Wahabi Doctrine in Malaysia-Saudi Relations

• Main Authors: Mohd. Rizal Yaakop, Asmady Idris
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: BL Religion
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/18489/1/Wahabi%20Doctrine%20in%20Malaysia.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/18489/

Religious affiliation is the most vital element in which Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have shared commonalities in their bilateral relations. It is understandably comprehended also that in terms of the character of the relations, Malaysia seems to tend to interact more with the Kingdom, and not vice versa, in order to fulfill its multi-variety of domestic and international necessities. Malaysia has to face various issues that are closely related to the culture of the Islamic development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In some points these may influence the degree of the relations, particularly to the Islamic traditions of the former. However, based on this study, the expansion of Wahabi Doctrine was limited due to the dominance of the Shafiite School, Malaysia’s religious ‘guarded’ policies, the trend of the Islamic da’wah movement in Malaysia. Furthermore, the approach of Saudi in spreading the Wahabi doctrine was also slow and more efforts were done to strengthen its image and influence among Muslim countries by distributing its wealth to other needy Muslim countries. This will consolidate its position among other stronger Muslim countries.