DISCLAIMER: We by no means support any of the ideologies on this page. However, we're providing this page as an educational service.
These ideologies have been influential to radical Islamic movements in contemporary times.
To understand the geopolitics and religious movements of our world today, it is important to study these ideas.
Wahhabism and Salafism
Wahhabism is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar,
theologian, preacher, and activist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c. 1703–1792).
Wahhabism (Wikipedia)
History of Wahhabi Islam (Wikipedia)
Wahhabi History (Britannica)
Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (Book on Amazon)
The Wahhabis seen through European Eyes (1772-1830) (Brill)
KEY PEOPLE IN SAUDI ARABIA
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (Born 1703-Died 1792. In Office from 1744-1773) (Considered to be the founder of the Wahhabi Religious Movement)
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (Wikipedia)
A List of Wahhab's Works (Wikipedia)
Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab: The Man and his Works (Library of Middle East History) (Amazon)
Download the Works of Wahhab (Kalamullah) We cannot vouch for the safety of this site as we have not personally downloaded their content ourselves.
Ibn Taymiyya (Born 1263-Died 1328)
Ibn Taymiyya is a 13th century Sunni Islamic scholar.
He has had an influence on several Islamic movements, including the Salafi/Wahhabi movement.
Ibn Taymiyya (Wikipedia)
LEADERS OF THE SAUDI STATES
Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin (Born 1687-Died 1765, Ruled from 1727-1765) Founder of the First Saudi State
Muhammad bin Saud was the founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, founder of the first Saudi state and the Saud dynasty. He became the local emir of Diriyah in 1727. Diriyah is where he met Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who asked for protection. They formed a historic alliance in 1744. This set in motion the close connection between the Saudi state and the religious Wahhabi movement. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's daughter even married Muhammad bin Saud's son. So the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud and Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab are closely linked.
Muhammad bin Saud initiated a set of attacks against the ruler of Riyadh, but these attacks would last for 28 years, and it was not Muhammad that ended up victorious, but his son, Abdulaziz, who managed to seize Riyadh in 1773.
Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin (Wikipedia)
Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud (Born 1720-Died 1803, Ruled from 1765-1803)
He was nicknamed by his people as the savior of his time (mahdi zamanihi in Arabic) due to what they called his fearless activities and military success. Abdulaziz was also given the titles of both Emir and Imam because of his religious education by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab. And during Abdulaziz's reign, Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab was one of his key advisors.
Abdulaziz led many military campaigns including the capture of Riyadh, upon which it was incorporated into the emirate.
The military victories of Abdulaziz helped spread the influence of Wahhabi teachings.
In 1802, he presided over the sack of Karbala. Karbala is the shrine of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Imam Husayn is an important figure for many Shia muslims, who regard him as the third great imam of their twelve infallible imams. The raid was conducted in retaliation against attacks on Hajj caravans by Iraqi tribes.
Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud (Wikipedia)
Wahhabi sack of Karbala (Wikipedia)
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Born 1748 – Died 1814, Ruled from 1803 – 1814)
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ruled the First Saudi State from 1803 to 1814. It was during this time that Saud annexed Mecca and Medina from the Ottoman Empire, making him the first Al Saud ruler who received the title of The Servant of The Two Holy Cities. During his rule the state experienced a significant level of strength and expansion for which he was called Saud Al Kabeer, or Saud the Great.
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Wikipedia)
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (Born 1785 - Died 1819, Ruled from 1814-1818)
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud was the ruler of the First Saudi State from 1814 to 1818. He was the last ruler of the First Saudi State.
At this time, the Saudi state was the target of an invasion by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman/Egyptian-Saudi War was fought from early 1811 to 1818, between the Ottoman Empire and the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State. Eventually, the First Saudi State would get destroyed and Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud would be executed in Constantinople. Although the Ottomans maintained several garrisons in the Nejd thereafter, they were unable to prevent the rise of the Emirate of Nejd, also known as the Second Saudi State, led by Turki bin Abdullah.
