassala) from unbelievers and all jahili society. This stage Qutb conceived of not as total physical separation, but as a spiritual separation while remaining in society to proclaim, recruit and organize. Finally the fight (jihad) to implement God’s new society on earth, similar to Muhammad’s victorious return to Makkah. Jihad is aimed first at Islamizing Muslim societies, toppling apostate Muslim rulers and establishing Islamic states under shari‘a; these Islamic states are then able to extend jihad to the whole world. In its early years the Brotherhood worked for evolutionary change through institutional renewal. During the 1930s, however, it developed an ideology of belligerent jihad directed against colonialism, cultural modernity and the Jewish presence in Palestine. By the 1940s the Brotherhood had established a special secret paramilitary branch, al Tanzim al Khas, which initiated a campaign of terror against the pro-Western Egyptian government and assassinated a number of political personalities, including two prime ministers. Abdullah Azzam (1941-1989), Osama bin Laden’s mentor during the Afghan jihad, was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Azzam was active in recruiting Arab mujahidin for the jihad in Afghanistan and he was the main promoter of the internationalisation of Jihad which led to the creation of al-Qaeda and to the Salafi-Jihadi moveement. Abdullah Azzam saw jihad as the greatest religious obligation after faith (Iman), an act of communal worship, God’s ordained method for establishing Islam in the world. Azzam claimed that jihad is the apex of a staged process that includes hijra, preparation, and ribat (defensive living on the frontline). Azzam claimed that this obligation of jihad has been forgotten, and its neglect is the cause of contemporary Muslim humiliation. Most violent Islamist groups today were born out of the Muslim Brotherhood as reinterpreted by Qutb.   The Brotherhood itself has become a global institution and is very influential in Europe including the UK.  All photographs © SMC unless otherwise stated. All text © SMC. All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, without permission in writing from SMC. If you would like to use text or images please contact us.