Wahhabi

Wah·ha·bi

or Wa·ha·bi (wä-hä′bē)n. pl. Wah·ha·bis or Wa·ha·bis A member of a Muslim sect founded by Abdul Wahhab (1703-1792), known for its strict observance of the Koran and flourishing mainly in Arabia.

Wah·ha′bism (-bĭz′əm) n.

Wahhabi

(wəˈhɑːbɪ) or

Wahabi

n, pl -bis (Islam) a member of a strictly conservative Muslim sect founded in the 18th century with the aim of eliminating all innovations later than the 3rd century of Islam Wahˈhabism, Waˈhabism n

Wah•ha•bi

or Wa•ha•bi

(wəˈhɑ bi, wɑ-)

also Wah•ha•bite

(-baɪt)

n., pl. -bis also -bites. a member of a conservative Muslim group founded orig. by followers of ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–92). [1800–10; < Arabic, =‘Abd al-Wahhab + -ī suffix of appurtenance]

Thesaurus

Noun

Wahhabi - a member of a strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect from Saudi Arabia; strives to purify Islamic beliefs and rejects any innovation occurring after the 3rd century of Islam; "Osama bin Laden is said to be a Wahhabi Muslim"WahabiMoslem, Muslim - a believer in or follower of Islam

Wahhabi

Wahabi

(wähä`bē), reform movement in IslamIslam
, [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who submits].
..... Click the link for more information. , originating in Arabia; adherents of the movement usually refer to themselves as Muwahhidun [unitarians]. It was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab (c.1703–1791), who was influenced by Ibn TaymiyyaIbn Taymiyya, Taqiyy ad-Din Ahmad
, 1263–1328, Muslim theologian and jurist. He lived in Damascus after the collapse of the central caliphate to the Mongol invasion from the East, and during the continuous threat of Christendom from the North and West.
..... Click the link for more information. and taught that all accretions to Islam after the 3d cent. of the Muslim era—i.e., after c.950—were spurious and must be expunged. This view, involving essentially a purification of the Sunni sect, regarded the veneration of saints, ostentation in worship, and luxurious living as the chief evils. Accordingly, Wahhabi mosques are simple and without minarets, and the adherents dress plainly and do not smoke tobacco or hashish.

Driven from Medina for his preaching, the founder of the Wahhabi sect went into the NE Nejd and converted the Saud tribe. The Saudi sheik, convinced that it was his religious mission to wage holy war (jihad) against all other forms of Islam, began the conquest of his neighbors in c.1763. By 1811 the Wahhabis ruled all Arabia, except Yemen, from their capital at Riyadh. The Ottoman sultan, nominally suzerain over Arabia, had vainly sent out expeditions to crush them. Only when the sultan called on Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali,
1769?–1849, pasha of Egypt after 1805. He was a common soldier who rose to leadership by his military skill and political acumen. In 1799 he commanded a Turkish army in an unsuccessful attempt to drive Napoleon from Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information. of Egypt for aid did he meet success; by 1818 the Wahhabis were driven into the desert.

In the Nejd the Wahhabis collected their power again and from 1821 to 1833 gained control over the Persian Gulf coast of Arabia. The domain thereafter steadily weakened; Riyadh was lost in 1884, and in 1889 the Saud family fled for refuge into the neighboring state of Kuwait. The Wahhabi movement was to enjoy its third triumph when Ibn SaudIbn Saud
(Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud) , c.1880–1953, founder of Saudi Arabia and its first king. His family, with its regular seat at Riyadh in the Nejd, were the traditional leaders of the ultraorthodox Wahhabi movement in Islam.
..... Click the link for more information. advanced from his capture of Riyadh in 1902 to the reconstitution in 1932 of nearly all his ancestral domain under the name Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
, officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2015 est. pop. 27,752,000), 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), comprising most of the Arabian peninsula. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea; on the east by the Persian Gulf, Qatar, and the
..... Click the link for more information. , where it remains dominant. Wahhabism served as an inspiration to other Islamic reform movements from India and Sumatra to North Africa and Sudan, and during the 20th cent. has influenced the Taliban of Aghanistan and Islamist movements elsewhere.

Wahhabi

Wah·ha·bi

Wahhabi

Wahabi

Wah•ha•bi

or Wa•ha•bi

also Wah•ha•bite

Wahhabi

Wahhabi

Wahabi

Wahhabi

Synonyms for Wahhabi

noun a member of a strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect from Saudi Arabia

Synonyms

Related Words