Anti-Sunnism and anti-Shiism: Minorities, majorities and the question of equivalence

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The term Wahhabi is derived from 18th century Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. He advocated an extreme form of Hanbali Sunni Islam that condemned all but a narrowly defined conception of Islam and was intrinsically anti-Shi’a. Abd al-Wahhab was instrumental in the rise of the first Saudi state following his alliance with Muhammad bin Saud. The term Wahhabiyya (or Wahhabism) and its derivative Wahhabi are derogatory terms that are not used self-referentially. The term is better understood as a reference to a political formation (the extreme Hanbalism of the Saudi clergy and the political patronage they receive) rather than a clearly demarcated doctrinal current. In practice however, and particularly in Shi’a parlance, Wahhabism is often used as a synonym for anti-Shi’a Sunnism and for Salafism more generally. The term nawasib was initially used in reference to those who oppose or show enmity towards the House of the Prophet. In time this understanding evolved and was broadened to include those who oppose or show enmity to the followers of the House of the Prophet – in other words, Shi’as.