Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

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TheWahhabia Movement: The True Image

This text, prepared and published by Al-Ghadeer Center for Islamic Studies and translated byHamid S.Atiyyah , reveals the facts about theWahhabia doctrine and sheds lights on its origins, school of thought, and relation with other sects of Islam.

Translator(s):Hamid S.Atiyyah

Prepared and Published: Al-Ghadeer Center for Islamic Studies

www.alhassanain.org/english

Notice:

This versionis published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The composing errorsare not corrected .

Table of Contents

1- Al-Wahhabia and Its Founder 5

2- Origins of Wahhabi Thought 6

3- Sources of Wahhabi Thought 7

4- The Wahhabi doctrine on the Prophet Companions 9

5- The Wahhabi doctrine regarding divine attributes 10

6- The Wahhabi and Muslim: The Wahhabi bida'(corruption) 11

7- The Wahhabi and the Khawarij 12

8- The Wahhabi and the Ghulat (Extremists) 15

9- Whom does the Wahhabi serve? 16

10- The true faith regarding visiting the Prophet's tomb and asking for his intercession 18

11- Anti Wahhabia books 20

Endnotes 22

1- Al-Wahhabia and Its Founder

TheWahhabi sectwas founded by Muhammadibn AbdulWahab ibn Suleiman al-Najdi (1111 - 1206 AH.). After obtaining fundamental religioustraining he developed a special interest in books on false Prophets such asMusailama al-Kathab ,Sajah al-Aswad al-An'si andTulaiha al-Assadi . In the early period of his scholarship his father and tutors became aware of his deviant thinking and this led them to warn people of him by saying: “This man will go astray and will mislead those whom Allah wish to keep distant [from Him] and torment.”

In 1143 AH. Muhammadibn AbdulWahab called upon the people of Najd to follow his new doctrine. However, his father and religiousteachers rehmently opposed him and publicly refuted his ideas. Consequently, his mission remained unpopular until his father's death ten years later. At thattime he resumed his preaching and a small group of villagers followed him. Most of the villagerswere, however, incensed by this and tried to kill him .

He was thus, forced to flee to another town,Uyayna , where he won thefavour of its ruler by marrying his sister. He remained there preaching his new doctrines until the indignant population drove him out. In al-Daria in easternNajid he finally found permanent refuge.

As a historicalfootnote it should be remembered that this was the land of the false prophetMusailama and the birthplace of therada orapostatsy movement after the Prophet's death.Ibn AbdulWahab's ideas fell on fertile ground in the town of al-Daria and its ruler, Muhammadibn Saud, and most of its inhabitants converted to the new doctrine.

At thattime Ibn AbdulWahab behaved as if he had absolute monopoly overijtihad , i.e. the ability to arrive at logical deductions on religious questions. In reality however,Ibn AbdulWahab lacked the basic prerequisites that could qualify him to the rank ofijtihad . This was the opinion of his brother; Sulaiman , who knew him closely and authored a book refuting his brother's invocation and demonstrating its falsehood. His book includes the following passage which concisely sums up theWahhabia and its founder:1

At present peopleare plagued by someone who claims to follow the Holy Quran and al-Sunna (the Prophet Tradition) and dares to deduce from their teachings paying no heed to any opposition. Because anyone who opposes him [he calls] a heretic although he possesses none of the qualifications of themujtahedeen - and,I swear by Allah, not even one tenth of one of these qualifications. In spite of this, his teachings have attracted many simpletons. To Allah we belong and shall return.

2- Origins ofWahhabi Thought

TheWahhabi sect has two basic tenets, a declaredtenet and a hidden one. The declared tenet is commitment to divine unity and opposition to idolatry and paganism.But as we shall see later, this commitment is not confirmed by the actual history of theWahhabi .

The hidden tenet is sowing the seeds of schism, discord,conflict and war among Muslims to serve the goals of foreign domination. This is the realpurpose which theWahhabia has sought to achieve since its inception and until the present day. This means that the declared objective or tenet served only to impress followers and enlist their efforts in achieving the real objective.

Undoubtedly the slogan of reviving the concept of divine unity and opposing idolatry has its attraction, and followers can be expected to rally around it with enthusiasm but without being aware that it is only a camouflage for the real hidden purpose.

Experts on the history of theWahhabia confirm that the movementwas originally established upon an order by the British colonial administration. The list of authoritative sources supporting this conclusion is long and includes Saint JohnPhilpy in The History of Najd,Khairi Hamad in The Pillars of Colonialism,Hamaion Himáyati in Al-Wahhabi Criticism and Analysis, and finally,Haiem Wiseman, the first prime minister of the Jewish entity in Palestine in his memoirs.

