Saudis Re-Examine Islamic Doctrine Cited by Militants

The terrorist attacks in the heart of Riyadh have, at least for the moment, transformed the discussion about the religious roots of Islamic militancy and how it spreads through mosques, schools, state television and other official institutions.

In its essence, Wahhabism sought to simplify Islam to its purest form, rejecting the once prevalent worship of things like rocks and saints' tombs. It also supported a permanent jihad to spread the faith to other lands, and much of the current debate centers on whether violence should be part of that effort.

"Wahhabism is an extremist dialogue," said Abdel Aziz Qasim, a young former judge and Islamic scholar. "The challenge is whether the government is willing to disregard the Wahhabi teachings or not."

"They think the only religiously sanctioned way to spread Islam is through jihad," he said, using the term in the sense of "holy war." "It's a huge problem. It's an octopus with its arms everywhere, building these thoughts in everyone's mind."

"The main problem is that these radical groups draw their justification from Wahhabi thoughts," Mr. Nogaidan, now 33 and a newspaper columnist, said in an interview this week, referring to the teachings of Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, which have been prevalent for over 200 years.

Support for the bombings flows through the Web sites favored by those on the religious fringe and even among Islamic militants, some of whom refuse to condemn the attacks outright. The conservative establishment has also been trying to fight back by contending that the liberals are trying to exploit the bombings to undermine the faith, the very pillar upon which the country was built.

The ruling Saud dynasty basically established its kingdom early in the last century through the zealotry of Wahhabi warriors. So it is unclear how far they will go in allowing the Wahhabi teachings to be attacked, much less changed.

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