Sunday, June 14, 2009

Zwemer on Wahabi Islam


Abd-ul-Wahab was an incarnate whirlwind
of Puritanism against the prevailing
apostasy of the Moslem world. The sect which
he founded and which took its popular name
from him was a protest against Moslem idolatry
and superstition. It stood for no new doctrine,
but called back to the original Islam. Wahabiism
was an attempt at an Arabian reformation.
Yet so far from giving any progressive impulse
to the Mohammedan cult, it has proved the most
reactionary element in the history of Islam.
This purely Semitic and unique movement, with
all its energy, has produced nothing new; it
has been directed exclusively toward the
repristination of the old Moslem monotheism.
The history of the sect shows that a reformation
of the Moslem world by a return to primitive
Islam (in theory and practice) is an
impossibility, even when aided by the sword.

Samuel Zwemer, the Disintegration of Islam, ch 2. (p 77)

4 comments:

From the Middle East said...

Sounds like a great description of fundamental baptists in the Southern U.S.

FrGregACCA said...

Writing from the Southern US:

There are perhaps similarities in kind, but certainly not in degree, FtME. AFAIK, nobody's been beheaded around here recently.

Ibn al-Kashmiri said...

Peace!

"The Disintegration of Islam"... What a comment from a disciple of the Christ! Personnaly, I think that Wahabbism is not only a threat to Islam, but to the entire humanity because of its dangerous tenets...

Peace!

From the Middle East said...

Friar Greg,

My comment was directed more towards how the movement itself has a strong belief that theirs is THE right way to practice and there is little to no validity in other traditions.

But, being from the South and growing up Baptist, I will say that many fundamental baptists I know of are not too far away from supporting the implementation of Old Testament national law in the United States... and that at least would include an increased number of stonings.

That being said, I would agree with you that the overwhelming majority of baptists would not support such behavior and do consider them my brothers and sisters.

Peace to you brother,
From the Middle East