The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ... - IslamHouse.com

The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
De Corancez
De Corancez was from France. He was appointed the French
consul in Aleppo in 1802. He first published this book in French in
1810. What makes this book of interest is that de Corancez himself
never traveled to Najd. Instead, he visited Syria. His sources of
information concerning the “Wahhabis”, therefore, were restricted to
what was being spread about the “Wahhabis” in Ottoman Syria in the
early 1800s. Much of his information may have also come from a
Maronite Christian inhabitant of Aleppo. 1 One can, therefore, possibly
excuse de Corancez for the strange statements that he made because
he was simply conveying the misinformation that he was able to
gather at his source.
For the sake of brevity, a few of de Corancez’s statements will
be presented here. Furthermore, much of this book deals with
historical events after the death of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and beyond the
scope of this work. Thus, only portions related to ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
and his beliefs will be noted here. The book is a peculiar combination
of fact and strange fiction. The truth-value of these statements should,
by now, be obvious and, hence, there will be no need for critique.
At the outset, he states, “If, however, the Wahabis remain
within the confines of Arabia of which they are at present the masters,
their achievements are already of sufficient merit to warrant recording
for posterity.” 2
On page 6, it is written,
The Sheikh Mohammed rejected with equal harshness any worship
of Christ, Moses, or other prophets recognized by the Muslims. He
proclaimed that God had disowned the Turks because they
worshipped Mohammed himself… His first edict was to massacre
them [the Turks] because they offended the majesty of God and
defiled true worship of him.
This doctrine found converts among Mohammed’s tribesmen, but
they were too small in number to constitute a threat; a greater force
was needed to enforce adherence to so intolerant a creed. Sensing
this, Mohammed departed from Yemen, scouring Syria and the
borders of the Euphrates. He sought to convert a pasha or prince
who might provide him with riches and weapons. Rejected in
1 See de Corancez’s statement, p. xx.
2 De Corancez, p. xvii.
274