Friday, February 04, 2005

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










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