"...It's not helpful, I believe, to create another broad category (i.e. "Wahhabism") that becomes the scapegoat for terrorism."

- Ingrid Mattson, Hartford Seminary

On October 18, 2001, CNN interviewed Ingrid Mattson, a professor of Islamic Studies from Hartford Seminary. Exhibiting the unawareness that people are suffering regarding "Wahhabism", the questioner asked, "What can you tell us about the Wahhabi sect of Islam? Is it true that this is an extremely right wing sect founded and funded by the Saudi royal family, and led by Osama bin Ladin? What is the purpose of the Wahhabi?"

Mattson replied, "No it's not true to characterize Wahhabism that way. This is not a sect. It is the name of a reform movement that began 200 years ago to rid Islamic societies of cultural practices and rigid interpretation that had (been) acquired over the centuries. Because the Wahhabi scholars became integrated into the Saudi state, there has been some difficulty keeping that particular interpretation of religion from being enforced too broadly on the population as a whole. However, the Saudi scholars who are Wahhabi have denounced terrorism and denounced in particular the acts of September 11. Those statements are available publicly.

This question has arisen because last week, there were a number of newspaper reports that were dealing with this. They raised the issue of the role of Saudi Arabia and the ideology there. Frankly, I think in a way it was a reaction to the attempts of many people to look for the roots of terrorism in misguided foreign policy. It's not helpful, I believe, to create another broad category that becomes the scapegoat for terrorism."

It is interesting to note that Mattson denies that "Wahhabism" is a separate sect, and instead affirms that it is "a reform movement… to rid Islamic societies of cultural practices and rigid interpretation that had (been) acquired over the centuries." Here, she is referring to the phenomenon which later became widespread in the Muslim Nation of rigidly sticking to the statements of scholars and individuals in matters of belief and jurisprudence, regardless of their correctness in relation to the source Islamic texts. Mattson's statement is in complete contrast to the illogical effort of Alexander Ignatenko to label the "fundamentalist" creed of "Wahhabism" as being a "heretic(al) movement."

She also denounced the efforts of those people who try to compare "Wahhabism" to terrorrism, saying, "The Saudi scholars who are Wahhabi have denounced terrorism and denounced in particular the acts of September 11. Those statements are available publicly." This statement also requires that anybody from Saudi Arabia who does not denounce terrorism is something other than "Wahhabi".

Mattson is referring to the orthodox and mainstream Salafi scholars. They have continually warned the Muslims about every kind of deviation from Islam, including acts of terrorism.

- abridged from the book: The 'Wahhabi' Myth

Ingrid Mattson, "What is Islam?" CNN interview, Oct 18, 2001.

Alexander Ignatenko, Ordinary Wahhabism, A Heretic Movement in Islam, The Russian Journal.

Indeed, the "Wahhabis"/Salafis denounce all forms of terrorism, such as the following statement of state terrorism by Avigdor Lieberman, the party chief of the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party: "Israel should order aerial bombings of militants in refugee camps." He said that the United States and NATO had often taken this course in the past, adding that, "In southern Afghanistan, there were days that the United States wiped out 400 people a day in aerial bombings." (Ha'aretz Service and Agencies, 10/04/2002.)