The Wahabi Movement (Arabic: وهابية) is an Islamic reformist movement that originated in the early 18th century in the Arabian Peninsula. It was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) as a revivalist and reform effort aiming to purify Islam by returning to what its followers considered the original teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. The movement rejects practices deemed as innovations (bid’ah) or idolatrous (shirk) and promotes a strict, orthodox interpretation of Islam.
The Wahabi Movement became seen as a political threat to British colonial rulers due to its militant nature and anti-British stance, emphasizing Jihad and inspiring rebellion. The British authorities took military and legal actions to suppress the movement, notably through the Wahabi Trials between 1864 and 1870, where many leaders and followers were arrested, tried, imprisoned, or exiled. Although the movement declined after its failure to establish an Islamic state and British suppression, its ideological influence persisted and shaped later Islamic reform movements in India and beyond.
In Bengal, including areas that are now part of Bangladesh, Wahabi influence spread among the rural Muslim populace in the 19th century. The movement contributed to a religious revival and was intertwined with local politics and social dynamics, often opposing traditional Hindu elites and colonial authorities. Wahabi activism in Bengal was linked to peasant mobilization and anti-Hindu sentiments and had a lasting impact on the region’s religious and political landscape.
Thus, the Wahabi Movement was both a religious and socio-political force with a significant legacy in South Asia, including Bangladesh ওয়াহাবী আন্দোলন