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Review of Wahhabi Islam (Natana DeLong-Bas)

Natana DeLong Bas’ Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad is not a bad book, but it is not a particularly helpful book either. One of its strong points is how adroitly DeLong-Bas eases the reader into topics. This is no small feat since the protagonist is Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (d. 1792) , a controversial Shaykh who lived during the eighteenth century. The reformer made an alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, ruler of a small market town Diriyya, and this led to the formation of a state which claimed to live under the guidance of the Shariah and tried to bring the pastoral tribes all around it under its guidance too. More than I care to admit, the book was a page-turner for me, in spite of its moderate heft. 

However, the simplicity comes at a price. The narrative, especially when it discusses Shaykh Ibn Abdul Wahhab, is afflicted by a linearity that becomes unconvincing after a while. The book proves incredibly readable throughout, but the one-dimensional character that DeLong-Bas chooses to maintain for the Shaykh quickly becomes a cartoon superhero- too good for his own good, so to speak, and quite unbelievable.

 Sources

 The book’s early sections are devoted to shedding light on Shaykh Ibn Abdul Wahhab’s personal life and early teachings. Here, DeLong-Bas relies on two main sources, Ibn Ghannam (d. 1810) and Ibn Bishr (d. 1873). Both were historians who started their respective biographies of Shaykh ibn Abdul Wahhab after the latter’s death. There should be no illusion that both Ibn Ghannam and Ibn Bishr wrote objective accounts of the Shaykh and the events that went on around him. As DeLong-Bas acknowledges:

 …it is important to note that they tended to be supportive of the Wahhabi movement. As a result, they tended to portray the most positive aspects of the movement.

Most people who praise the book tend to dismiss the importance of this qualification. It is important. Ibn Ghannam and Ibn Bishr wrote their chronicles to serve a political and religious agenda. In other words, they were Wahhabis themselves and writing with a long history of success and conquests in their mind. 

Read rest of the review here

http://higher-criticism.com/2009/05/review-of-wahhabi-islam-natana-delong-bas.html