"Wahhabis" of Pre-Modern Arabia

Al Jabarti- A scholar of Al-Azhar during the times of Muhammad Ali in Egypt- wrote on the Wahhabis when the Egyptian Army was sent to defeat the ikhwan movement (armed tribal forces of "wahhabi zeal" that fought the jihad to unite Arabia);

Some commanders, who were considered pious and devout told me, " How can we win when most of our soldiers belong to different confessions and some of them do not believe in anything and profess no religion? We are carrying boxes containing alcoholic drink, the azan [Muslim call to prayer] is never heard in our camp, the [Islamic] prescriptions are not fulfilled or even remembered, our people have no idea of religious rites. As for our enemies, as soon as the muezzin's call sounds, they perform ablutions and line up behind their single imam humbly and obediently. When the time for prayer comes during battle, they timidly perform the "fear prayer" [a shorter prayer] - one detachment goes forward and wages the battle while the others pray behind it. Our soldiers are astonished; they have never heard of it, not to mention seeing it. The Wahhabis shout from their camp, "Come and fight us, you pagans, you beard-shavers, who glorify libertinism and sodomy, you drunkards who have forgotten prayers, you usurers and murderers who permit yourself to forbidden deeds!"[1]

The Wahhabis were demonized by all great powers at the time, they were anti-elite in their core and did not approve the way the Hijaz (Makka Madina and Jeddah) were rueled, certinly the purfication of the Holy Cities not only from polytheism but from major sins was a motive for their conquest. Hijaz was ruled by the Sharifs (/Ashraf) whom later were to collaborate with the British and for a while rule Syria and Iraq as well asJordan whom's royal family is still in authority.

"The strict morals introduced in Mecca ran counter to its people's customs and habits. The status of the holy city made its inhabitants feel superior to all other Muslims and led them to excuse a certian lewdness of behaviour. Whole blocks of Mecca belonged to prostitutes, who even paid a tax on their occupation. Homosexuality was widespread. Alcohol was sold almost at the gate of the kaaba and drunkness was not uncommon" [2]

what is Known as Saudi Arabia today was the result of King Abdul Aziz's conquest of the Hijaz, the Wahhabis in fact have conquered it before but were also expelled by Muhammad Ali's troops that committed horrible atrocities against tribes and villages that had their allegiance to the movement and resisted. Women and children were slain and their ears were sent to Istanbul ( I read this somewhere cant remember where but it was an academic book (the ears part)).

The first conquest was repelled by a modern and more advanced army; that of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, and went far into central Arabia in al-Dariya the capitol at the time which fell.
in Cairo october 1818 a festival was held in celebration of the fall of Dariya, fireworks and public merry-making took place. The Sultan (of the Ottoman Empire) professed his "profund satisfaction".

The Emir Abdullah of Dariya, his imam and the minister were taken prisoners, sent to Cairo and then to Istanbul. I was personally told by a historian professor, that Abdullah was hung by his feet till his death and that music was played to him! (they believe Music is Haram/forbidden)

But The russian embassy reported otherwise. that the three were brought infront of the Sultan, and his ministers and heads of the empire in heavy chains. surrounded by a crowd of idlers. The Sultan orderd they be executed. Abdullah beheaded infront of the main gate of St. Sophia, Imam at the entrance of the palace and the minister at the entrance of the market. Their bodies were displayed with their heads under their arms for three days then thrown into the sea.

All insolvent debtors were released from jail, the government took the expense of their debts at
"His Majesty's" expense and money was distributed to mosques and madrasas, to "thank heaven for its mercy" [3]

all from the book;
Vassiliev, Alexei (1997). The History of Saudi Arabia. Saqi Books: London.
[1] page-144
[2]page 138- from the travel notes of J.L. Burckhardt
[3] page 155

Is There a "Middle East" ?

We are starting to hear of things like a “Middle Eastern” cuisine, people from the “Middle East” a “Middle Easterner” “Middle Eastern Societies” Middle East this Middle East That.
So what is the Middle East ?

Apparently there is not a consensus among social scientists on what does constitute the Middle East Some include Afghanistan in it other don’t. and we also have heard of “the Greater Middle East” initiative by George Bush which is a big farce just as its name.
Obviously The “Middle East” is supposed to be chunk of land and all what’s in it. Yet this is not a term coined by the inhabitants of those lands nor was it out of the academic and intellectual traditions of its people. It is an occidental term imposed on the region with its contexts and implicit interests.

