New Books Network: Interview with Peter Mandaville, editor of Wahhabism and the World
Saudi global export of an ultra-conservative strand of Islam
and its impact on Muslim countries and communities across the globe has been a
hotly debate topic for more than two decades. The rise of jihadist groups like
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and their attacks in the United States, Europe,
Asia, and Africa fuelled the debate, particularly since the September 11, 2001,
strikes in New York and Washington. Critics of Saudi Arabia charge that
Wahhabism and Salafism, the ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam
associated with the kingdom, created the theological and ideological incubator
and the breeding ground for jihadism.
Wahhabism and the World constitutes one of the few, if not
the first comprehensive, impassionate interrogations of the impact on the faith
of Saudi financial and other support for the global spread of what Mr.
Mandaville calls Saudi religious transnationalism and is more colloquially
referred to with catchall phrases such as Saudi funding or support for ultra-conservatism.
Mr. Mandaville’s volume with chapters that provide fresh insights into the
Saudi export drive and a set of case studies illustrates that the reality of
the campaign is far more complex and layered.
Interest in Saudi religious influence goes far beyond Middle
East and Islam scholars and policymakers, journalists, and analysts,
particularly given the dramatic social change in Saudi Arabia since King Salam
ascended to the throne in 2015, and his son, Mohammed bin Salman, became the
country’s effective ruler. However, social liberalization, including enhanced
professional and personal opportunity for women and the creation of a
Western-influenced entertainment sector has much to do with socio-political
factors and little, if anything, to do with religious reform.
As a result, understanding Saudi Islam and the impact of its
export that outlives the Salmans’ steep cutbacks in the funding of its global
propagation coupled with their effort to alter its austere and puritan image
and give it a more moderate, tolerant and outward-looking makeover remains key
to understanding the geopolitics of the Middle East and the broader Muslim
world. Mr. Mandaville’s volume makes a ground-breaking contribution to that
understanding.
To watch a
video version of this interview on YouTube please click here.
A podcast
version is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Spreaker, and Podbean.
The interview was originally
published on New Books
Network.
Launched 12 years ago, my column, The Turbulent
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