3- Sources ofWahhabi Thought

TheWahhabi sect classified doctrines into two categories. The first category includes all those doctrines based on a text in the Quran or the Prophet Tradition. They claimed that such doctrinescan be derived from these two sources directly and without resorting to the logical deductions of religious scholars regarding their meaning - even if these sources happen to be the Prophet's Companions, early Muslims or other scholars.

The second category includes alldoctrines which are not based on aQuranic or Prophetic text, and in such cases theWahhabis claim that they defer to the teachings and jurisprudence of Imam Ahmedibn Hanbal andIbn Taimia .

Regretably , they failed in both categories by falling into contradictions and making gross errors of judgment as the following points show:

1. They relied entirely on interpretations based on the literal meaning of the texts, and thus they contradicted basic tenets andijam , the consensus of religious scholars. This is why the Egyptian religious scholar of the last century, MuhammadAbdo , described them as worse than those who follow others blindly because they “believe that the literal meanings must be endorsed and adhered to without paying heed to the basic tenets on which religion is based.” 2

2. They contradicted Ahmedibn Hanbal clearly and openly in pronouncing as blasphemers and heretics Muslims who disagreed with them though none ofIbn Hanbal's religious decreessupport this. According toIbn Hanbal , only a Muslim who intentionally refuses to perform obligatory prayerscan be called a blasphemer or heretic.

Similarly, no support for thisWahhabi beliefcan be found in the works ofIbn Taimia . Indeed,Ibn Taimia opposed such thinking. He maintained that “whoever approved of those in agreement with him and condemned those who opposed him, created schisms in the ranks of Muslims, labeled those who disagreed with him regarding points of opinion and logical deduction as heretics, and approved waging was on them is a person who seeks to divide and create discord.” This description byIbn Taimia fits theWahhabis completely.3

3. If theWahhabi doctrine on visiting shrines is endorsed then Imam Ahmedibn Hanbal and all his followers areidolators who must be denounced and their lives and possessions legally forfeited. This is in view of a report by none other thanIbn Taimia that ImamIbn Hanbal wrote a treatise on visiting the shrine of Imam al-Hussain ibn Ali (the grandson of the Prophet) atKerbala with specific instructions for visitors.Ibn Taimia commented on this that «people at the time of Imam Ahmed [ibn Hanbal ] frequented [the shrine].» 4

But theWahhabi creed considers making a journey to a shrine for the purpose of visiting it a form of idolatry which deserve the extreme punishment of loss of life and possessions. In effect, they condemned Imam Ahmed, his contemporaries and early Muslims who practiced this ritual and condoned it asidolators whomust be put to death and their possessions confiscated. Furthermore, thisWahhabi decree must also extend to the

Prophet Companions who approved or performed this ritual. Their claim to be followers of Imam Ahmed is thus unfounded.

The same argument applies also to their belief regarding asking for the Prophet's intercession. According to this, whoever asks for the Prophet intercession after the Prophet's death is committing a cardinal idolatry. They argue that by performing such an act, a person treats the Prophet as an idol and worships him instead of Allah. According, they considered killing such a person and confiscating his possessions a religious duty.5

ThisWahhabi doctrine runs contrary to the practice of asking for the Prophet's intercession performed by a large number of his prominent Companions and early Muslims - whose requests, the subjects of these intercessions,were usually granted .Ibn Taimia has confirmed this in his book Al-Ziara on the bases of evidence by several authorities including al-Baihaqi , al-Tabarani , Ahmedibn Hanbal andIbn Abi al-Dunia.6 Nevertheless,Ibn Taimia chose to go against these authorities by banning the call for intercession. Unlike theWahhabi , however, he refrained from calling it a cardinal act of idolatry.

To repeat, if theWahhabi doctrine regarding intercession is endorsed then all the Companions and early Muslims who practiced itmust be considered idolaters who deserve to be put to death. Not only those are idolaters, according to theWahhabi , but also anyone who knew about this practice and refrained from opposing it and condemning those who performed it as heretics. These alsomust be executed and their possessions forfeited. In the final analysis, all early Muslims deserve such a sentence leaving none whom theWahhabi could regard as the model to emulate.

