Think It Over Rise of the Wahhabis
May 22, 2025
  • Read Ecopy
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
MAGAZINE
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
Organiser
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • International Edition
  • RSS in News
  • Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
Organiser Weekly is Hiring!
Home General

Think It Over Rise of the Wahhabis

by Archive Manager
Apr 8, 2007, 12:00 am IST
in General
FacebookTwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail

Have you heard of the Wahhabis? Perhaps not. And yet they are quietly taking over Islam all over the world. They have, believe me, an ugly past.

Mohammed Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab was the author of Wahhabism. He was a theologian, son of a judge, and belonged to Najf, a nomadic region of Arabia, untouched by civilisation.

What was his provocation? Simply this that the Caliphate and the two cities of Mecca and Medina were taken away from the Arabs by the Ottomans. The Ottomans were Muslims, but not Arab. Here is Arab nationalism at work.

But let us go back to the source of Arab nationalism?to Prophet Mohammed. ?Before long?, he once told his people, ?you will conquer many countries and cities.? And he assured them that a night in the battlefield as a soldier of Allah was superior to saying prayers at home for 2000 years! The Prophet was after an Arab empire. And the Arabs were after the loot.

Not this alone. He made Arabia a subject of divine reverence. He once told the Arabs that Allah lived in the Kaaba, the center of all blessings, and that Adam had built it. What is more, Allah spoke Arabic. The Prophet says: ?Love the Arabs because I am an Arab, because the Quran is in Arabic.? And one must visit Mecca once in a life-time to qualify for paradise. He had a special regard for his own tribe?the Quraish. He made them the ?rulers of men until the Day of Judgement.? And he gave special weight to Mecca. ?O Mecca?, he says, ?by Allah, you are better than any part of the earth and dearer to me than the rest of the world.? Surely, Prophet Mohammed was a great Arab nationalist? If Islam conquered half the world, the inspiration came from the Prophet himself. And if Wahhab followed his footsteps, there was no wonder. The Arabs do act as a ?chosen people?.

But the Caliphate fell on evil days. The Mongols came like a scourge and devastated the Muslim empire. Perhaps nothing like this had happened before. Hubris? To add to the woes of the Arabs, as soon as the Mongols left Arabia, the Ottomans took over the countries.

Naturally, Wahhab gave a call for revolt against the Ottomans. He was himself after the Caliphate. And he had the support of the British and the Saudi family. They too wanted to oust the Ottomans.

In 1744 Wahhab launched a campaign for the purification and renewal of Islam. He called upon all Muslims of the world to accept his version of Islam. ?Original and authentic?, he called it. He said it had been highly distorted by the Ottomans. Wahhab'sbook on monotheism carried a blue-print of a new Muslim world. His doctrines can be classified under three heads: 1) Rituals are superior, 2) No reverence to the dead and 3) No intercessory prayer addressed to God.

One can understand all these. But what is one to make of his other reforms? He wanted a God in human form, new prayers, and a new drill for the namaz. He did not want the prayer for the Prophet of Islam and the invocation of blessings on him at the start of the Friday prayer. He condemned Haj as it involved visits to the tomb of Mohammed and others. By the way, he wanted to convert all tombs of saints into toilets! He opposed celebration of the Prophet'sbirthday. He would not even allow the name of the Prophet to be inscribed on a mosque. He burnt books and banned music.

There is no doubt Wahhab wanted to himself a high pedestal. He opposed both Sufism and Shiaism, as also other religious traditions. In 1787 he declared himself leader of the Ummah.

In 1802 the Wahhabis attacked the Shia centre of Karbala, looted the treasures and destroyed the tomb of Al-Husayn. Al-Zahawi reports that they killed everyone in sight. The Wahhabis conquered Mecca (1803) and Medina (1805). Here too they desecrated the sacred sites and the tombs. But the Ottomans re-established their control over them.

In 1924 (after the fall of the Ottomans) the Wahhabis reconquered Mecca and Medina. But there was no fund to pursue their dreams. After the petro-dollar boom, the funds came in abundance from the patrons of the Wahhabis?the Saudis?to construct mosques and organise education of Muslim youth all over the world. We know the consequences of the programme.

The Wahhabis reflect the more violent face of Islam. Today they have turned against the West, once its patron. The youth (a good part of it) has turned to terror.

It is true Wahhabism is different today from what it was in the 18th century. But that is because of international pressure. However, the spirit remains the same.

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Subscribe Organiser YouTube Channel
Previous News

?Hindu vote is sacred?

Next News

India That is Bharat For a simplified history

Related News

Tamil Nadu: AIADMK calls CM Stalin’s Delhi tour for first NITI Aayog meet a ‘white flag’ bid to shield son from ED

Kerala: Congress MP Priyanka, CPM blindfolded as Wayanad landslide victims forced to protest for promised house rents

S. Gurumurthy, Chairman of the Vivekananda International Foundation, at the Kerala Raj Bhavan

Operation Sindoor — Paradigm shift from candle light to BrahMos: S Gurumurthy

Representative image

Three thousand Agniveers shine in Operation Sindoor, proving mettle of Agnipath scheme in combat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

“Desh nahi mitne dunga, desh nahi Jhukne dunga”: PM Modi hits out at Pak in first public rally after Op Sindoor

Madhya Pradesh | Playing with Hindu sentiments – Know why Cartoonist Hemant Malviya is in news

Load More

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Tamil Nadu: AIADMK calls CM Stalin’s Delhi tour for first NITI Aayog meet a ‘white flag’ bid to shield son from ED

Kerala: Congress MP Priyanka, CPM blindfolded as Wayanad landslide victims forced to protest for promised house rents

S. Gurumurthy, Chairman of the Vivekananda International Foundation, at the Kerala Raj Bhavan

Operation Sindoor — Paradigm shift from candle light to BrahMos: S Gurumurthy

Representative image

Three thousand Agniveers shine in Operation Sindoor, proving mettle of Agnipath scheme in combat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

“Desh nahi mitne dunga, desh nahi Jhukne dunga”: PM Modi hits out at Pak in first public rally after Op Sindoor

Madhya Pradesh | Playing with Hindu sentiments – Know why Cartoonist Hemant Malviya is in news

Representative Image, source TNW

End near for Maoist terror? How will the ‘urban naxals’ respond to the fall of armed-movement?

The ED claimed that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi diverted public funds for personal use through the company Young Indian

National Herald Case: ED charges against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, ‘Rs 998 Crores in proceeds of crime’

Representative image

Pakistan-Backed ISI Spy Ring Busted: Ansarul Ansari and Akhlaque Azam held in foiled Delhi terror plot

PM Modi at Karni Mata temple ahead of his visit to the Nal Base in Bikaner (Photo: India Today)

Rajasthan: PM Modi performs shakti puja in Bikaner, visits Nal Airbase – Here’s how it is linked to Operation Sindoor

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

  • Home
  • Search Organiser
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Entertainment
  • More ..
    • Sci & Tech
    • Vocal4Local
    • Special Report
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Law
    • Economy
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
  • Subscribe Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Policies & Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Refund and Cancellation
    • Terms of Use

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies