Hate Ideology | Wahhabism | American Agenda

BEWARE :If we do not regulate ourselves, some one will.



Mosque is place to go worship Allah, shed the ego by

acknowledging Allahu Akbar and then come out with a

heart filled with compassion, kindness and mercy -

as we recite Bismilla- hir rahma - nir rahim at least 25

times a day. Hope it becomes part of us.



Let's monitor our Mosques ourselves, and each one of us

should guard the language that is spoken at the mosque

if any. Speaker should not spout hate filled speeches,

nor political speeches. There is no room for it.



Here is news item that came from CAIR and below

that is some information about Wahhabi ideology.

Please share it with us if you can find clearer info

about Wahhabism. 



ARE AMERICAN MOSQUES PROMOTING HATE IDEOLOGY?

By Junaid M. Afeef, Altmuslim.com, 2/2/05

http://www.altmuslim.com/news_comments.php?id=1389_0_24_0_C



A new study entitled "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill

American Mosques" (download full .pdf version here) was recently

released by the conservative watchdog organization Freedom House.

Whether the study is accurate or not, it will certainly invite

greater governmental scrutiny on the American-Muslim community.



The stated purpose of the study is to "probe in detail the content

of the Wahhabi ideology that the Saudi government has worked to

propagate through books and other publications within [U.S.]

borders." Its conclusions and recommendations are of vital concern

to the American Muslim community. The American-Muslim leadership in

particular needs to analyze the study and to respond quickly and

effectively.



If this study's conclusions are accurate, then the American-Muslim

community needs to undertake a monumental overhaul of its

institutions and the management of its resources and infrastructure.

On the other hand, if there are errors, inaccuracies, methodological

problems or additional relevant facts not considered in the study,

then it behooves the American-Muslim leadership to correct the

record…



========= WAHHABISM ===========

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabi



Wahhabism (sometimes spelled Wahabbism or Wahabism) is a movement of

Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). It is a

fundamentalist sect which branched off of the Sunni form of Islam

and has become an object of increased interest because it is the

major sect of the government and society of oil-rich Saudi Arabia,

and claimed to be followed by Osama bin Laden, who was raised in

Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is an offending synonym for one form of

Salafism.

N.B.: There is a difference between Salafists and Wahhabists.

Wahhabists follow the Hanbali school while Salafists reject all four

schools.



Osama bin Laden's recent alliance with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a

presumed Salafi, at least shows his Salafi tendencies. Late great

scholars of Wahhabsim declared bin Laden to be Khawarij and thus not

belonging to the Salafi methodology. Some traditional Sunni scholars

claim that Osama bin Laden is from the Qutbist branch of Salafism

and not the Wahhabi branch. This is the view of some of those

affiliated with the Islamic Supreme Council of America.



Origin of the term "Wahhabi"

The term "Wahhab" is derived from its founder Muhammad ibn Abdul

Wahab - although wahhabis link it to Al-Wahhab: a name of Allah in

Islam.



Many Wahhabi Muslims do not approve of this name. Historically,

members of this movement call themselves al-Muwahhiddun, ("the

monotheists") or al-Ikhwan ("the brethren"). (The name al-Muwahhidun

should not be confused with the 12th century al-Muwahhidun movement

and dynasty of Morocco.)



The Wahhabis claim to call to the way of the "Salaf as-Salih",

the 'rightly guided or pious predecessors' as understood mainly by

Ibn Taimiyya and later by Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahab and his followers.



They are also known as Salafis, i.e. people who are upon the way of

the pious predecessors



Texts

Wahhabism follows Islam, so the Quran and the Hadiths are its basic

text. It also uses explanations of Quran and Hadiths from the

writings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, from such books as Kitab al-Tawhid

(Arabic, "Book of Monotheism") and works of scholars before him such

as Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328).



Origin

Wahhabi theology advocates a fundamentalist and legalistic stance in

matters of faith and religious practice.



