MOVIMENTO DO DESPERTAR ISLÂMICO NA CASA DE SAUD: DOUTRINA WAHHABITA E POLÍTICA EXTERNA PARA O IRÃ PÓS-1979

Wahhabi doctrine and foreign policy for post-1979 Iran

Abstract

The Islamic fundamentalism emerged on the margins of religious revival (nahda) movements that occurred in the Indian, Ottoman, and Persian empires in the 18th and 19th centuries, and since then has been represented by the Islamic awakening movement, the reformist movements, and the radical movements. This paper highlights the Islamic awakening movements and focuses on those originating from the Arabian Peninsula. Therefore, it asks why only the Arab Islamic awakening movement persists to this day and starts from the hypothesis that such success is due not only to the objectives outlined on the margins of the nahda but also to the creation of an orthodox ideology that was co-opted by the House of Saud. Having stipulated this, it intends to study the ideology of Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, to find out how the House of Saud used this same movement to shape its State policy, and to show how relevant the Wahhabi ideology still is for part of the Muslim community (ummah) in the Middle East. Having made this effort, the author asserts that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still uses al-Wahhab’s religious thought to shape its domestic and foreign policy, and, therefore, ratifies the hypothesis previously raised.