WI: No Wahhabism

[SunKing105]

Wahhabism is an extreme interpretation of Islam founded by Muhammad-ibn-Abd-al-Wahhab that is most prominently endorsed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ideology has influenced the modern history of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East to a great degree, and it has influenced many subsequent movements, from Salafism all the way down to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Without it you could make the argument that the world would be a better place ITTL. What if Wahhab was executed for his unpopular beliefs and subsequently, the Al-Saud clan faded into obscurity? How would it affect the Arabian Peninsula? How would it affect the rest of the Middle East? Could it be more stable than OTL?

 

[TyranicusMaximus]

Do any "Wahhabis" refer to themselves with that term?

 

[Nathan Bernacki]

Do any "Wahhabis" refer to themselves with that term?

No. In fact, they HATE that term. They call themselves Salafists.

What if Wahhab was executed for his unpopular beliefs and subsequently, the Al-Saud clan faded into obscurity? How would it affect the Arabian Peninsula? How would it affect the rest of the Middle East? Could it be more stable than OTL?

I cover this in my 'Cut Off One Head' TL, but i will admit that maybe I stretched plausibility in some areas.

I'll just say this. If Wahhabim doesn't cause Islamic extremism, European colonialism will in the form of creating the conditions leading to the existence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Salafism isn't the only super-conservative school of thought in Islam*, nor did it just come out of nowhere. Something else could just as easily come to replace it.


*there have been quite a few over the centuries. Just as there have in other religions.

 

[Nathan Bernacki]

Salafism isn't the only super-conservative school of thought in Islam*, nor did it just come out of nowhere. Something else could just as easily come to replace it.

Wahhabism was inspired by the works of Ibn Taymiyyah and the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, which derives it's authority from the Qu'ran and the hadith, so a similar ideology coming into existence is highly likely.

In my opinion, the thing about Wahhabism has nothing to do with it's ideology per se, but how it's ideology has affected the geopolitics of the region, by coming in at just the right time to create Saudi Arabia.