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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
Thailand
In 1919 C.E., a young man from Indonesia, Ahmad Wahhaab,
visited the mosques and Muslim communities in Bangkok. He slowly
but surely started to preach the teachings of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. He
challenged the resident scholars to support their innovations. He
started his own reform movement and published a magazine, al-
Bidaayah, in which he confronted the heresies and superstitions of the
Muslim population. This led to a split in the Muslim community,
some following the old ways filled with innovations and others
following the new movement following the teachings of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab. It seems that the friction between the two groups grew quite
intense. For many years, this movement was quite strong, publishing
numerous books and tracts.
In southern Thailand, a movement independent of the
happenings in Bangkok appeared. Although from its earliest moments,
the reform (“Wahhabi”) movement was under attack as a “new
religion” and so on, in the south of Thailand a reform movement
began around 1943 C.E. under the leadership of Ismaaeel Ahmad.
This was after he had studied at the Nadwat al-Ulamaa in Lucknow,
India, under the guidance of Abul Hasan al-Nadwi. The call of his
message was exactly the salafi call of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. 1
Turkistan
Jumuah writes that an author by the name of Shuyler wrote in
a work entitled Turkistan, published in London in 1867 C.E., that Ish
Muhammad Kul was a Muslim leader against the Russians, attempting
to create an Islamic government. He says that this man was a student
of a “Wahhabi” preacher. 2 And Allah alone knows best.
1 For more details about the influence of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab in Thailand, see
Ismaaeel Ahmad, “Tathur al-Dawaat al-Islaahiyyah al-Islaamiyyah fi Tailaand
bi-Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-Wahhaab” in Buhooth Nadwah
Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-Wahhaab (Riyadh: Muhammad ibn
Saud Islamic University, 1991), vol. 2, pp. 369-390.
2 Jumuah, p. 227.
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