The Mission and the Kingdom: Wahhabi Power Behind the Saudi Throne - Softcover

Commins, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784536822 ISBN 13: 9781784536824

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2016

Synopsis

In the wake of September 11th instant theories have emerged that try to root Osama Bin Laden's attacks on Wahhabism. Muslim critics have dismissed this conservative interpretation of Islam that is the official creed of Saudi Arabia as an unorthodox innovation that manipulated a suggestible people to gain political influence. David Commins' book questions this assumption. He examines the debate on the nature of Wahhabism, and offers original findings on its ascendance in Saudi Arabia and spread throughout other parts of the Muslim world such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also assesses the challenge that radical militants within Saudi Arabia pose to the region, and draws conclusions which will concern all those who follow events in the Kingdom. The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia is essential reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and Islamic radicalism today.

About this title

About the Author:

David Commins is Professor of History at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania. He was a visiting scholar at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. He is the author of 'Islamic Reform: Politics and Change in Late Ottoman Syria' ( 1990) and 'Historical Dictionary of Syria' (2004).

Review:

"The history of the Wahhabis' close, loyal alliance with the ancestors of the present Saudi royal family has been recounted in fascinating, and persuasive detail by David Commins. His conclusion is no less startling as it is important, that Wahhabi hegemony over regional religious culture is in jeopardy; its credibility debased, possibly no longer able to buttress the Saudi dynasty's legitimacy. Whatever their future, the story of the Wahhabis has been told with authority and clarity by Commins in this absorbing book."--David Waines, Professor of Islamic Studies, Lancaster University  "An erudite account of Wahhabism's historical development from its early beginnings till the present day." -- Paul Aarts, Middle East Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1784536822
• ISBN 13: 9781784536824
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304