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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rambi who wrote (34770)	8/12/1999 8:49:00 PM
From: jbe	Respond to of 71178

Now excuse me while I look up Wahhabism! If you really mean it, here is a start: amina.com The reason why it is now a major concern in the North Caucasus is, among other things, because in Moslem Chechnya and Dagestan, the locals are Sufis (a mystical movement within Sunni Islam). The key characteristic of Sufism is that it has a lot of sub-groups (not sects), each of which reveres a particular Sufi teacher (sheikh, or "saint"). Chechens (and many Dagestanis) identify themselves in terms of their Sufi sub-group, as well as of their clan and of their ethnic group. In a village, the key institution around which social life revoles in not so much the mosque, as the tomb of the local "saint." The following paragraph from the above source shows why there is such conflict between Sufis and the local Wahhabi movement, which only recently appeared, but which has been propagated/propaganized/enforced by influential local warlords, more for political reasons than any other (emphasis mine): The Wahabi interpretation of the Tawassul greatly influenced the Wahabis' practices concerning the Ziyarat al- Qubur, which is the visitation of graves and erection of tombs. Al-Wahab forbade engaging in such activities, as to do so would be allowing oneself to by distracted from the glory of God in favor of polytheism. He did not only ban all such activities in the future, he also advocated the destruction of already-existing tombs and shrines, in order to prevent any unbelievers from praying there. Wahabism dictates that all burial sites be at ground level and devoid of all ornamentation. Those who persist in doing so are unbelievers, and are therefor subject to the Takfir, the charge of unbelief. If one is found to be a non-believer, then a jihad and one's subsequent death are the only just response. Wahhabism is basically a totalitarian ideology, IMO. Right now, a bunch of Chechen & Dagestani militants are using it (I don't know how sincerely) in a guerrilla war aimed at establishing a united Chechen-Dagestani independent (of Russia) Islamic State. Keep your TV set tuned. :-( Joan