Wahhabis -- an Assignment
I am personally sick of the term "wahhabis" because everyone and his brother uses this term for practically everyone they don't like. It's pretty much become a cuss word. A long time ago I gave a khutbah for MSA-UH on campus about this phenoneman (I guess they couldn't find anyone for that day!); I intend to revisit that little sermon as well. You see the problem is that no one really follows Sh. Abdul-Wahhab, like for instance Qadiyanis follow Mirza Ghulam or like Mormons follow Joseph Smith, etc. So, you will be hard-pressed to find a Muslim that follows Sh. Abdul Wahhab in everything like someone would if they were to be rightfully called Wahhabis.
With that introduction, a little assignment: find references for everyone who calls anyone Wahhabis... for instance, I know Pipes calls CAIR and pretty much every Muslim in America Wahhabi, Braelwis call Deobandis wahhabis, etc... You get the point. Let's collect all a list of those called Wahhabis and those calling them such. Of course, with references. My purpose is to debunk this term's usage, so lend me a bit of your time...
30 comments:
i have this book 2 faces of islam by stephen schwarz. basically he calls anyone who isnt a hisham kabbani and shia, dancing to mystical music while making tawwaf around gaves type of person a wahhabi.
in most context though, i think its propaganda used by the west to villify those who try to practice islam with the correct aqeedah AND to label terrorists with. i also see it being used by sufis to label the same ppl.
inshallah i will try to get some stuff together from the shwartz book if i have time as that one is especially over the top.
I've heard of Shia calling Sunni's wahabis.
oh you give it! You give it! I so gag for this
abdu, how about sources/references...
exex: i haven't given it yet... with ur help, maybe we can all?
Asalaamu alaikum, Br. Amad. This is a good idea.
A few posts back you discussed the post on my blog about the Muslim woman on the front page of the paper dressed in a halter top. Someone on that post called me a wahhabi because of my objections to her dress!
If you didn't think the Ottoman Khalifa was legitimate, that they were innovators of Bidaa and Shirk, and hence that they deserved rebellion (enough to ally with the British against them) then you are a Wahabi in any real sense of the word.
yursil - to put such a venomous connotation on it and say "in any real sense of the word" - don't you think that is disgracing one of Allah's Names - i.e. al-Wahhab?
Growing up in a typical desi family, I always thought 'wahabis' were really bad people, and we can't even pray behind them etc. And pretty much almost equivalent to (iyyadhobillah) non-Muslims!
Lota, let's not get into the "whys" of it right now. What Yursil said is in fact what many of his ilk believe. I am just collecting references here, not their justifications.
Yursil, do you have a reference for me? A link or something else in your books/articles/published materials?
This is the link for what Ruth was talking about.
As'Salaamu Alaikum
Sweeeeeeeeeeeet !
i like this topic AMAD...Oh, I LIKE IT !!!!
well Amad...you see the list of people who use the term "Wahabi" in a pejorative sense to too "brazenly" large. Let me just throw out some names of those who do use this fantasy term:
1) Steven Emerson
2) Robert Spencer
3) Daniel Pipes (as u mentioned)
4) David Horowitz
5) Ann Coulter
6) Bill O'Reilly
7) Basically everyone else at FOX News...
8) Charles Krauthammer
9) STEVEN SHWARTZ (Jewish Sufi - don't ask...)
10) EVAN KOHLMANN ("terrorism expert")
11) Chris Matthews (MSNBC)
12) Revolutionary Association for the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
13) Vladimir Putin & Members of the Russian Govt (since the early 1990's)
14) Everyone @ Frontpagemag.com
15) Benjamin Netanyahu
16) Glenn Beck (CNN)
17) Bernard Lewis (Orientalist)
18) Newt Gingrich (former House Speaker)
19) Irshad Manji (self-described Kaffir)
20) Abdul Hadi Palazzi
...the list goes on...and on...and on....
When I mean real sense of the word Wahabi, I am not speaking of al-Wahab, one of the names and attributes of Allah.
That is why I used the term 'Wahabi', which has for over a century reflected those who ally with the rebellions on and before 1817.
Todays conflict is simply a continuation of that struggle.
The use of non-Muslims of Wahabi is convenient for them, but most of them wouldn't have supported the Ottoman empire or those who support its principles today.
As Salaamu Alaikum, there is a nice book by a brother named Haneef Oliver called the THE WAHHABI MYTH. It is a nice read.
