Wolves in sheep’s clothing

The word ‘Wahhabi’ entered popular consciousness at the same time as ‘9/11’ and is now about as loaded as the word ‘Nazi’. But whereas ‘Nazi’ is understood by all, ‘Wahhabi’ has crept into the vocabulary of modern global terrorism with little explanation other than that it and ‘Wahhabism’ are considered part of the mindset of men like Osama bin Laden. It goes without saying that the Western world needs to know all there is to know about Wahhabis, so when a book comes along that claims to be the first serious study of the man who gave his name to this particular brand of bigotry we should take it seriously.

In about 1744 in the most backward part of Arabia a mullah named Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab joined forces with a minor but ambitious Bedouin chief named Muhammad Ibn Saud. The former had already made himself hated by organising the stoning to death of a woman who had admitted to adultery and by inciting a rabble to pull down the tomb of a popular local saint.