Sahwa Movement
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Sahwa movement (Awakening movement) or ''Al-Sahwa Al-Islamiyya'' (Islamic awakening) was a movement in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
from 1960–1980 which advocated for incorporating more reliance on
Wahhabi Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...
principles into Saudi society. The most noticeable effects of the movement were significant restrictions on
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
,
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
, and personal liberties. The movement's core doctrines were shaped by the
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...
tenets of
Qutbism Qutbism ( ar, ٱلْقُطْبِيَّةِ, al-Quṭbīyah) is an Islamist ideology which was developed by Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was executed by the Egyptian government in 1966. It has been described as adv ...
; such as theological denunciations of
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
and the belief that contemporary governments of the
Muslim World The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...
have apostatised. Sahwa is a Saudi term that refers to all political Islam movements whose major umbrella is the Qutbi Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia is almost unique in giving the
ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
(the body of Islamic religious leaders and jurists) a direct role in government. The Sahwa-inspired ulema have been a key influence in major government decisions, for example the imposition of the oil embargo in 1973 and the invitation to foreign troops to Saudi Arabia in 1990. In addition, they have had a major role in the judicial and education systems and a monopoly of authority in the sphere of religious and social morals. The movement came to an end after the appointment of
Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
in 2017 who declared a return to “moderate Islam”, but the Sahwa’s ideas and activists, though persecuted, continue to be popular. Safar al-Hawali, Muhamad Qutb,
Muhammad Surur Muhammad Surur bin Nayif Zayn al-'Abidin ( ar, محمد سرور بن نايف زين العابدين; 1938 – 11 November 2016) was a former Syrian Muslim Brotherhood member. He is credited with developing the Salafi Islamist trend that later ...
and
Salman al-Ouda Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Ouda ( ar, سلمان بن فهد بن عبد الله العودة) or Salman al-Ouda ( ar, سلمان العودة), ''Salman al-Oadah'', ''Salman al-Audah'', or ''Salman al-Awdah'' ( ar, سلمان بن فه ...
are the main scholarly representatives of this movement. The Sahwa movement's calls to forcibly expel American troops from the Islamic World would inspire numerous
pan-Islamist Pan-Islamism ( ar, الوحدة الإسلامية) is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic country or state – often a caliphate – or an international organization with Islamic principles. Pan-Islamism w ...
militant networks; most noticeably
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. Osama Bin Laden's
anti-Americanism Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
was shaped by the major intellectual figures of the Sahwa; who popularised Sayyid Qutb's works and ideas. Saudi suppression of Sahwa trends would lead Bin Laden to
excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the Koinonia, communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The ...
the government and publicly call to overthrow the Saudi authorities during the early 1990s.


Origin

Muslim Brotherhood members arrived in Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and 1960s seeking refuge from persecution by the Egyptian
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
regime. They always had disputes with
Wahhabism Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...
. Wahhabism and the Brotherhood influenced each other and this
cross-pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...
resulted in the birth of a hybrid movement of religious-political dissent known as the Sahwa movement. It reached a peak in the 1990s before being repressed by the Saudi establishment. Since the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
, however, the idea of clerical rule has become more attractive within Sunni circles. For example, in the Palestinian territories during the early 1980s some Muslim Brothers were unable to find Sunni justifications for active resistance to the
Israelis Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jew ...
and, therefore, turned to
Khomeinist Khomeinism refers to the religious and political ideas of the leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeinism also refers to the ruling clerical class of Iran after 1979. It can also be used to refer to the radicalization of segmen ...
teachings.


Activities

Sahwa members write public petitions and circulate sermons on audio cassettes. Sahwa leaders demand a bigger role for clergy in governing, curbs on the royal family's privileges, greater transparency for public funds, and a more Islamically conservative society as a defense against Western cultural influences.


Views

They oppose the presence of US troops on the Muslim land. In 1991, al-Hawali delivered a sermon stating: "What is happening in the Gulf is part of a larger Western design to dominate the whole Arab and Muslim world."


See also

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Adnan al-Aroor Shaykh Adnan Mohammed al-Aroor ( ar, الشيخ عدنان محمد العرعور, born 1948) is a Salafi scholar from Hama, Syria. al-Aroor appears regularly on TV stations in Saudi Arabia, including the widely watched satellite channel al- ...
*
Muhammad Surur Muhammad Surur bin Nayif Zayn al-'Abidin ( ar, محمد سرور بن نايف زين العابدين; 1938 – 11 November 2016) was a former Syrian Muslim Brotherhood member. He is credited with developing the Salafi Islamist trend that later ...


References

{{Reflist Islam in Saudi Arabia Salafi movement Islamism Jihadism Salafi Islamism