As'Salaamu Alaikum wa'Rahmatullah!
Yursil: "That is why I used the term 'Wahabi', which has for over a century reflected those who ally with the rebellions on and before 1817."
Oh PLLLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSE !
KHALA AISHAH: "The Wahabi Myth" is a book made by the followers of Rabee al Madkhalee & SPUBS -- NeoSalafis (as i refer to them)...
Done, I did what you asked.
Hamid Algar's "Wahhabism: A Critical Essay," would be worthwhile.
As'Salaamu Alaikum wa'Rahmatullah!
Dear Br. Isa,
To clarify....
"The sad thing about this comment is that it is not difference than calling someone wahabi."
-Uhhh...YES it is! The difference is that the term "Wahabi" is used perjoratively by disbelievers and munafiqeen alike to attack the Sunnah and major Islamic scholars like (Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab). The term that i used (NeoSalafi) is merely a TERM OF DISTINCTION. Whatever hidden-meanings that it may have depend upon the whatever you read-into the word.
"Neo Salfist? That is really sad and to say the author (who i do not know) is a "follower of Sheikh Rabee AlMadkhalee" and connecting that to "Neo Salafism" is disrespecting a person of knowledge no matter how much you may disagree with his views."
-I DIDN'T DISRESPECT ANY SCHOLARS. Unlike the followers of Rabee al Madkhalee - I DO NOT ATTACK scholars. I have not attacked Rabee al-Madkhalee here or anywhere else for that matter!
"If you do not like some of his "so called students" actions is one thing but do not disrespect the people of knowledge which insha Allah you did not intend to do."
-If his so-called students are any indication of who Rabee al Madkhalee is ---- then they all have a real problem. LOL.
Once again, I did not attack any scholar but I only sought to shed light upon a book ("The Wahabi Myth") that is full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations to say the least.
When I use the term "NeoSalafis" it simply refers to a strain of Salafi teaching in which the followers of this group (as well as some of its leaders) have become full of excess. They openly reject and attack the likes of:
1) Sheikh Ibn Jibreen
2) Salih al Munajid
3) Osama al Qoosee (whom they used to like)
4) Salah as Sawi
5) And a number of other Daees, Scholars, and Students of Knowledge of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.
Finally, this "NeoSalafi" strain is characterized by its complete rejection in defending the lands of Islam from the onslaught of the disbelievers.
"NeoSalafis" spend their time labeling EVERYONE as being "Khawarij" or "Off the Manhaj" -- all the while many of their foot-soldiers cant speak arabic. LOL
Personally, I would rather stick to the likes of Ibn Baz and Sheikh Albani (rahimahullah) - instead of Rabee al Madkhalee.
Finally, the area most associated with being NeoSalafi headquarters is Dammaj, Yemen. I know some brothers who currently are studying there and another brother who will be going in the next few months.
-abu ameerah as-Salafi
As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,
Well, this is the first time I've ever come to your blog... by accident, actually - 'cuz the name of your blog and mine are exactly the same, with the exception of a single word! (Mine is Musings of a Muslim Mouse...)
Anyway... I don't have anything intellectual to contribute, just personal experience - my father runs an Islamic centre (well, he used to, in our old city - we moved a few months ago and now he's running a small Madrasah for kids), and many people who didn't like what he said and taught called him 'Wahhabi' - simply for saying things like, pray 5 times a day, give zakaah correctly, fast properly in Ramadan, cancel your vacation to Disneyland and go for Hajj instead, women should wear correct hijaab, men should grow their beards, everyone should follow the Sunnah!
In the Muslim community, I think that the 'liberals', 'moderates', 'progressives', etc. use the term 'Wahhabi' to label those who don't think that Hudood should be abolished and everyone should love everyone else (regardless of whether they're Muslim or non-Muslim)...
Anyway, yeah - that's all I really have to say for now...
Your little sister in Islam,
Mouse
Little sis in Islam... funny that u would like to be called a mouse. Way back in our childhood, we used to call my younger brother a mouse, and that was his pet-peeve. Well, it still is, kinda.
I found your comments to be an excellent reflection of the situation. I will definitely use it for my little thesis.
Abu Ameerah, i will be tackling the issue of the "super-salafis" in a future blog entry... i'll seek your help when i get to that.
As'Salaamu Alaikum....
