Transnational Wahhabism

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Reinhard Schulze

Published:

2022

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Since the early 1960s, Wahhabi transnationalism has been embedded in a structure of a transnational Islamic network. The Islamic University of Medina (1961), the Muslim World League (1962), and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (1975) have been decisive in this regard, as they aim to achieve cultural hegemony through transnational representation. All organizations are linked to the domestic political processes in the kingdom and are subject to its reasons of state. They therefore re-enact the internal conflicts over Wahhabi doctrine and their power position and, as semi-state agencies, are forced to represent those interpretations of Islamic tradition that are loyal to the regime and its meandering politics. Wahhabi transnationalism had its heyday between 1972 and 1995, when it significantly influenced the development of the Islamic diaspora worldwide. For some years now, Wahhabi transnationalism has weakened in favor of a Saudi Islamic cultural policy. In the wake of the realignment of Saudi policy after 2012, the royal regime significantly limited the power of Wahhabi organizations and subjected them to its own Islamic policy.

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