Within Islam, there are sects, namely Sunni and Shi’a, and within those sects are different schools of thought. Salafism (from the word salaf, meaning to “follow” or “precede”) is a movement, rooted in Sunni Islam, based on a literalist, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. These Muslims rely solely on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions as guides for correct Islamic practice. Everything else, they deem impure innovation. Following the same ideology, but specific to Saudi Arabia, is Wahhabism. Wahhabism has a fairly negative connotation within the Western world; however, this sect was highly influential and continues to be esteemed by the royal Saudi family.
This orthodox reform movement was founded by Muhammad ibn Abdel Wahhab, a Salafi scholar, during the eighteenth century in response to “what he perceived as the moral decline of his society” (Blanchard). Abdel Wahhab impacted the Arabian Peninsula through a serious of reforms, aiming to return to and strengthen monotheistic belief and unity under Islam. Before the wide acceptance of his viewpoint, Abdel Wahhab was opposed not only by advocates of “Islamic ignorance”, or jahiliyah, but also scholars. “A major factor was misunderstanding created by defaming forces motivated by political objectives” (Islahi). All of this changed once he gained the support of Muhammad ibn Saud, the emir, or chief, of Dar’iyah, who was revered for his skills as a warrior.
Muhammad ibn Saud had begun his dynasty in 1726 when he ruled over Dara’iyah. He met Abdel Wahhab in 1740 (after Abdel Wahhab was expelled from Uyayna) and was impressed with his strict religious ideals. Although Saud took on a military role and Abdel Wahhab was responsible for strengthening the movem...
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...di government, though the funding of mosques, schools, and charitable organizations, have promoted terrorism and intolerance of other religions and cultures (Blanchard).
Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia are complicated to say the least. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of oil and in order to “protect a stable and cheap supply of oil” coming to the U.S. and our allies, military bases have been set up. Although the U.S. is there to aid Saudi Arabia, “the presence of bases fosters opposition to the regime they are there to protect”—classic catch-22 (Okruhlik).
The term Wahhabi is not commonly used among followers of this sect, but rather by their opponents, such as other Arabs and European scholars. “Members of the movement describe themselves as muwahhidun, […] which means Unitarians” (Islahi). The core of that word, wahid, means “one” (Kamrava).
Livingston, John W., and Al-Jabarti. "The Rise of Shaykh al-Balad 'Ali Bey al-Kabir: A Study in
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
The relations between the U.S and the Middle East are strained at best. The troops deployed in the area face constant threat of attack by a militant group. These broken relations between the U.S and the Middle East started over 50 years ago, with the Iran Hostage Crisis. Root causes of the crisis were many. One was U.S greed over oil in Iran. The second, the coup in Iran organized and funded by the CIA. The U.S dependence on foreign oil is another cause of the problems. Lastly, should the U.S stop moving into other countries sovereign lands and trying to “Prevent the evil of communism”, the nation would not have so many problems around the world. This worry was even shown in Iran (Kinzer, 10). While often blamed on radicals, the strained relations between the U.S and the Middle East are a direct result of a poor US foreign policy.
Prior to the introduction of Islam, the Arabian Peninsula was made of Tribes. Fighting between these tribes was common as resources were scarce. This created a culture based around continuous warfare. According to the text, “The widespread experience of Arabs in warfare was to be a significant factor in the early expansion of Islam” (Cleveland 7). Another factor, which helped in the spread of Islam, was simply timing. These empires emerged at a time when the rest of the world was relatively weak. The two prevailing Empires preceding the rise of Islam, the Byz...
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and the Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
At first, ibn Saud wanted nothing to do with him, however, after a meeting they devised to form a governing partnership wherein Ibn Saud took on the role of political authority and al-Wahhab acted as the religious authority (Amore, 153). This partnership illustrates the intertwining of religion and politics within Saudi
...gely by religious values: Conservative dress, conservative literature, and conservative behavior. Freedom of political and religious expression is not allowed, and diversions like dancing, or movies, activities are almost nonexistence in Saudi Arabia. As it has been for centuries, the cultural and political life of Saudi Arabia continues to be expressed in terms of Islamic principles.
The Fatimid Caliphates were a 10th century Ismacili Shici dynasty that conquered the Ikhshidid dynasty in Egypt. The Fatimids claimed lineage rights from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima; and, existed during the Golden Age of Islam. “Unlike the cAbbasids or Umayyads, who were led by a caliph approved by the community, the Shica espoused the concept of designation, in which the Prophet Muhammad chose Ali as his successor and in which each subsequent religious leader was a divinely ordained, supreme, infallible Imam who had the final authority in both religious and social affairs.” In 909, the Fatimid was established by the self-proclaimed Imam, Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, who migrated his missionary work through the Palestine and Egypt before he finally came to settle in North Africa in the city of Raqqada. Throughout history, there have been differing views towards the establishment and core objectives of the Fatimid dynasty being established for economic or for Islamic progression during the Golden Age of Islam; and further, many claimed there was no separation of religion and government within the Fatimid.
...Arabia is a petrostate. Oil dominates the national economy, international exports, and the nation’s politics. It has greatly shaped what the kingdom is today. Having started out as somewhat of a tourist economy, the kingdom has become a world, monetary power. From their massive amounts of oil and extremely cheap production, the country has been able to gain large amounts of affluence and political power. With its large abundance of oil, the country has been able to profit immensely on sales and spur diplomatic outcomes to their benefit due to the great need of the resource. Without the discovery oil, Saudi Arabia would be of little importance in the modern world, having the Grand Mosque be the extent of its importance. But because of its discovery of oil, Saudi Arabia became of international importance, coming to be one of the greatest assets to world superpowers.
Robinson, T., Seiglie, M., 2008. The Birth and Spread of Islam. Retrieved September 28, 2008 from http://www.ucgstp.org
Johari F. (2010). The Dynamism in The Implementation of Al-Kharaj During The Islamic Rule (634-785AD). Jurnal Syariah, Jil. 18, Bil. 3 (2010) 629-658.
In 1250 the Mamluk rebellion overthrew the Ayyubid house for control of Egypt and named Aybeg, one of the Mamluk regimental leaders, as Sultan. The Mamluks, being a military slave society, were able to defend Syria against the Mongols in 1260 and also subsume the remaining Syria principalities and expel the Crusaders by 1291.1 The unity between Egypy and Syria that the Mamluks were able to achieve was reason that the Mamluk state was the largest Islamic states between the time of the Abbasids and the Ottoman empire.2 Moreover, t...
Muhammad Ibn Abd al- Wahhab(MIAW) was an 18th century Islamic reformer, scholar, jurist and writer. He is considered the first modern Islamic fundamentalist and extremist. He believed in order for Muslims to be “true Muslims” they must adhere, “solely and strictly to the original beliefs set forth by Muhammad.” (ask.com) This idea of his formed what many know today as the controversial Wahhabi movement.