Product Description

Before 9/11, few Westerners had heard of Wahhabism. Today, it is a household word. Frequently mentioned in association with Osama bin Laden, Wahhabism is portrayed by the media and public officials as an intolerant, puritanical, militant interpretation of Islam that calls for the wholesale destruction of the West in global jihad.In the first study ever of Wahhabism's founder, Muhammad Ibn al-Wahhab (1702-1791), Natana DeLong-Bas shatters these stereotypes. Her revisionist perspective reveals Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, not as the godfather of contemporary terrorist movements, but rather, as the voice of reform, advocating an Islamic society in which Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed and cooperated. A strong proponent of women's rights, he called for a balance of roles between women and men both within marriage and in access to education and public space.DeLong-Bas details his vision of jihad as strictly limited to self-defence of the Muslim community. Today's extremists like Osama bin Laden do not have their origins in Wahhabism, she shows. Their focus on a cult of martyrdom, the strict division of the world into two necessarily opposing spheres, the wholesale destruction of both civilian life and property, and the call for global jihad are entirely absent from Ibn Abd al Wahhab's writings.This path-breaking book fills an enormous gap in the study of Islamic history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #411949 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Review
"'This is a book of the first importance.' Professor Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 'A groundbreaking book that sets the standard...Wahhabi Islam is must reading for policymakers, scholars, the media and the general public.' Professor John Esposito, Georgetown University 'By amassing so much evidence for her original interpretation... DeLong-Bas opens the way for historians...' Dr. David Commins, author of The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. 'Wahhabi Islam is based on...original texts in modern Riyadh - and very impressive it is.' The Spectator '...it should be required reading for all those really interested in understanding the Wahhabi revival.' Middle East Journal 'A ground-breaking study...'"

The Muslim World Book Reviews

...a major contribution to the study of Islam and its peoples. It is highly
recommended to students and scholars of the modern Muslim world.

About the Author
Natana J. DeLong-Bas is a Research Fellow at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. She is author of Notable Muslims: A Biographical Dictionary and co-author of Women in Muslim Family Law. She has served as editor for and contributor to The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.

Customer Reviews

interesting description of how al-Wahhabi said it is
A thorough description of al-Wahhabi's views on just about everything, including who should be punished for not agreeing with him, and why and how.