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S.OZTURK THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SALAFISM IN THE FORMATION OF SAUDI ARABIA AND THE TALIBAN REGIME SELİM ÖZTÜRK METU METU 2018 AUGUST 2018 THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SALAFISM IN THE FORMATION OF SAUDI ARABIA AND THE TALIBAN REGIME A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SELİM ÖZTÜRK IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AREA STUDIES AUGUST 2018 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assist. Prof. Dr. Derya Göçer Akder Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Dr. Tuba Ünlü Bilgiç (METU, IR) Assoc. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant (METU, IR) Prof. Dr. Pınar Köksal (METU, ADM) Prof. Dr.Mehmet Şahin (Polis Akademisi, Uluslararası Güvenlik) Assist. Prof.Dr. Bayram Sinkaya (AYBU, IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Selim Öztürk Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SALAFISM IN THE FORMATION OF SAUDI ARABIA AND THE TALIBAN REGIME Öztürk, Selim Ph.D. , Department of Area Studies Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr.Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant August 2018, 262 pages This dissertation aims to analyze the role of political Salafism in the formation of early Saudi emirates, today’s Saudi Kingdom and the Taliban regime (1996-2001) in Afghanistan. The study examines the formation of the Salafi creed in the Medieval Age first and then focuses on the formation of political Salafism with regard to the political developments and conflicts during the Abbasid era. Then, then it focuses on the rise of political Salafism in the 14th century with ibn Taymiyyah’s struggle against the Mongol rule that destroyed the Abbasids. The intellectual heritage of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and ibn Taymiyyah formed the political Salafi tradition in Islamic history. Political Salafism emerged as a result of perception of threats in the Medieval Age. Salafi scholars regarded Shi’ites, Iranians, Kharijites, Sufis, Shu’ubiyyah and any foreign elements as threats and developed a defensive attitude and rhetoric against them. I argue that political Salafism created three instruments like perception of threat, mobilization, and unification. Ibn Abd al Wahhab iv reformulated political Salafism in Arabia in the 18th century through these three instruments. The rise of political Salafism in Arabia led to the formation of the Saudi emirates and Saudi Arabia. Political Salafi ideas later spread to the Indian Muslim society and political Salafism led to a revolt against the British rule in India. The same heritage of political Salafism resulted in the rise of the Taliban in the late 20th century. Political Salafism played a key role in the formation of both Saudi Arabia and the short termed Taliban regime. Keywords: Political Salafism, ibn Taymiyyah, ibn Abd al Wahhab, Taliban, Saudi Arabia. v ÖZ SİYASAL SELEFİLİĞİN SUUDİ ARABİSTAN VE TALİBAN’IN OLUŞUMUNDAKİ ROLÜ Öztürk, Selim Doktora, Alan Çalışmaları Tez Yöneticisi: Doç.Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant Ağustos 2018, 262 sayfa Bu tez erken dönem Suudi emirliklerinin, Suudi Arabistan’ın ve Taliban rejiminin (1996-2001) oluşumunda siyasal Selefiliğin rolünü incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. Bu çalışma ilk olarak Selefi inancın Orta Çağda ortaya çıkışına, daha sonra Abbasi dönemi boyunca yaşanan siyasi gelişmelere ve gerginliklere göre şekillenen siyasi Selefiliğe odaklanmıştır. Çalışmada 14. yüzyılda ibn Teymiye’nin Abbasileri yıkan Moğollara karşı yürüttüğü mücadele ile yükselişe geçen siyasal Selefilik detaylı şekilde incelenmektedir. Ahmed bin Hanbel ve ibn Teymiyye’nin entelektüel mirası İslam tarihinde siyasal Selefi geleneği oluşturmuştur. Siyasal Selefilik Orta Çağda ortaya çıkan çeşitli tehdit algıları sonucunda ortaya çıkmıştır. Selefi âlimler Şiiliği, İranlıları, Haricileri, Sufileri, Şubiye hareketini ve İslam’a sonradan giren bütün yabancı unsurları tehdit olarak görmüş ve onlara karşı savunmacı bir tutum ve söylem geliştirmiştir. Bu tezde