Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad

383 Pages·2004·2.26 MB·English

by  Natana J. Delong-Bas

Wahhabi Islam:
From Revival and
Reform to Global Jihad
NATANA J. DELONG-BAS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Wahhabi Islam
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Wahhabi Islam
From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
natana j delong bas
. -
1
2004
1
Oxford NewYork
Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai
DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata
KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai Nairobi
Sa˜oPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto
Copyright(cid:1)2004byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016
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OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
PublishedintheUKandCommonwealthbyI.B.Tauris&Co.Publishers
6SalemRoad,LondonW24BU
www.ibtauris.com
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
DeLong-Bas,NatanaJ.
WahhabiIslam:fromrevivalandreformtoglobalJihad/
NatanaJ.DeLong-Bas.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-19-516991-3
1. Wahha¯b¯ıyah. 2. Islamicfundamentalism—History.
3. Islam—Doctrines. 4. Muhammudibn(cid:1)Abdal-Wahha˜b,1703or4-1792.
I. Title.
BP195.W2D452004
297.8'14—dc22 2003016382
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
To the glory of God
and in loving memory of two remarkable women
my mother
Grace Ann Toothaker DeLong
(1945–1998)
and my grandmother
Florence Margaret Rohe Toothaker
(1913–2003)
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Preface
ThepoetJohnDonneoncewrotethat“Nomanisanisland.”Simi-
larly,nobookisevertheproductofasingleperson.Thisworkhas
beeninfluencednotonlybythescholarsandactivistsaboutwhomit
iswritten,butalsobyavarietyofscholars,bothAmericanandSa-
udi,whohaveread,commentedon,andcritiquedit.Iwouldliketo
particularlyacknowledgetheseminalrolesofJohnO.VollandJohn
L.Espositoinshapingmythoughtandfortheirencouragementand
supportasIhavesoughttoshatterthestereotypesofWahhabiIs-
lam.JohnL.Espositohasbeeninstrumentalinkeepingmefocused
ontherelevanceofmyhistoricalresearchoncontemporaryissues
andexpandingmyvisiontoencompassamoreglobalunderstand-
ingofthephenomenonofpoliticalIslam.JohnO.Vollhasproven
endlesslyresourceful,knowledgeable,andenthusiasticinappreciat-
ingthevalueofastudyofIbnAbdal-Wahhab’sthoughtwithinthe
variouscontextsofeighteenth-centuryIslamicintellectualhistory,
worldhistory,andIslamicactivisminthecontemporaryera.Thanks
areduetoJudithE.Tuckerforherinsightfulcommentsonandsug-
gestionsforprovidingabroaderframeworkforthechaptersonIs-
lamiclawandwomenandgenderinordertoappreciatebetterIbn
Abdal-Wahhab’scontributionstothesefields.Thanksaredueto
DavidComminsandWilliamOchsenwaldfortheircarefulreviews
ofthechaptersontheologyandjihad.Iamindebtedtothelate
GeorgeMakdisiforhisresearchonHanbalilawandIbnTaymiyya.I
amgratefultoIraLapidusfordiscussionsofeighteenth-centuryhad-
ithcriticism.ThanksareduetoHalaFattahfordiscussionsofGulf
viii preface
historyovertheyears.IamgratefultoAmiraEl-AzharySonbolforsparking
my initial interest in this topic. I am also grateful to my Saudi friends and
colleagues for their insights into and discussions of both Ibn Abd al-Wahhab
andOsamabinLaden.
Thein-depthstudyofIbnAbdal-Wahhabandhiswritingshasbeenmade
possible by the generosity and support of many people. Thanks are due to
Faisal bin Salman, Abd Allah S. al-Uthaymin, and Dr. Fahd al-Semmari, Di-
rector of the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives, in Ri-
yadh, Saudi Arabia, for making the full corpus of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-
Wahhab’s works available to me and to the Center for Muslim-Christian
UnderstandingandtheDepartmentofHistoryatGeorgetownUniversity,the
American Historical Association, and the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation for
ResearchandArchivesfortheirfinancialsupport.
Finally,Iwishtothankthosewhohavebeensupportiveatamorepersonal
level, particularly by entertaining the children in order to give me space for
writing and revisions. I am especially indebted to my “second mother,”Ruth
SlonakerDeLong,whohassteppedintofilltherolesofcherishedfriendand
beloved grandmother; my sister Zedeka, who has always been there in mo-
mentsofcrisisasdeadlinesapproached;ourfriendsAnthony,Ursula,Chantal
and Veronica Woodson and David, Pamela, Marissa and Nicole Helms, who
have spent countless hours entertaining thechildren while I waswritingand
outonthelecturecircuitfollowingtheSeptember11tragedy;andmymother-
in-law, Franc¸oise LeSage Bas, for her assistance with the children during the
summerof2002.
Myownworldviewandfaithhavebeenprofoundlyinfluencedbythemost
importantpeopleinmylife—myfamily.Myfather,theRev.JamesA.DeLong,
hasalwayssetastrongexampleofwhatscholarshipisintendedtobeandhas
been the example and role model I have striven to emulate in my own work
andlife.Mymother,thelateGraceAnnToothakerDeLong,andgrandmother,
thelateFlorenceMargaretRoheToothaker,dedicatedtheirlivestolovingser-
vice of God, community, and family. Their examples of love, encouragement,
and insistence that we be hard-working, faithful, and productive citizens re-
sponsible for giving something back to our societies have had a profound in-
fluenceonmylifeandwork.
Finally, and most importantly, I thank my husband Christophe for his
encouragement, support, and humor in seeing this project through to the
end. His boundless energy, positive attitude, and assistance, both with child
care and the never-ending housework and repairs, have made the experi-
ence bearable for all of us. Our children, Aurora and Gabriel, have tolerated
their mother’s preoccupation with Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Os-
ama bin Laden with patience beyond their years. I am grateful for their
constant reminders of the importance of seizing the opportunities each day
preface ix
has to offer and of their practical reminders of the importance of peace-
keeping, mutual understanding, and the power of dialogue and discussion
in resolving disputes. Raising them full time while completing this book
has been a challenge, but I am grateful for their animated company and
unconditional love.