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Born in 1704, Mohammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, was trained in the most conservative of the four legal traditions of Islam—the Hanbali school—and was profoundly influenced by a fourteenth century theologian named Ibn Taymiyya. Taymiyya argued for a return to the practices of the early Muslim community of the Prophet Muhammad and his first successors, or caliphs. He condemned all mystical practices associated with Sufism as deviations from the true path of Islam. Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab returned home to the Najd with a clear set of beliefs and the ambition to put them into practice.

He put his training into practice when upon returning home, he ordered the execution of a woman accused of adultery. The people of his hometown, disgusted with his teachings which were wildly inconsistent with their interpretation of Islam, pressured their ruler to put him to death. However, Wahhab was exiled instead.

Shortly thereafter, Wahhab would be given refuge by one of his sympathizers and the ruler of the small village of Dir'iyya, Mohammad ibn Saud. The two conservative Muslims forged a agreement which would lay the groundwork for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This agreement would also give rise to Wahhabism as a official religious movement, rather than the beliefs of a rogue extremist.

So what if instead of simply being exiled, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was put to death?
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