Exporting terrorism? A look at the Saudis and Wahhabism

Saudi Arabia is known as world’s largest oil exporter, processing 18% of the world’s oil. Saudi Arabia is also known as the home of 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists. There is something else exported out of Saudi Arabia that some consider more dangerous: the religious view “Wahhabism.”

Founded by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th Century, it was an attempt to “purify” Islam. It is the state-funded religion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “Wahhabism is a literalist interpretation of Islam. It is a very intolerant interpretation of Islam. It is against anybody that might slightly disagree with their ideologies,” says Reza Nekumanesh, director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno.

“They are an intolerant cult that seeks to destroy anything that disagrees with them,” he continued. “Muslims who disagree with them are seen as heretics, and thus their life is no longer sanctified.”

“I would not even like to call Wahhabism a sect. I would like to call it some sort of cult that follows a cultic figure from a couple centuries ago. Being the state funded religion in Saudi Arabia has had voice and the ability to project that cult, cultic voice throughout the world through their money and influence through places like Afghanistan and Pakistan and other parts of the world,” Nekumanesh continued.

In 2003, a Homeland Security subcommittee of the U.S. Senate met to discuss the growing Wahhabi influence in the United States. “The problem we are looking at today is the State-sponsored doctrine and funding of an extremist ideology that provides the recruiting grounds, support infrastructure and monetary life blood of today’s international terrorists. The extremist ideology is Wahhabism, a major force behind terrorist groups, like al Qaeda,” then Arizona Senator Jon Kyl (R) said. Read more

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