Oh yes indeed Amad...yeeees in deeeeed! (holding my hands like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons)
i look forward to it inshallah akhi...
abu ameerah
regarding rabee: http://forums.islamicawakening.com/showthread.php?t=2002
about rabee
Ok, let's end the spat about Sh. Madhkalee, because on the topic we are on, re:Wahhabis, I don't think most ppl will distinguish between his followers and the general ahl-hadith.
If and when we get to that topic, I am sure there will be plenty to say.
By the way, akhi Isa, you know well that most of the narrow-minded followers of the Shaikh have caused a major fitnah in the Western world, so I am not sure if we can close our eyes to that reality.
Anyway, the topic of super/neo/whatever salafi is now closed.
Ohhhhh you just close it AMAD....You CLOSE IT akhi!
It is quite frankly pointless to talk to or even deal with Isa and his ilk.
To add to my original list of people/groups/organizations that use the term "Wahabi" i'll add:
1) the COUNCIL on FOREIGN RELATIONS
2) Roger Hardy (BBC):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/
middle_east/1571144.stm
3) PBS "Frontline" :
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/
shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html
4) Mona Eltahawy (Washington Post):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
articles/A17037-2004Jun4.html
5) Everyone at FRONTPAGEMAG.COM
6)Everyone at LITTLEGREENFOOTBALLS.COM
-abu ameerah as Salafee
(aka "the emotional qutubee")
akhi abu ameerah, jazakallahkhair for the links.
I would like to point out to you that Br. Isa is not of 'their ilk'. I know him for a long, long time, and he is a student of knowledge at Madinah mashallah. His advice pertains to the topic itself, its benefit and relevance to the masses, not a defense of TROID/etc.
As'Salaamu Alaikum...
Amad...let me also add:
Mansoor Ijaz (Fox News "terrorism" analyst)
to my list(s) ....
-abu ameerah as Salafi
(aka "the militant suroori")
Assalaamu alaikum brother Amad,
Anyone who wears niqab is commonly labelled a w******.
As previously mentioned, many extreme Shi'as also label Muslims with this term. However, from my experience, not all Shia's do.
Also, the difference between Sh. Abdul Wahhab and Qadiyanis' "Mirza Ghulam" is that Sh. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab NEVER engineered a new religion or a new take on Islam. He simply revived the deen and brought Muslims back to the correct teachings. Big difference.
I think the only way to debunk the use of the word is to go back to the writings/teachings of Sh. Abdul Wahhab. How much does he quote from the Qur'an and Sunnah? How often does he promote his own "agenda"? What historical context prompted him to write? How did he practice Islam?
Alot of what occurs is character assassination. People who know nothing about his life and works are mistaken in their assumptions. The blindly follow whatever their parents, the media, or their friends propagate.
Assalamu’alaikum
SubhanAllah, I just want to add to the list of those who misuse this word Wahabi. I saw br Amad started this thread a few days ago but I thought how very strange and left it at that until last night when I started reading a book called “How to understand the Qur’an” by Shaykh Muhammad Jameel Zeeno. According to the Shaykh (may Allah protect him) on page 86, he highlighted this fact that how one Sofee professor said to him: “Indeed the verse (You alone we worship and from You alone we seek aid – Al Fatihah : 5) is a Wahabi verse because it invites to seeking aid only from Allah”
In fact even Surah like Al Ikhlas, Al Falaq, An Naas, Al Jinn:18 and 20, are all called “The verse of the Wahaabiyah” This was because they forbid invoking other than Allah.
So anyone calling to Tawheed is a Wahabi? How very ignorant? Prophet Nuh Alayhisalam spent 950 years calling his people to Tawheed more than thousands of years ago and this is as much human has learned?
And I am speechless!!!
-I wish some fathers would like to babysit too, so ignorant mothers can learn one or two things about the Deen and then teach the kids what Wahabi is (and not just increase their love for the Husbands)Ha ha ha
Divide and conquer, thats their plan....by dividing us in terms, they create a mental division which we eventually want to disassociate ourselves with. Personally, I love Wahabbi's , Sufi's , Salafi's, all of them ---they all have their pro's and they all have their con's, as we all do. It should not be a cuase for division. Take the good, and leave the bad, why make it an issue??
The calipha's were all so different from each other, yet they were all within Islam. Remeber that, just because someone is different doesn't make them out of the boundries of Islam.
Does Saudi Preach Hatred in the UK and US? An Independent Study
http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/SalafiManhaj_Saudi.pdf
Post a Comment