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Sahwa Movement (Awakening movement) or Al–Sahwa Al-Islamiyya (Islamic Awakening) is a faction of Saudi Salafism. In Saudi Arabia it has started in 1985 by three Saudi clerics that called for more religious action claiming that Saudi Arabia isn't islamic enough in 1985. .
Contents
This group opposed the presence of US troops on the Arabian peninsula.
Origin
Muslim Brotherhood members arrived in Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and 60s seeking refuge from persecution of Egyptian Socialist regime. They always had disputes with Wahhabism. Wahhabism and the Brotherhood influenced each other and this cross-pollination resulted in the birth of a hybrid movement of religious-political dissent known as the Sahwa movement. It reached a peak in the 1990s before being repressed by the Saudi establishment.
Activities
Sahwa members write public petitions and circulate sermons on audio cassettes. Sahwa leaders demand a bigger role for clergy in governing, curbs on the royal family’s privileges, greater transparency for public funds, and a more Islamically conservative society as a defense against Western cultural influences.
Views
They oppose the presence of US troops on the Muslim land. In 1991, al-Hawali delivered a sermon stating: "What is happening in the Persian Gulf is part of a larger Western design to dominate the whole Arab and Muslim world." The opponent groups, such as Madkhalis derogatorily label this group as Qutbis.