Question:
Would you explain about the Wahhabi aggression?
Answer:
The founder of Wahhabi sect Mohammad the son of Abdul Wahab who deemed most of religious beliefs in Najd region since he was young. After he was outcast from 'Ayniyyah', a city in Najd region, he went to Dariyyah and developed a friendship with the governor of Dariyyah, Mohammad the son of Mes`ud. Afterwards, they ignited some battles against the people of najd, Hejaz- the region in Western Arabia bordering the Red Sea that includes Ta’if, Mecca and Medina- , Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. Thereat, those consenting to his beliefs pledged allegiance to him and those who opposed him were killed and their property was confiscated.
They committed great crimes which were anchored on their wrong beliefs including annihilation of historical sites like birthplace of the holy Prophet, house of her highness Khadija, the mother of the faithful, house of Abu Bekr, birthplace of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, house of hadrat Hamzah, the Prophet`s uncle, Beitul Arqam( Prophet`s house of consultation), martyrs` graveyard, birthplace of Imam Hassan and Husain(a`), stealing jewelries of Green Dome, destructing Baqi` cemetery which hosts four Shiite Imams and some ten thousands companions of the Prophet. Anchored on their wrong notions, they launched an attack on Shiite holy city of Kerbela in 1802- on Zilhajjaj 18th 1216 based on lunar calendar- synchronous with Noble Ghadir Holiday when most of the people had evacuated the city to attend Najaf city and plundered it and killed many people.
Sheikh Osman, the son of Bashar Najdi, a Wahhabi scholar in 13th century on solar calendar describes the event as follows:
"Wahhabis launched a surprised attack on city entering it while massacring many by-passers in allies, bazaars and houses, they demolished the dome above Husain`s tomb, plundered what was inside the dome and around it, carved the tombstone`s rubies and decorated emeralds. They evacuate the city from what they found from property, weapons, clothes to carpet, gold, jewelries and valuable Qurans till noon while they had killed more than a thousand people.
"Amir Mes`ud attacked Kerbela with more than twenty thousand soldiers and created a disaster the description of which tongue is void of. It was reputed that more than twenty thousands were killed in a night. Afterwards, Kerbela turned to a disastrous condition, which the poets were compelled to elegize for Kerbela.
Lonkrit writes," About fifty people were killed near the mausoleum, and some five hundred outside the mausoleum in the campus. Whomever they ran across was killed without pity. They did not show an iota of pity toward the elderly and the children. Some guess the number of the casualties as thousand and some believe it is five times more than what was told."
Mirza Abu Taleb Esfahani who was residing in India on his way back from London passed Kerbela and Najaf related in his itinerary how some twenty five thousand Wahhabis with their Arab horses and camels entered Kerbela vicinity while loudly uttering" murder the polytheists and cut off the infidels` heads". H claims more than five thousand people were murdered with countless people wounded. Inside holy shrine blood was flowing from lifeless bodies decapitated. Bodies were hoarded inside shrine rooms. The intensity of atrocity was such forebodingly agonizing that it had been frequently narrated by the people of Kerbela after eleven months when I went. It was still narrated by people and made man`s hair to stand on end.
Saint John Filbi states," They put swords to the throats of Kerbela people, slit their throat dead, and looted their valuables. "
Dr. Mohammad Avaz al-Khatib believes," A troop of twenty thousand talents of Najdian Arabs besieged Kerbela and entered the city and swiftly massacred the people of Kerbela. Even children could not get away with it. They looted the jewelries and valuables, and demolished the mausoleum.
Wahhabis murdered the people of Kerbela after attacking and conquering the city and abased Imam Husain`s holy shrine and martyred some of the thinkers including Fadel Molla Abdul Samad Hamadan I the author of 'Bahrul Ma`arif'. They then launched an attack to Najaf with the same troop. As the people of Najaf had heard about the catastrophe in Kerbela and disastrous looting in Medina they were prepared and defended their city. Even women came out of their houses and displayed heroic spirits to increase their husband`s bravery so as to mitigate Whhabi murder and plundering. In 1215 according to lunar calendar, some of Wahhabis decided to attack Najaf again and demolish Imam Ali`s holy shrine. However, a group of Arabs defeated them on their way to Najaf.) They attacked once more in 1221 according to lunar calendar and the city was on the brink of collapse that the miracles of Imam Ali hampered their purposes and some of them were killed and the rest returned to Hejaz. In 1225, they were tempted to conquer Najaf and Kerbela once again. They blocked the wayfarers and killed some one hundred and fifty wayfarers between two cities of Najaf and Kerbela. To put in a nutshell, their recurrent hapless attacks on Najaf were defeated . They savagely attacked both cities of Najaf and Kerbela for several times in a 10-year span.
Wahhabis ordered by Abdul Aziz attacked Taif 64km far from Mecca and massacred the people in 1217 based on lunar calendar. They cut the head of breastfeeding kids on their mother`s chest, killed a group who were reading the Holy Quran, attacked shops and mosques, killed whomever they ran across even those in bowing and prostrating positions while praying. The elderly, women, and children whose lives were spared by Wahhabis were taken to 'Wajj" region near Taif and abandoned without neither clothes nor food. They flung books among them Qurans, Sahih Bukhari, and Moslem and other jurisprudence and hadith books on the streets and trod upon them.
Attacking Medina:
Emir Mesud attacked Medina in 1220 based on lunar calendar and conquered it after he laid siege for a year and half. He expelled the judge appointed by Ottoman empire, and banned the people from paying tribute to the graves of the Holy Prophet and other dignitaries buried in Qabi` cemetery. Thereof, he issues orders to demolish the historical sites and Baqi` graveyards. They attacked graveyards in Baqi` and demolished the domes including mausoleums of four infallible Imams (Imam Hassan Mojtaba, Imam Zeinul Abidin, Imam Mohammad Baqir, and Imam Jafar Sadiq (a`)) as well as Abdallah the Prophet`s father`s grave and plundered whatever valuable object they found.
The aforementioned quotations and anecdotes were examples of Wahhabi aggression against Muslims in general and Shiites in particular. They brought their own dishonor by demolishing Islamic sites and holy locations like Baqi` cemetery unrelenting attacks to Kerbela and Najaf, and massacring Muslims. This sect has always been chastised by the Muslims and righteous followers of Noble Prophet of Islam(s) and infallible Imams of Guidance (a`).
Refrence:
Source: Asad Ali Zade, Akbar, "Naqde Andisheye Wahabiat", Cultural Studies and Researches Center of Islamic Seminary
Translation by: AhlulBayt News Agency (a.s) (Abna.ir)