The Churchill Series - Mar. 2, 2006

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

In 1921 Churchill, than Colonial Secretary, reported to the Commons on his recent trip to the Middle East. It included these remarks:

A large number of Bin Saud’s followers belong to the Wahabi sect, a form of Mohammedanism which bears, roughly speaking, the same relation to orthodox Islam as the most militant form of Calvinism would have borne to Rome in the fiercest times of the religious wars.
The Wahabis profess a life of exceeding austerity, and what they practice themselves they rigorously enforce on others. They hold it is an article of duty, as well as faith, to kill all who do not share their opinions and to make slaves of their wives and children.

Women have been put to death in Wahabi villages for simply appearing in the streets. It is a penal offense to wear a silk garment. Men have been killed for smoking a cigarette, and as for the crime of alcohol, the most energetic supporter of the temperance cause in this country falls far behind them.

Austere, intolerant, well-armed, and bloodthirsty, in their own regions the Wahabis are a distinct factor which must be taken into account, and they have been, and still are, very dangerous to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and to the whole institution of the pilgrimage, in which our Indian fellow-subjects are so deeply concerned.

The Emir Bin Saud has shown himself capable of leading and, within considerable limits, of controlling these formidable sectaries.

In practice, the Wahabis of our day are much like those of Churchill's day. But in reach, matters are very different now. The Wahabis, often called Islamists, are no longer contained within a particular region. Like every other force that has attacked democracy, they must be faced and defeated lest they prevail.
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Winston Churchill, Speech in the House of Commons, June 14, 1921