4- TheWahhabi doctrine on the Prophet Companions

1. As indicated earlier, theWahhabi effectively charged most of the Prophet Companions with idolatry and heresy because they continued, after the Prophet's death, to allow asking for his intercession and visiting his tomb. They also included in this category all those who condoned this practice or knew about it and did not brand it as an idolatry andheresy which is punishable by death and loss of possessions.

This is their truedoctrine which contradicts their claim of holding the Prophet's Companions in the highest position.

2. TheWahhabi went further than this by directly attacking the Companions who followed the Prophet. Muhammadibn AbdulWahab , the founder of theWahhabi sect, asserted that:

.. a group of Companions who fought with the Prophet, prayed, paid alms, fasted and made pilgrimage with him were, in fact, heretics and distant from Islam.7

3. It is unsurprising, therefore, for theWahhabi writers and scholars to go to an extreme in defendingYazid ibn Muawiya8 whose deedsaltest to his animosity to the Companions.It wasYazid's army who sacked al-Medina at al-Hara battle in which countless Companions were murdered and their women raped. Itis reported that in the aftermath of this one thousand unwed girls became pregnant.

Before that,Yazid's soldiers had committed the atrocious crime of murdering eighteen members of the Prophet Household atKerbala including his grandson, al-Hussain , a number of his brothers, and their sons including children and newborn infants.

During the reign ofYazid also, Meccawas sacked and Al-Kaba set on fire. In spite of these, theWahhabi applaud Yazid in their writings which can only mean that they condone his deeds. They also blatantly ignore the documented accounts confirming thatYazid did not perform obligatory prayers and drank alcohol. For these transgressions alone, they should have declared him a heretic in accordance with Imam Ahmed'steachings which they claim to follow. Instead ofthis they praiseYazid and condemn all those who ask for the Prophet's intercession including the Companions as heretics.

5- TheWahhabi doctrine regarding divine attributes

TheWahhabi doctrine on Allah's attributes is the same as that of al- Mujasima:9 They claim that Allah possesses actual organs such as a hand, a leg, an eye and a face. They also describe him as literallysiting , moving, changing position,descending and ascending.10

Thisdoctrine which they borrowed fromIbn Taimia originated with theHoshawia who lacked profound knowledge of Islamic tenets and teachings. TheHashawia endorsed the literal meanings of religious texts and theirtajseem is similar to that of some Jewish denominations.

TheWahhabis failed to support this belief with a single testimony by any of the Companions or early Muslims.But this did not deter them from claiming that this belief represents the consensus of early Muslims. In any case, their argument in defense of their belief regarding divine attributes lacks logical substance and hence it is unconvincing.

To justify their belief, however, theWahhabis relied entirely on a statement byIbn Taimia who claimed that after reviewing all available commentaries by the Companions and the traditions reported by them and collected from several sources which amounted to more than 100 commentaries he could not find a single evidence from one Companion interpreting the attributes' verses in variance with their literal meanings.11

This allegation repeated byIbn Taimia is false andwas clearly refuted by the same sources whose authenticity and reliability were confirmed byIbn Taimia himself. These sources include the commentaries of al-Tabari ,Ibn Atia and al-Bagawi.12

All of these sources reported that the Companions interpreted theQuranic verses on Allah's attributes and did not endorse their literal meanings. To illustrate,Ayat al-Kursi or Chair versewas interpreted by Al-Tabari ,Ibn Atia and al-Bagawi by referring toIbn Abbas ' comment that the chair means Allah's knowledge.Ibn Atia upheld this and regarded any other interpretation to be of Jewish orHashawi origin which must be ignored.13

In the same fashion, Allah's 'face' is interpreted in all verses in which mention of it is found as purpose, recompense or other meanings depending on its context. Anyone can check al-Bagawi's commentary which Ibn Taimia praised as utterly reliable to find out for himself thatIbn Taimia's claim is unfounded. In specific, al-Bagawi's commentaries on the following verses may be consulted: The Cow: 115,255 and 272; Thunder: 22; The Narratives: 88; The Romans: 38, 39; The Man: 9; and the Night: 2. From this evidence it can be concluded that the companions did not support theWahhabi's doctrine on divine attributes.

6- TheWahhabi and Muslim: TheWahhabi bida '(corruption)

TheWahhabis believe that they are the only true Muslims because they uphold divine unity while other Muslims are idolaters who deserve to lose their lives and possessions. According to them, a person must not be considered a Muslim even if he pronounces al-Shahadatain , the two testimonies, that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his apostle ifhe also believes that he could be blessed by visiting the Prophet's mosque and ask for his intercession.

