Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb; The 'Father' of Terror? An Unlikely Defense.

[Agha-Shabbir-Abbas]

Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb; The 'Father' of Terror? An Unlikely Defense.

Shabbir A. Abbas, Graduate Student, Religious Studies - (Islamic Studies + Religion & Conflict)

After the seemingly abrupt rise of ISIS in June of 2014 numerous articles and research papers came about trying to explain to the astonished world who ISIS is ideologically and where they originate from. A common trait among these articles and research papers is the linkage of Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb and his namesake the Wahhābī movement to ISIS [and similar groups] hence Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb is infamously presumed by many as the ‘father of terror’. This paper will investigate as to why this is so and it’s historicity; whether the controversy surrounding the legacy of ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb is justified or not? To do so three aspects of ‘terror’ were of focus in this study: fundamentalism, militancy, and intolerance; and by doing so an attempt was made to try and map the terror of today to its roots, its religious inspiration.

 

A talk I recently gave at Rutgers University based off of a chapter from a lengthy piece I'm working on in relations to ISIS. I'd appreciate the comments/suggestions. 

Jazakum Allahu Khayran