Regardless of how conscious or unconscious the term is used it serves several functions
1- to imply that Israel is a natural member of this geographical location
2- to imply similarities between all these states that are not shared elsewhere.
3- it strips the region from its identity, Namely Islamic. And thus the term intrinsically fragments the Islamic world.
4- it Dissolves differences between Arab and non Arab states thus inherently down playing the distinction.

It Is Ironic that when we say the West we also imply Australia and New Zealand but also not Mexico (which is technically in the west). so the West is actually an identity not just a relative geographic location but when we say the Middle East?….. Nothing is implied but a geographical location (Arab states Plus Turkey Israel and Iran). This is at least the proposition in social sciences and namely Political Science with all of its branches.

The Term finds itself in the inherit difference in power relations. The West is in dominance and so it chooses the way in which it wants to coin the world around it and address peoples the way it wants to address them the way it wants to view them, in the way it wants them to view themselves. The term finds its way through academic imperialism which then finds its way in westernized and conforming academic institutions in the region. And that is why before the Gulf War ( Final Blow to Arab Nationalism) we never heard of Arabs saying the “Middle East” (ash-Sharq al Awsat). Similarly you don’t hear the term being used on Alajazeera ( more Arabist/Islam sympathetic) or perhaps rarely, unlike Alarabiyah (secular fundamentalists/ “liberalists”/westernized) which uses it frequently.

In other words
THERE IS NO MIDDLE EAST !

Arabian Gulf, Home or no Home ? Globalization Par Excellence

So you’ve been born in an Arab gulf country but yr not a “local” or “citizen” Yr Arab or say from the Indian Sub Continent you are basically confused about your identity about your belonging you can either pin point home as where you were born and raised or you can point it out to where your parents were born and you occasionally go every summer to visit relatives among other things.

Yup You may have been to Arab schools in the countries of the Arab Gulf or lets say Indian or Pakistani schools chances are you are much easier to re-integrate back into your “original” society and you have a much easir time saying am fully Egyptian, Indian or Pakistani and people don’t find you that much different or odd or guess yr not really a local of your parents origin.
It gets more complicated if you have been studying in what so called is “international schools” which are actually most likely either American or British schools with the same curriculum Americans and Brits study in their countries. You use to listen to American or British music or both watch their movies not only speak their language but also with the same accent that’s if you were to walk in a grocery store in there the cashier wont think twice you were born in there or least brought up from childhood there. Those folks tend to be the ones more open to other cultures and more likely to have been hanging out in school with a more culturally diverse group with in school.

Other teenagers who tend to relate more with where their parents come from and perhaps don’t have that perfect westen accent and tend to have hung out n groups with people of their nationality say the Egyptian group or the Indian folks or the Pakistani lot, then they are more likely to have it easier when they get back “home”.

Its tough since you were born in the Arabian Gulf it becomes even tougher if you can speak the dialect perfectly well and on the street people would think yr a “local” or “citizen” at least that’s from my experience which partly because my khaleeji (Gulfi) like complexion. Its way tougher when you say Home is in that khaleej country but you have no rights there once yr pops retires you can never go back unless on a contract or perhaps as a tourist but unlikely since the passport owners of the countries I have mentioned have different arrangements.

Im not saying that countries of the Arab Gulf should just give citizenship to folks like us that’s would mess things up, the social political and economic characteristics of these countries. Am Just trying to show this emotional and if you may humanitarian dilemma that am partly caught in and am sure many others are caught in it like myself. Sad reality is our parents in the eyes of these governments (as a whole or as a system or in a purely technocratic vision) are only here to serve a function for material return and once yr contract is done or time to retire your function no longer exists and so you too ought to seize exiting on their lands.

And even worse the those who grew up there their entire lives who are also looked at differently in their “home countries” whom could be pretty much culturally confused or least if they are conscious of it. Then you are torn apart where am I from ? Where is Home? Ironic its probably easy for those who lived in such contexts to settle some where in the English speaking west.

And on a side note Even much more pathetic when say to Egypt your parents have been paying “Taxes” or remittances to the government ( one of Egypt’s top sources of income along with tourism and the Suez Canal) and then when you come back yr expected to sever in the military .. As “paying back your country.” when I havent been using any of their crappy pathetic worthless government provided services and my parents paying their corrupt behinds.

Perhaps this is Just my own experience and am trying to be all generalizing about it, at least am pretty sure it is absolutely the case with Arab folks as much more is culturally common with folks of the khaleej. Alhamdullelah my parrents still work Home or if you want to critically call it my “home”

I think this could open up major issues of research for specialists and students of the social sciences but this is mostly my thoughts with a twist of ranting.

peace