They maintain that any Muslim who professes such beliefs is an idolater whose idolatry is a worse kind than that of Pre-Islamic people who worshipped idols and planets.

In his bookKashful al-Shubuhat , Muhammadibn AbdulWahab called all Muslims, with the exception of his followers, idolaters about 24 times. Other labels he used to describe themwere: heretics, idols' worshippers apostates, anti-divine unity, enemies of divine unity, Allah's enemies and perfidious Muslims in 20 different parts of the same book. His followers copied him in this practice.14

It is essential to askhere if this doctrine was truly based on a consensus of learned scholars or is it aWahhabi bida ' or corruption?Ibn Hazim , the well- known Sunni scholar,asserted that «a Muslimcan not be called a heretic or a sinner on the bases of his opinions whether made in the form of a doctrine or a religious decree. After mentioning numerous religious scholars who endorsed this viewpoint he concluded that it was the consensus of all Companions who commented on it.» 15

According toIbn Taimia only theKhawarij judged other Muslims to be heretics on the bases of their sins and learned opinions or deductions.16 As such, theWahhabis have no precedent supporting thisbida ' except the infamousKhawarij .

7- TheWahhabi and theKhawarij

Surprising, there are many similarities between theWahhabi and theKhawarij which distinguish them from the rest of the Muslim. Some of these common points follow.

1. TheKhawarij disagreed with all Muslims by maintaining that whoever commits a cardinal sin is a heretic. TheWahhabis copied them by equating heresy with committing what they consideredto be sins.17

2. TheKhawarij decreed that if committing cardinal sins become common in a Muslim land then it deserved to be considereddar harb ,literally a land of war and those who live in it forfeit their lives and possessions.

This is also theWahhabi's verdict on the nation of Islam if they believe that it is permissible to travel to the Prophet's tomb and the shrines of pious men and ask for their intercession with Allah, though they worship only Allah and perform good deeds.

It is clear from the previous two points that theWahhabis are more disruptive and evil than theKhawarij While thekhawarij based their verdict of heresy on deeds that all Muslims agreed on being cardinal sins, theWahhabis choseacts which are not actually sins butfavourable deeds performed by devout early Muslims including the Prophet's Companions.

3. TheWahhabis and theKhawarij are similar in their strict application of religion and their ossified interpretations of its doctrines.Thus when theKhawarij read theQuranic verse: «Judgment belongs to Allah» they said that whoever allowed resort to settlement is anidolator . 'There is no judgment but Allah's' became their slogan.And though it is indisputable it was misapplied to justify their deviant ways. This attitude illustrates their ignorance of Islam and rigid thinking since the principle of settlement of dispute through adjudicator orthird-party intervention was established by the Holy Quran, the Prophet's Tradition and the deeds of the Companions and early Muslims . Itis also supported by common logic.

Similarly, theWahhabis interpreted the following verses:

«You alone we worship andYou alone we pray for help».18

«Who is he that can intercede with Him but by His own permission».19

No intercession shall avail with Him but that which He Himselfallow ».20

To mean that anyone who justifies visiting the Prophet's Mosque or the shrines of pious Muslim and ask for their intercession is anidolator . They considered such acts as tantamount to worshipping the Prophet or those pious Muslims instead of Allah. Accordingly, they declared that there is no deity but Allah and there is no intercession except His.

While these heated declarations are indisputable, the intentions behind them are open to suspicions. TheWahhabis chose to ignore the tradition established by the Companions and early Muslims regarding the legality of visiting the Prophet's Mosque and other shrines and asking for intercession.

4.Ibn Taimia observed that the deviant group theKhawarij was the firstbida ' or corruption in Islam because its followers judged other Muslims as heretics and legalized killing them.21

It can be added that theWahhabia , and for the same reason, is the lastbida ' in Islam.

5. Some of the Prophet's comments on the rise of theKhawarij and their deviation from Islam also apply to theWahhabis . Consider, for example, the Prophet's saying that: «a group of people shall emerge from the east who reads the Quran without understanding it. They shall deviate from it like an arrow missing its target. Shaving the head shall be their distinguishing characteristic.» 22 In commenting on this saying, al-Qastalani said that «'due east' means east of al-Medina such asNajid and further.» 23

Najid is the birthplace ofWahhabia from which it spread to other places.Also , shaving their heads was one of theWahhabis ' established tradition which was mandatory for all their followers including women. None of the deviant groups who predated themwas known to impose it. Some of the religious scholars who witnessed the rise of this movement maintained that there is no need to write books to refute theWahhabia because it is sufficient to repeat the Prophet's saying that 'Shaving the head is their distinguishing characteristic,' since none has done it before them.24

