Özet:

The subject of this article is the Wahhabism movement, which emerged in the middle of the 18th century in the Najd region of Arabia, which was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire at that time, under the leadership of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and is now the official sect of the Saudi State. In the formation of this movement, which is generally based on the Hanbali school, the understanding of scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya to return to the pure belief of the predecessor was quite effective. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab basically focused on tawhid and put forward very strict views on the issues of shirk and bid'ah. While spreading his views, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab claimed that he was claiming to restore and revive the religion that had been corrupted by various innovations. However, the transformation of this movement he started into an anti-Ottoman revolt and the existence of close relations, especially with the British, which still continue today, brought along various discussions. In addition, the definition of this movement by many Western travelers and diplomats with sympathetic concepts such as “reformist” and “Islamic Protestants” and the support they gave to this movement throughout the historical process deepened the discussions. Therefore, it is still a controversial issue whether this movement, which claims to be a religious revival, emerged with purely religious or political aims. However, the developments after its emergence show that this movement is a political movement with religious references. Wahhabism has emerged with the minded people who mainly oppose the innovations in religion and return to the religious lifestyle in the time of the prophet. However, after a short while, he objected to the way the Ottoman Empire interpreted and lived the religion of Islam, found political allies for himself, and by carrying out an armed struggle with them, he aimed to break the power of the Ottoman Empire in the Arabian peninsula. While doing this, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab put forward strict interpretations, especially based on the concepts of bid'ah, superstition and shirk, and claimed that those who do not accept this fall into polytheism, become apostate, and therefore, the lives and property of such people are halal. Wahhabism has adopted oppression, violence and weapons as a method to impose its views. Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who could not find many supporters at first due to the rigidity of his method, started to seek political support for him and first persuaded Osman, the Amir of Uyeyna. However, after the reactions, he lost this support in a short time and was exiled from the region. Upon this, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who came to the town of Dir'iya near Riyadh, convinced Muhammad ibn Saud, the amir of that place, in 1744, and made an agreement known as the Dir'iya contract in the history. Thus, the Wahhabis, who found the political and military support they were looking for, started a rebellion in a short time by objecting to the Ottoman Empire's interpretation and lifestyle of Islam. This revolt of the Wahhabis disrupted the religious and political integrity of the Ottoman Empire, was effective in the birth of Arab nationalism, which included Turkish hostility, and accelerated the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This situation resulted in the complete separation of the Hijaz region, which had been under Turkish rule for 400 years. Wahhabism, which has continuously increased its influence through violence and oppression since its emergence, has caused various changes in religious, social and political fields in the regions where it is effective. It still maintains its influence in different parts of the Islamic world. Today, it is the official ideology of the Saudi State. Wahhabism has been trying to spread in the Islamic geography for a long time with all the support of the Saudi Arabian State. Saudi Arabian Prince Muhammad ibn Salman stated that they are trying to spread Wahhabism at the request of the West. This is an indication that Wahhabism is predominantly a political movement. As a result, the Wahhabi effect began to be seen in various parts of the Islamic world and new religious movements were formed accordingly. Some of these movements are radical religious groups that adopt terror, weapons and violence as methods. In recent years, both the brutal attacks and occupations of the Western powers under the leadership of the USA on the Muslim geography with various excuses, as well as the developments within the Islamic world itself have deepened the long-standing divergences in Salafi-Wahhabi thought. As a result of this, three forms of Salafism have emerged today called Saudi Salafism, Jihadi Salafism and Takfiri Salafism. This study deals with the emergence of Wahhabism, which evaluates itself on the axis of Salafism, its formation process and its current situation.

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