On Wed, 20 Mar 2002, Hakki Alacakaptan wrote:
> Wahhabism is very much part of contemporary history. It started out as
> British imperialist psyops and has been used since by SA and its ally
> the US for propping up the Saudi regime, destabilisation of regional
> rivals, and proxy wars.
Just to be clear -- you're not contesting that the origin of Wahhabism was the alliance between Muhammad ibn-Abd al-Wahhab with Muhammad ib-Saud in 1744, are you? Which was decisive for the creation of the first Saudi state, in the Nejd, and which continued as a tradition thereafter? So when you say "started out," are you perhaps talking about its renaissance in the form of the Ikhwan movement in 1913? Which played a big role in the formation of the modern Saudi state (and which has eerie parallels even in its small details to Talibanism). I thought the Ikhwan hijira/commune movement was originally indigenous as well. But I'm no expert, and I'd love to hear whatever you have to say about the role played by British machinations, either in its formation or its later manipulation.
Michael