Wahhabism and the rise of the new Salafists : theology, power and Sunni Islam / Namira Nahouza.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nahouza, Namira, 1979- author.

Series:

Library of modern religion ; 68.

Library of modern religion ; 68

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wahhābīyah.

Physical Description:

xvi, 256 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : I.B. Tauris, [2018].

Summary:

Wahhabism is often described as one of the most conservative branches of Islam and its fundamentalist approach seen as fuelling jihadist extremism. But what is the theological basis of Wahhabism? How do Wahhabi beliefs and doctrine differ from branches of Sunni Islam? While previous scholarship has examined Wahhabism as a political phenomenon, this book turns attention to the complex religious issues that are central to its understanding. Tracing its roots in the 18th century up until the present day, Namira Nahouza shows why the Wahhabi movement has opposed traditional Islamic scholarship on the interpretation of the Qur'an and hadith. Of key importance, Nahouza shows, are the differing beliefs about the oneness of God and God's names and attributes, issues on which both Wahhabi and other Salafi groups are united. Based on extensive research into classical and contemporary Arabic religious sources, Nahouza presents the contours of Sunni theological debate and reveals how the Wahhabi movement became the predecessor to the Salafism we see today.-- Publisher's website.

Contents:

Definition of 'Salaf' p. 3

Definitions taken from Arabic dictionaries, the Qur'an and Hadith p. 3

Salaf as: the first three generations after the Prophet Muhammad p. 4

Salaf as: the central notion in constructing orthodoxy p. 7

The Salaf, the Salafists and the issue of the Attributes of God p. 9

Limitations of the book p. 9

1 Introduction to Islamic Theological Issues p. 11

The origins of the main theological schools p. 11

The importance of the issue of the Attributes of God p. 13

Summary of Ash'ari theological arguments p. 14

'God exists without a place' p. 18

Ambiguous verses and hadiths p. 19

2 Historical Perceptions p. 23

The Salaf and the Attributes of God: perceptions of scholars towards a consensus on the position of the Salaf p. 23

Additional information on excerpts p. 24

al-Bayhaqi (d.1066) p. 26

al-Juwayni (d.1085) p. 27

al-Nasafi (d. 1114) p. 28

al-Shahrastani (d.1153) p. 30

Ibn al-Jawzi (d.1200) p. 31

al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam (d.1262) p. 32

al-Nawawi (d.1277) p. 33

Ibn Khaldun (d.1406) p. 35

Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d.1449) p. 37

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d.1567) p. 38

al-Qari (d.1605) p. 39

al-Bayadi (d.1686) p. 40

al-Murtada al-Zabidi (d.1791) p. 42

Perceptions of opponents to the consensus p. 43

Additional information on excerpts p. 44

Abu Ya'la (d.1066) p. 46

Ibn al-Zaghuni (d.1133) p. 49

Ibn Taymiyya (d.1328) p. 50

al-Dhahabi (d.1348) p. 59

3 Wahhabism: A Historical Overview p. 61

Wahhabism: a short history p. 61

Is there a pre-Wahhabi and post-Wahhabi era? p. 69

The naming of his movement: from Wahhabis to Salafis and to Salafists p. 74

A typology of Salafists p. 78

What was the position of the Wahhabis on the issue of the Attributes of God? p. 80

4 Modern Approaches Since the Rise of Wahhabism p. 82

Since the rise of Wahhabism: a consensus on the position of the Salaf p. 82

Additional information on excerpts p. 84

al-Subki al-Azhari (d.1932) p. 86

al-Dujwi (d.1945) p. 89

al-Zurqani (d.1947) p. 89

al-Quda'i (d.1956) p. 90

al-Dusuqi p. 92

Diyab p. 93

Ibn Marzuq (d.1970) p. 94

Ibn 'Ashur (d.1973) p. 94

al-Harari al-Habashi (d.2008) p. 95

al-Buti (d.2013) p. 96

Recent opposition to this consensus p. 99

Additional information on excerpts p. 100

Ibn Baz (d.1999) p. 101

Muhammad al-'Uthaymin (d.2001) p. 103

al-Fawzan (b.1933) p. 104

al-Hawali (b.1954) p. 107

al-'Awda (b.1955) p. 107

al-Khudayri p. 108

al-Dumayji p. 109

'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Abd al-Khaliq (b.1939) p. 109

IS literature p. 111

Abdullah al-Faisal, a supporter of IS p. 112

5 A Vision of History Opposed to Sunni Islam p. 115

The 'traditional' vision of Islamic history p. 117

Two theological schools, four legal schools p. 118

A long continuum of scholars p. 124

Representing the majority of Muslims p. 126

The Salafists' specific vision of history p. 129

Ash'arism as a misguidance rejected by al-Ash'ari himself p. 130

Notions of rupture p. 139

Numeric superiority is nor decisive p. 142

Referring to 'Sunnism': a word of caution p. 144

6 Case Studies on the Debate Around the Attributes of God and its Consequences p. 148

Presentation of the 'Cyber Islamic Environments' used for these case studies p. 148

Debates on the reality of God in Sunni Islam and on anthropomorphism p. 149

Salafists recuse the accusation of anthropomorphism p. 149

The Sunni Answers blog p. 154

The era of YouTube preachers: the example of Abdul Rahman Hassan p. 158

Some consequences of this debate p. 164

The Khalas blog p. 164

A Christian response to Salafist theology p. 167

The theology of IS and some of its supporters p. 169.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-237) and index.

ISBN:

9781788311427

1788311426

OCLC:

1004833947