6. The Prophet described theKhawarij as «those who will slaughter Muslims and leave the pagans unharmed.» This also applies to theWahhabis who fought only Muslims. Their scholars and books also call for waging war on other Muslims only.25

7. Al-Bukhari reported thatIbn Omar described theKhawarij as «having applied verses revealed regarding pagans to the believers.»26 Ibn Abbas is reported to have said on the same subject:

Don't be like theKhawarij who interpreted some [verses] of the Quran to apply to the faithful. Those verseswere revealed regarding followers of other divine messages and pagans. TheKhawarij were ignorant of their meanings and as aresult they killed [Muslims] and looted their possessions.

TheWahhabis followed suit by applying verses revealed in the case of idolaters to the believers.

8. We can now imagine the following dialogue between a Sunni and aWahhabi :

-TheWahhabi : TheHanabila [i.e. followers of ImamIbn Hanbal ] books are also ours. Which of these books do you disapproveof ? If you indeed have something against them then you must cite their books and not their critics!

-The Sunni: What do you think of theKaramita ? [a dissident group formed during the Abbasid rule].

-TheWahhabi : They are pagans and idolaters.

-The Sunni: But they claim adherence to the Prophet Household's doctrines and that their books are also theirs.But the books of the Prophet Household contain nothing but words of enlightenment and truth.

-TheWahhabi : TheQaramita were liars and historians have demonstrated their heresy and falsification.

-The Sunni: Then you accept evidence presented by historians?

-TheWahhabi : Yes! Imam al-Shafi said that the historian's methodology in relying on multiple sources is better, in his opinion, than the acceptance of a single source by the narrators of the Prophet's Tradition.

-The Sunni: Then you must accept what the historians considered as evidence of theWahhabi heresy. A person's deedmay be held as evidence against him or her even if he denies doing it.And when theQaramita legalized murdering Muslims and stealing their possessions no doubt regarding their heresy remained. This also applies to yourWahhabi masters.

-TheWahhabi : (was angry and speechless).

- The Sunni thenadded: What is your opinion of the description of theKhawarij as heretics who shall be punished with Hell's fire?

-TheWahhabi replied: The consensus is that theKhawarij deviated from the true path and thus incurred Allah's wrath.But theKhawarij were put to rout at theNahrawan battle and theWahhabis do not belong to them!

-The Sunnisaid: Why do you think theKhawarij deserved Allah's wrath?was it because of the inadequacy of their prayers and fasting?

-TheWahhabi : No!

-The Sunni: Was it then because of their devotion, or recital of the Quran or payinglipservice to the truth?

-TheWahhabi : No!

-The Sunni persisted: Why then? Tellme !

-TheWahhabi stammered and could not manage a reply.

-The Sunni: There is one and only one reason for incurring Allah's wrath and that is legalizing the slaughter of innocent Muslims and the theft of their possessions after calling them hereticsand also whoever makes the claim that he is the only true Muslim. Anyone who commits such deeds and makes such claims deserves the same fate.

8- TheWahhabi and theGhulat (Extremists)

TheGhulat or extremist are those who went to extremes in exalting a person or persons to the extent of raising him or them above the ranks of ordinary human beings.

At the same time of the rise ofWahhabia inNajid , another person was preaching a newdoctrine which renewed much of what has disappeared of the beliefs of the firstGhulats who deified Imam Ali and other members of the Prophet Household. His teachings were similar to those ofIbn AbdulWahab in labeling his opponents as heretics. He actually went further than theWahhabia founder by attacking most of the Prophet's Companions and calling them heretics.27

The name of that man wasShaikh Ahmed al-Ihsaie (died 1241 AH.) His followerswere thus known as al-Shaikhia . Hewas succeeded byKhathim al-Rashti who established his headquarters atKerbala in southern Iraq.

TheWahhabi's attitudes toward this movement is interesting. As history report, theWahhabis attacked Karbala where al-Rashti and his followers resided. As their custom in all their military campaigns, theWahhabis sacked the city, slaughtering thousands of innocent men,women and children and looting and destroying houses and shops.

But they guaranteed al-Rashti's personal safety and declared that anyone entering his house shall be safe. This special treatment of this group and their leader unveils the true nature of theWahhabi and exposes the falsehood of their claim of opposing idolatry and defending divine unity.

