Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2014
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According to 18th century records, the Ottoman empire - Islam's ruling power - had not flogged, imprisoned, or passed the death sentence on adulterers for nearly 400 years. Under the kanun - secular Ottoman imperial law - the highest punishment for adultery had been a fine. The traditionalist Ottoman jurists had relied on the Quran's "four witnesses" rule, which had made proving adultery virtually impossible.
Along came a self-professed Islamic reformer named Abdul Wahhab. He was trained classically but attracted to Ibn Taymiya - who 400 years earlier had broken away from Sunni traditionalism. Wahhab said that procuring a confession was enough to stone someone to death and proceeded to do so.
At the time, the Ottoman sultan, backed by a class of traditionalist jurists in Istanbul, was considered the equivalent of the Muslim pope - "the shadow of God on earth". Wahhab (just like Luther in Germany) accused the religious elite of materialism, corruption and decadence, and rejected the "tradition-based" approach to Islam. He then found political protection under a rebel leader named Ibn Saud and instituted further "reforms" - which linked up nicely with Ibn Saud's expansionist agenda. Ibn Taymiya, who had once accused the ruling Muslim kings of hypocrisy in order to justify rebellion against them, guided Wahhab and Ibn Saud through the course of their rebellion. It was eventually put down militarily, but not theologically.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/sep/28/theislamicreformation
Along came a self-professed Islamic reformer named Abdul Wahhab. He was trained classically but attracted to Ibn Taymiya - who 400 years earlier had broken away from Sunni traditionalism. Wahhab said that procuring a confession was enough to stone someone to death and proceeded to do so.
At the time, the Ottoman sultan, backed by a class of traditionalist jurists in Istanbul, was considered the equivalent of the Muslim pope - "the shadow of God on earth". Wahhab (just like Luther in Germany) accused the religious elite of materialism, corruption and decadence, and rejected the "tradition-based" approach to Islam. He then found political protection under a rebel leader named Ibn Saud and instituted further "reforms" - which linked up nicely with Ibn Saud's expansionist agenda. Ibn Taymiya, who had once accused the ruling Muslim kings of hypocrisy in order to justify rebellion against them, guided Wahhab and Ibn Saud through the course of their rebellion. It was eventually put down militarily, but not theologically.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/sep/28/theislamicreformation
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