Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad
Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad is 2004 a book by academic Natana J. DeLong-Bas, published by Oxford University Press. It is based "on a close study of the 14 volumes" of collected works of Wahhabism's founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and has been called "the first extensive explication of the theology" of Wahhabism.[1]
 | |
| Author | Natana J. DeLong-Bas |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Wahhabism |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | July 15, 2004 |
| ISBN | 0-19-516991-3 |
It is divided into sections: a brief religious biography and history of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, theology, Islamic law, women and Wahhabism, jihad and the evolution of Wahhabism.[2]
Critical reception
Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad has been praised as a "monumental work ... lucid and carefully documented",[3] "often fascinating", and presenting "a nuanced discussion of Wahhab's Quranic interpretation",[1] but also criticized as a "piece of scholarly trash"[4] and of "markedly inferior quality",[5] and guilty of "special pleading".[1]
It has received positive reviews.[6] David E. Long of Middle East Journal who called it a "monumental work ... a lucid and carefully documented assessment of Wahhabism."[3] Sara Powell of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs described it as "...a well-regarded, logically constructed, and considered --if perhaps somewhat sympathetic--analysis of Abd al-Wahhab's beliefs."[7] History magazine called it "a ground-breaking study ... both controversial and informative"[6]
However, others have questioned the book and DeLong-Bas's views on Wahhabism. Author Stephen Suleyman Schwartz has called her an "apologist", criticizing her for among other things, receiving financial support from Saudi Arabia; not including as a source the correspondence of ibn Abd al-Wahhab, "which critics of Wahhabism and other Saudis consider key to understanding him"; and failing to mention the religious and/or governmental background of some Saudi Arabians mentioned in her acknowledgments.[8]
Reviewer Michael J. Ybarra, called the book "often fascinating", and providing "a nuanced discussion of Wahhab's Quranic interpretation", but also complained that she "seems to bend over backward to give Wahhab the benefit of the doubt while dismissing his critics as biased."[1] He also notes that DeLong-Bas "doesn't say ... where on earth" the tolerant form of Wahhabism described by her "ever existed",[4] and that "the voice of Wahhab himself is largely absent from this book" because the author rarely quotes him.[1]
Khaled Abou El Fadl, professor of law at University of California, Los Angeles who writes frequently on Islamic jurisprudence, expressed sorrow that Oxford University Press had published the book, stating "This doesn't qualify as scholarship -- it falls within the general phenomenon of Saudi apologetics."[4]
References
- Ybarra, Michael J. (20 July 2004). "Books. In the Prophet's Name [Review]". wsj.com.
- "Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad. Overview [blurb]". Barnes & Noble.
She focuses on four areas: theology, legal theory, proselytizing through education and jihad, and law on women.
- Long, David E (2005). "Saudi Arabia [review of Wahhabi Islam by Natana DeLong-Bas]". Middle East Journal: 316–19. JSTOR 4330135.
- Kearney, John (8 August 2004). "The real Wahhab". Boston.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- Schwartz, Stephen (Winter 2005). "[Review of] Wahhabi Islam: From Revival to Global Jihad by Natana J. Delong-Bas, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 359 pp. $35". Middle East Quarterly.
- "Wahhabi Islam From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad. Reviews and Awards". Oxford University Press USA. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- Powell, Sara (May–June 2005). "Books [Review] Wahhabi Islam". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- Schwartz, Stephen. "Natana DeLong-Bas: American Professor, Wahhabi Apologist". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
Her book seemed to have been rushed into print with official Saudi support: DeLong-Bas thanked such individuals as Faisal bin Salman, whose status as a Saudi prince she failed to mention; Abd Allah S. al-Uthaymin, son of a notoriously extreme member of the Wahhabi clerical class in the kingdom; and Fahd as-Semmari, director of the King Abd al-Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. She also acknowledged the latter foundation for financial support.
Further reading
- DeLong-Bas, Natana J. (2004). Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (First ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-516991-3.
- ibn Abdul Wahhab, Muhammad (1398h). Kitab al-Tawhid, volume I of Mu'allafat al-Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahahb (First ed.). Riyad: Jamiat al-Imam MUhammad bin Saudi al-Islamiyah.
- Qutb, Sayyid (1988). Milestones (PDF). Karachi: International Islamic Publishers.