Wahhabism traces its origins and call all the way back to Prophet

Mohammed and his Companions. They see their role as a movement to

restore Islam from what they perceive to be innovations,

superstitions, deviances, heresies and idolatries. During the time

of Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhab, whose prominence gave name to this

movement, there were many practices that they believed were contrary

to Islam, such as:



That invoking any prophet, saint or angel in prayer, other than

Allah alone, is polytheism

Grave worship, whether to saints' graves, or the prophet's grave

Celebrating annual feasts for dead saints

Wearing of charms, and believing in their healing power

Practicing magic, or going to sorcerers or witches seeking healing

Innovation in matters of religion (e.g. new methods of worship)

Erecting elaborate monuments over any grave

The opponents argue that these practices have adequate proofs from

the Qur'an and Sunnah and have been accepted by Sunni scholars since

the early days of Islam. They also see grave worship as

intermediation (tawassul), and claim this is accepted and called for

practice in Islam.



Criticism

Wahhabism is often maligned and attacked by adherents of ahlussunnah

i.e. the Ash'ari and Maturidis as being anthropomorphist



Some critiques of Wahhabism are as follows:



They are fundamentalist and violent

Since they developed within a desert and tribal environment, not in

a metropolis, they are affected by that environment. They were

confined to tribal customs and practices in many areas, for example,

the minority view of women having to cover their face becomes the

only valid view, despite centuries of scholars from sound Sunni

madhahib of Islam saying otherwise.



Having not been exposed to non-Muslims, or to a more vibrant and

open society (such as a metropolis), their views are not favorable

towards non-Muslims, and depend mainly on hearsay. Ironically, they

are the fastest growing Muslim way in western countries.

They are literalist and legalistic to the extreme. They lack

flexibility.



Many Sunni Muslims criticise Wahhabism for its lack of flexibility

and general intolerance towards other religions and even towards

other Muslim sects. A number of moderate Islamic groups have

publicly condemned Wahhabism as being a distortion of historic Islam.



Early history of Wahhabism

Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia began with a surge of reformers seeking to

reclaim orthodox Islam from innovation by various sects of Sunni

Muslims. In the 18th century, it spread in Najd along with the

expansion of the First Saudi State under Muhammad bin Saud and his

successors.



Modern spread of Wahhabism

Wahhabism is the official form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. In 1924 the

Wahhabi al-Saud dynasty conquered Mecca and Medina, cities holy to

Muslims, creating the Saudi state. The spread of Wahhabi Islam has

been facilitated by Saudi oil revenues; Saudi laypeople, government

officials and clerics have donated many tens of millions of dollars

to create Wahhabi-oriented religious schools, newspapers and

outreach organizations.



Some Wahhabis believe that many Muslim Brotherhood scholars — Sayyed

Qutb and Yusuf al-Qaradawi are sometimes cited — are corrupted due

to their innovations in Islam, and their call to revolution and

rebellion against the rulers of Muslim countries. For the same

reason, they often hold that Osama bin Laden is not a true Wahhabi,

but a Qutbee (follower of Sayyed Qutb), due to his rebellion against

the rulers of Saudi Arabia.



Wahhabis ban pictures, photographs, musical instruments, singing,

video, suicide bombings, and celebrating Mohammed's birthday, among

many other things, based on their interpretation of the hadiths

(classical collections of sayings) of Mohammad.



Many contend that Wahhabism is or has become a dominant form of

Islam through proselytization driven by Saudi funding; others

contend that its influence is less widespread and that the practice

and observance of Wahhabism and the political manifestations that

flow therefrom are more nuanced than its most doctrinaire

interpretations.



Differences between Wahhabis and traditional Sunni Muslims

There are three main differences between Wahhabi Muslims and Sunni

Muslims. These three differences are jurispudence (fiqh), beliefs

(aqeedah), and sufism (tassawuf). Wahhabi Muslims do not believe in

blind following (taqleed) of one of the 4 mainstream schools of

Sunni Islamic law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali; while Sunnis

hold this necessary and essential. In beliefs, Wahhabi Muslims take

the entire Qur'an literally, even statements such as "Allah's hand"

and therefore have anthropomorphic tendencies. Sunni Muslims either

take these statements with figurative interpretations or use the

principle of "billa kayf" or "without asking how." Wahhabi Muslims

hold Sufism as gross innovation, even going as far as calling many

Sufis pagans while Sunni Muslims hold Sufism is an essential part of

Islam.



