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Wahhabism Splits Saudis

(Washington Times) John R. Bradley - Sami Angawi, self-proclaimed Sufi leader of the Hijaz, a Saudi region that runs along the Red Sea and contains Mecca and Medina, says Wahhabi Islam - imported from Najd, the central region of Saudi Arabia - gradually stamped out the non-Wahhabi thinking once taken for granted in the Hijaz and eroded the historic Hijazi urban culture of tolerance and diversity. Angawi said Wahhabi domination had led to the destruction or neglect of almost all of the Islamic and pre-Islamic history of the Hijaz. "Most of the Islamic heritage in Hijaz has been destroyed by the Saudis," said Ali al-Ahmed, head of the Washington-based Saudi Institute, a prominent Saudi opposition group. The writer is former managing editor of the Jidda-based Arab News.
2004-02-05 00:00:00
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