(National Review) Stephen Schwartz - Wahhabism is an extremist, puritanical, and violent movement that emerged in the 18th century with the pretension of "reforming" Islam. Wahhabism and neo-Wahhabism (the latter being the doctrines of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Pakistani Islamists) are the main source of Islamic extremist violence in the world today. Hamas in Israel represents pure Wahhabism. Wahhabism has always viewed Shia Muslims genocidally, as non-Muslims worthy of annihilation. Wahhabism has always attacked the traditional, spiritual Islam or Sufism that dominates Islam in the Balkans, Turkey, Central Asia, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Wahhabism is official in Saudi Arabia and is completely subsidized by the Saudi regime, using oil income. The U.S. is the only country outside Saudi Arabia where the Islamic establishment is under Wahhabi control. Eighty percent of American mosques are Wahhabi-influenced. The entire gamut of "official" Islamic organizations in the U.S., particularly the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) are Wahhabi fronts. Wahhabis (CAIR, etc.) are granted status by U.S. media as the main Islamic spokespeople. Most immigrant Muslims in the U.S. sought to get away from extremism and are horrified to see that their faith is in extremist hands. Their children are often indoctrinated and radicalized by Muslim schools, Islamic Sunday schools, and radical campus groups. Saudi support for Wahhabi extremist activity, including mosques and schools, in the U.S., must end. Wahhabi hatemongering institutions like the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America (IIASA), in Fairfax, Va. and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in Alexandria, Va., as well as the U.S. office of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), should be shut down completely.
2002-11-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive