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I do not- wa-lil-ah al-hamd- conform to any particular sufi order or faqih, nor follow the course of any speculative theologian (mutakalim) or any other Imam for that matter, not even such dignitaries as ibn al-Qayyim, al-Dhahabi, or ibn Kathar, I summon only God, and Only Him as well as observe the path laid by His prophet, God's messenger. (ibn 'Abdul Wahhab)
This reformer was no more distinguished by any abundance, or for that matter originality of thought than the Prophet himself had been. But like the latter he was capable of inspiring his followers and making their sleepless passion for feud useful to his cause. (Carl Brockelmann)
The faith that drives Osama bin Laden and his followers is a particularly austere and conservative brand of Islam known as Wahhabism ... Throughout the sect's history, the Wahhabis have fiercely opposed anything they viewed as bid'a, an Arabic word, usually muttered as a curse, for any change or modernization that deviates from the fundamental teachings of the Qu?dn. (New York Times, Oct. 01)
Notably absent in Western scholarship is a serious study of the eighteenth century Muslim reformer, Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wahhab. This lacuna, I believe, is not accidental. Rather, it reflects the scholarly consensus that the nineteenth century - known as the Arab Renaissance (`Asr- al-Nahda) - is the decisive point of historical departure for modernity. Accordingly, ibn 'Abdul Wahhab is mainly viewed as the legendary mastermind of a "pre-modern," "fundamentalist," "puritanical," "regressive," "violent" political movement and, concomitantly, the inspiration for present-day militant Muslim sects in struggle against modernity.1 Thus, the early Wahhabi movement is depicted as an "ultra-right-wing" reform movement given to violence and armed rebellion, fomenting discord rather than promoting their avowed goal of Muslim unity. Reminiscent of the Kharijite revolt in early Islam, Orientalists argue that the Wahhabis sought to impose reform through intolerant and fanatical methods that instilled in the minds of Muslims the conviction that change was only feasible through violent means.
Gibb maintains that although the Wahhabis' zealotry shocked "the conscience of the Muslim community [then] by the violence and intolerance which they displayed ... its example was the more eagerly followed in other countries as their Muslim governments fell more and more patently under the European...