t of the vast Arabian Desert, the cradle of Islam, a voice that called the faithful back to the true path of Allah, the Quran and the Sunnah. This voice belonged to the great Mujaddid and puritan reformer, Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab. Sheikh MuhammadÆs voice proved the spark that was needed to kindle a fire in the Islamic world that would spread and engulf the furthest corners of the Muslim world. Sheikh Muhammad was determined to rid Islam of Muslim decadence and return to the pure practices of Islam prior to the eleventh century, as he viewed any practices added to Islam after that time as false and heretical. In the person of Sheikh Muhammad Al-Wahhab, the Islamic great re-awakening had begun.
Though peaceful, purely religious and revivalist in nature, the reform movement of the Sheikh was offensive to the Turks and others for a number of reasons. These groups tried to quash Sheikh MuhammadÆs reform movement, even killing some of the movementÆs leaders but to no avail. The movement endured and continues to grow the world over. Increasing numbers who count themselves among the Muslim world continue to raise the banner of God (Tawheed), fomenting the call to the Quran and Sunnah. Around the world those who consider themselves ôtrueö Muslims continue to oppose practices and individuals they view as heretical, particularly those who worship saints and graves as well as the Sufis and the Tariqat followers. All these groups are viewed as deviant for making false claims to be Ahl us Sunnah wal JamÆaah and, as such, label the true callers to the Sunnah as ôWahhabis,ö a derogatory reference.
In his own and to this day, the reform movement originated by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Wahhab has been subjected to various forms of ignoble and false propaganda by those who opposed and continue to oppose the ôWahhabiö movement and its followers. This research will provide a brief account of the important events of Sheikh Al-...