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (Wikipedia)
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Born 1876-Died 1953, Ruled From 1902-1953) Founder of Modern Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Known as Ibn Saud in the West) founded the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reigned as its first king from 1932 until his death in 1953. He used the wealth and influence of the Al Saud house to spread the teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab throughout the newly found kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Wikipedia)
Ibn Taymiyya
Ibn Taymiyya is a 13th century Sunni Islamic scholar.
He has had an influence on several Islamic movements, including the Salafi/Wahhabi movement.
Our Page
Links
Ibn Taymiyya (Wikipedia)
Assessing al-Qaeda from the Teachings of Ibn Taymiyya (E-International Relations)
Works
The Path of Sunnah of The Prophet PDF
The Creed of Al Wasitiyyah PDF
Ibn Taymiyya Books and Essays (Wikipedia)
Abdullah Azzam
Abdullah Azzam was one of Osama Bin Laden's teachers and religious advisors. He is an influential Salafi Jihadist and Palestianian scholar.
He promoted militant jihad on behalf of other Muslims.
Rather than being a fringe figure, he actually had a role as a lecturer at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah Saudi Arabia until 1979.
Azzam's trademark slogan was "Jihad and the rifle alone: no negotiations, no conferences and no dialogues."
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Azzam issued a fatwa declaring that both the Afghan and Palestinian struggles were obligatory jihads for all Muslims.
The edict was supported by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Abd al-Aziz Bin Baz.
He was killed by a car bomb in 1989.
Links
The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad (Buy Book on Amazon)
Article on Book, "The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad" (Tam Hussain)
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (Wikipedia)
"Jihad and the Rifle Alone": 'Abdullah 'Azzam and the Islamist Revolution (Journal of Conflict Studies)
Works
Defense of the Muslim Lands by Shaikh Abdullah Azzam
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam Written Works (Wikipedia)
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb is an Egyptian author, educator, Islamic scholar, theorist, revolutionary, poet, and a leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the 1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser (the head of the Free Officers Movement) overthrew Egypt's pro-Western government.
Then Nasser collaborated with Qutb, asking him for ideas about Islamic Revolution and how to create an Islamic government.
However, once Qutb realized that Nasser planned to oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, Qutb and other Brotherhood members formed an assassination plot against him in 1954.
Nasser was imprisoned for his involvement in the plotting and was kept in prison until 1964. In 1966 he was executed.
Links
The Philosopher of Islamic Terror (Web Archive)
Sayyid Qutb (Wikipedia)
Works
Works (Wikipedia)
Osama Bin Laden Views
Osama Bin Laden (Book on Amazon by Michael Scheuer)
The World according to Usama Bin Laden (Naval War College Review)
Ideology of the Islamic State
The ideology of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) has been described as a mix of Salafism, Salafi Jihadism, and Qutbism (ideas influenced by Sayyid Qutb).
Though in an official statement first released by their leader in 2007 and subsequently updated in 2014, their leader,
Baghdadi, defined the Islamic State as a middle way between the extremist extremist Kharijites and the lax Murji'ites.
They believe that they represent the restoration of the caliphate of early Islam.
Ideology of the Islamic State (Wikipedia)
The Taliban
The Taliban is influenced by the Deobandi school of thought.
Deobandi Islam can be traced to 19th century colonial India.
Deobandi Islam was a reaction against colonial rule. It presented an austere, rigid, pristine vision of Islam.
Since 1979, Deobandi Islam has become influenced by Salafism, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Links
History of the Taliban (Wikipedia)
Taliban’s 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' is based on specific ideology (The World)
Taliban’s religious ideology – Deobandi Islam – has roots in colonial India (The Conversation)
Deobandi Islam (Wikipedia)
Other Content on Islamic Holy War
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (Wikipedia)
Night Letters: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Afghan Islamists Who Changed the World (Buy Book Here on Amazon)
Article on "Night Letters: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Afghan Islamists who Changed the World" (Tam Hussain)
Syed Ahmad Barelvi (Wikipedia)
He promoted jihad against British colonial rule.
Mujahideen (Wikipedia)
This refers to a person who performs jihad.