siyasal Selefiliğin tehdit algısı, harekete geçirme, ve birleştirme gibi üç araç geliştirdiğini ortaya koyuyorum. Bin Abdülvehhap vi 18.yüzyılda Arabistan’da bu enstrümanlar vasıtasıyla siyasal Selefiliği yeniden formüle etmiştir. Siyasal Selefiliğin Arabistan’da yükselişi Suudi emirlikleri ve Suudi Arabistan’ın ortaya çıkışını sağlamıştır. Süreç içinde Hint Müslüman toplumuna da yayılan siyasi Selefilik, İngilizlere karşı Hindistan’da ortaya çıkan ayaklanmaların da başını çekmiştir. Siyasi Selefiliğin aynı mirası 20.yüzyılda Taliban’ın ortaya çıkışında da rol oynamıştır. Siyasi Selefilik hem Suudi Arabistan’ın hem de kısa süreli Taliban rejiminin oluşumunda kilit rol oynamıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Siyasal Selefilik, ibn Teymiye, ibn Abdülvehhap, Taliban, Suudi Arabistan. vii To My Grandfather, Ramazan Gökçekaya viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu, for her advice, supervision, contributions and friendship, during the writing stage of this dissertation. She has been more than a mentor for me with her help, thoughtfulness, ideas, and close friendship. Without her support, it would be impossible for me to complete my study. I would also like to thank Mehmet Şahin, Tuba Ünlü Bilgiç, Bayram Sinkaya and Pınar Köksal, who are the members of my thesis committee. They honored me with their evaluations and contributions. Bayram Sinkaya particularly contributed much to the process of reshaping my thesis in a more theoretical framework therefore I want to present my special thanks to him. I would also like to thank to the staff of the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) and the Jafet Memorial Library. The AUB accepted me as a PhD research affiliate for 7 months and allowed me to benefit from all the opportunities within the campus. The intellectual sources at the Jafet Library at the AUB contributed a lot to my dissertation. I would also like to thank Assoc. Prof. Zişan Furat, Assist. Prof. Murat Tinaz, graduate student and journalist Ezgi Durmaz, Tarik Harputlu, journalist Furkan Güldemir, graduate student Serdar Günaydin and Manar Fleifel, research assistant at the ISSAM FARES Institute. They made Lebanon a more enjoyable place for me during my stay. They will always remain as my friends and I will never forget the great time I spent in Lebanon thanks to their companionship and fellowship. I was able to conduct my field research thanks to the grant that I received from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK) through BİDEB 2214-A Program. Therefore, I would like to present my special thanks to ix TUBITAK for its financial support, which enabled me with the opportunity to spend seven months for my research. I will never forget my mother Zeynep Öztürk’s help and support throughout my life and during my thesis writing process. She always supported me and provided me with the best conditions for me to write my thesis successfully. Therefore, she deserves my deepest gratitutude.. Last but not least I –would like to present many thanks to my colleagues. Salih Zeki Haklı, Hakan Türkoğlu, Servet Çetin, Fatih Hasdemir, Jale Akhundova, Muhammed Sağlam, Gökhan Duman, Şaban Sicim and İsmail Yıldız deserve many thanks because they made my work place a more enjoyable venue for me during my PhD studies and dissertation writing phase. I benefited much from their companionship. I also present my special thanks to my best friends Nazmi Nihat Uğur, Hüseyin Çalışkan and Gökhan Aydın. I had very fruitful discussions over my disserations with them. I would also like to present special thanks to Kenan Şahin who inspired me about the dissertation topic. He has always been my mentor with his alternative ideas and opinions. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ xi NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION ............................................................................ xv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. XVI CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Perception of Threat in Political Salafism ........................................................ 4 1.2. Mobilization