Wahhabi

1 of 2

noun (1)

Wah·​habi wə-ˈhä-bē 

wä-

variants or less commonly Wahabi

: a member of a puritanical Muslim sect founded in Arabia in the 18th century by Muhammad ibn-Abdul Wahhab and revived by ibn-Saud in the 20th century

Wahhabism noun

or less commonly Wahabism

wə-ˈhä-ˌbi-zəm 

wä-

Wahhabite adjective or noun

or less commonly Wahabite

wə-ˈhä-ˌbīt 

wä-

Wahhabism

2 of 2

noun (2)

Wah·​ha·​bism

variants or Wahabism

-ˈhäˌbizəm 

plural -s

: the doctrines or practice of the Wahhabi

Examples of Wahhabi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Al-Shabab rejects Somalia’s traditional Sufi form of Islam and wants to institute the much harsher Wahhabi rule, originating in Saudi Arabia. — Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024

The white-marble mosque was an anchor of a Saudi government network of religious operatives who propagated the kingdom’s conservative Wahhabi faith around the United States. — Tim Golden, ProPublica, 27 Apr. 2023

While most Muslim countries encourage commemorating the Mawlid, the opposite is true in communities shaped by the ultra-conservative Wahhabi school of Islam, whose global influence has rapidly expanded in recent decades. — Deina Abdelkader, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2022

For the United States, another benefit to decreased tensions between the Gulf and Iran is fewer incentives for Gulf interests to spread Wahhabi Islam throughout the Muslim world. — Chris Murphy, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2021

In addition to its oil and strategic location, its conservative Wahhabi version of Islam served the purpose of distancing the region’s Muslims from radical nationalism and communism. — Madawi Al-Rasheed, Foreign Affairs, 16 Mar. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Arabic wahhābī, from Muḥammad ibn ʽAbd al-Wahhāb (Abdul-Wahhab) †1787 Arab religious reformer

Noun (2)

wahhabi + -ism

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1807, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Wahhabi

• panjabi
• punjabi
• bobbie
• bobby
• hobby
• knobby
• lobby
• nabi
• nobby