At this point, it may be useful to compare this position with a similar one byIbn Taimia , whom theWahhabis claim to follow, toward another extremist group, namely theYazidis . TheYazidis exaltedYazid ibn Muawiya whose un-Islamic deedswere enumerated earlier. A branch of this sectwas named al-Adawia afterUdai ibn Musafir whom they exalted along withYazid .

Ibn Taimia who was a contemporary of this sect maintained an inexplicably untypical attitude toward this group. Famed for his extreme opinions and fierce attacks on Islamic sects swiftly judging them to be deviant and heretic, he wrote a letter to this group addressing them as faithful Muslims. In this civil and well-wishingletter we find none of his offending style and usual labels which he used in communicating with or writing on other Islamic groups such as theAsharia , theImamiya Shia , theZaidis ,Mutazila ,Murajia and others.

His letter to this group begins as follows:28

From Ahmedibn Tairnia to whoever receives this letter of the Muslims who belong to theSunna and follow the exemplary, blessed, and learnedshaikh Udai ibn Musafir al-Umawi . Allah has mercy on him and all those who follow his path.. May Allah lead them to His path and obey Him and His Prophet.

This shows thatIbn Taimia considered this deviant group as Sunni Muslim in variance with the consensus identifying them as extremists,heretics and idolaters who did not worship only Allah.

9- Whom does theWahhabi serve?

Muslims are obliged to give first priority to upholding Muslims' interest.But do theWahhabis actually adhere to this principle? Did they ever oppose colonial and imperialist plots against Muslim countries? What contributions did they make to counter the imperialist and Zionist interests in Muslim countries?And finally is it true that they are loyal to Western powers and have helped them to gain access to Muslims' resources, and thus compromising their sovereignty and dignity?

It is clear to every Muslim that theWahhabis have faithfully served Western interests in Islamic countries. Furthermore, history of this group since the early days of its founder reveal not the slightest concern for developing Muslim communities through fighting poverty and illiteracy and upholding the rule ofsharia and justice.Instead theWahhabis concentrated on labeling Muslims as heretics and idolaters who deserve to be put to death and their possessions looted. Nothing catches their interest and fires their enthusiasm except finding agrave which they believe must be destroyed or attacking anyone who asks the Prophet for intercession with Allah.

Under thisbanner they launched a vicious campaign against Muslims, murdering, looting and spreading discord and schism.But the safety of Muslim countries and communities against foreign attack was never one of their concerns. Thus, theWahhabi princes and religious leadersturned a blind eye to the occupation of Jerusalem, the fate of Bosnian and Lebanese Muslim and the American hegemony over Islamic countries and exploitation of their oil resources.

At the sametime they are outraged by the tomb ofHamza ibn Abd al-Mutalib which the Companions visited and prayed at and by the shrine of the Prophet's grandson, al-Hussain ibn Ali which the Companions and early Muslims travelled long distances to visit it - and even during the lifetime of Ahmedibn Hanbal as mentioned earlier. It is also pertinent to wonder why thoseWahhabis are not moved by the embargo imposed on the Libyan people as they were by the gifts they found at the Prophet's tomb.

It is regrettable that so much of their time,effort and financial resources have been squandered on trivial issues which attract and deceive only the simple-minded. Why theWahhabis choose to focus on such issuescan be answered in the following points:

First, their minds are closed and their thinking is rigid and superficial. As their writings and arguments indicate, they appear to be incapable of any profound thoughts.

Second, they fail to take into consideration basic facts about human nature and current developments in human societies. This is clearly seen in their disregard of religious, social sciences and scientific research and their total devotion to secondary and trivialissues which have no significance for the present times.

Third, their blunt language, strongcriticism and obtuse viewpoints indicate that they hold no good intentions for the Islamic nation and its welfare.

Fourth, their open loyalty to Islam's enemies is a fact requiring no further proof. It is now clear to all that theWahhabis are subservient to the

West more than any other faction. As a result of this blind loyalty, the invading Zionist and imperialist forces have found it easy to penetrate Islamic countries and to destroy or plunder their resources and subjugate their populations.

TheWahhabis have given these foreign powers all the support they needed to realize their selfish objectives. This support has also made possible the establishment of the Zionist entity in the heart of the Muslim nation, and they continue to give it direct and indirect support.

TheWahhabis have also consistently helped pro-West regimes to put down liberation movements and to suppress the Islamic reawakeningmovement which has given them and other unpopular regimes a strong cause for worry.