Wahhabism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhāb founded the Wahhābism movement in the mid-eighteenth century, which taught that true Muslims must show hatred and enmity toward polytheists and fight them in jihād. Cole Bunzel's book traces the origins of Wahhābī doctrine to medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya and examines its development through several generations of Wahhābī scholars. It is the definitive account of a militant Islamic movement founded on enmity toward non-Wahhābī Muslims and that is still with us today in the violent doctrines of Sunni jihādīs.

Format: Hardback
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 11 July 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

In the mid-eighteenth century, a significant Islamic movement emerged in the central Arabian region of Najd, which had a profound impact on the political landscape of the Arabian Peninsula and the history of Islamic thought. The movement's founder, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, believed that most professed Muslims were polytheists due to their veneration of Islamic saints at tombs and gravesites. He preached that true Muslims, who worship God alone, must show hatred and enmity toward these polytheists and fight them in jihād.

Cole Bunzel's book, "The Rise of Wahhābism: From Its Emergence in the 1740s to Its Taming and Coopting by the Modern Saudi State in the 1920s," provides a comprehensive account of the history of Wahhābism. It traces the origins of Wahhābī doctrine to the religious thought of medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya and examines its development through several generations of Wahhābī scholars. While widely regarded as heretical and schismatic, the movement flourished in central Arabia, spreading across the peninsula under the political influence of the Āl Suʿūd dynasty until the invading Egyptian army crushed it in 1818. The militant Wahhābī ethos persisted well into the early twentieth century, when the Saudi kingdom used Wahhābism to bolster its legitimacy.

This incisive history is the definitive account of a militant Islamic movement founded on enmity toward non-Wahhābī Muslims and that continues to influence the world today through the violent doctrines of Sunni jihādīs. The book explores the origins of Wahhābism, its spread across the Arabian Peninsula, and its influence on the Saudi kingdom. It also examines the role of the Saudi state in taming and coopting Wahhābism and its legacy in the ideologies of al-Qāʿida and the Islamic State.

Bunzel's book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the history and development of Islamic thought, the politics of the Middle East, and the role of religion in shaping world events. It provides a detailed and nuanced account of a movement that has had a profound impact on the world and that continues to be a source of controversy and debate.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691241593