External links

The Wahhabi Myth (http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/salafism.htm)

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia article

(http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=407522)

A Correction Of Misunderstandings Found In Non-Arabic Sources About

The Movement Of Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahhab - A compendium of

Wahhabi apologetics targeted to Muslims

(http://www.ahya.org/amm/modules.php?

name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=126)

A discussion of alleged Wahhabi anthropomorphism

(http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/inthesky.htm)

1911 Encyclopedia article on Wahhabis

(http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/W/WA/WAHHABIS.htm)

Wahhabism by Ayatullah Ja'far Subhani offers a Shia view (http://al-

islam.org/wahhabism/)

A Western view of Wahhabism

(http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/gulf/wahhabi.htm)

Anti Wahabi's

(http://www.geocities.com/~abdulwahid/muslimarticles/dogs.html)

The Differences between Salafis, Wahhabis, and Qutbists

(http://www.sunnah.org/articles/Wahhabiarticleedit.htm)

Wahhabism Exposed (http://www.sultan.org/articles/wahabism.html)

Wahhabism and the Illusion of a Golden Age by Sadik H. Kassim MWU!

Article

(http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2004/09/002347print.php)

See also

Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab



===========  AMERICAN MUSLIM AGENDA ============



At the American Muslim Agenda, we are focused on ways and means of

increasing our participation in all aspects of American Life.  Each

one of us, Muslims in general and Immigrant Muslims in particular

should develop a sense of belonging, a feeling within us that this

is my home and this is my country. And whatever I do, I will do it

for the well being of my country, and everything I do is good for

America and good for every American. Our goal is to seek ideas and

make efforts towards solutions to ensure continuance of a strong

sense of grounding in America, our homeland.



Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) set the example of good citizenship early on

in his life. He was respected immensely by the people of Makkah, non-

Muslims at that time. The Makkans placed their trust in him and

believed him to say nothing but the truth and honored him with the

title "Amin". Every Muslim's conscience ought to be consciously set

up to be the Amin, the truthful, the trustworthy. We resolve to

become "Amin" to everyone in America, and hope to accomplish

spiritual success and earn our place in our homeland. An

overwhelming majority of us are Amin's, we need to up-this to 100%.

It will give us the deserved sense of security, peace and prosperity.



On this forum, we request you to be completely open minded and look

to the negative postings as "a request to know the truth". We will

post all ideas from fanatics of the divide to the intellectuals. If

we want to solve the problems, we'd better learn all aspects of an

issue, so we can find comprehensive long lasting solutions.



Islam bashing is guaranteed to make money and every writer and media

reporter is cashing on it. They are highlighting the fringe elements

to create a bad impression of Muslims. Some day I hope, the

conscience of these guys catches up with them and hope they will ask

Lord's forgiveness for taking advantage and cashing in on unduly

putting Muslims on a disadvangate, and hope they are forgiven. Law

of Karma always works, in Urdu there is saying " Jaisi Karni waisi

bharni" as you do, so you reap.



There is no doubt we have bad Muslims among us, but so are the bad

people in every faith. It is not the religion, it is the bad

individuals. We need to communicate this effectively.



A full blown portal is being developed www.AmericanMuslimAgenda.Com

and will be ready for launch in a few months. I feel confident that

you will make some additional efforts to uplift the image of Islam -

if you know someone who may contribute to the ideas, please ask them

to send the email to be added to the list, on the other hand, if you

wish to withdraw from participation kindly let me know.



You are welcome to invite your friends to join:

AmericanMuslimAgenda@yahoogroups.com

AmericanMuslimAgenda-subscribe@yahoogroups.com



Thank you.

Mike Ghouse