Muhammad Surur

Muhammad Surur
TitleShaykh, Imam, Allamah
Personal
Born1938 (1938)
Hawran, Syria
Died2016 (aged 77–78)
Doha, Qatar
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
CreedAthari
MovementSalafi
Sahwa movement
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced

Muhammad Surur bin Nayif Zayn al-'Abidin (Arabic: محمد سرور بن نايف زين العابدين; 1938 – 11 November 2016)[1] was a former member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.[2] He is credited with establishing the Salafi Islamist movement known as Sururism (or Sururi), which combines "the organisational methods and political worldview of the Muslim Brotherhood with the theological puritanism of Wahhabism."[3] This movement is noted for advancing a politicized version of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. Surur called for non-violent criticism of Muslim rulers but opposed efforts to overthrow regimes in Muslim countries, viewing such actions as fitna (civil strife and chaos).[4] In 1984, he authored the widely read anti-Shia book Wa Ja'a Dawr al-Majus (Arabic: وجاء دور المجوس, lit. 'The Era of the Magians Has Come').[5] This book posits the Iranian Revolution as a strategy for Shiite domination of the Middle East.[6] His writings influenced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[7]

  1. ^ Haykel, Bernard; Hegghammer, Thomas; Lacroix, Stéphane, eds. (31 Jan 2015). Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9781316194195.
  2. ^ Hassan, Hassan (November 13, 2016). "Muhammad Surur and the normalisation of extremism". The Nation.
  3. ^ Moghadam, Assaf; Fishman, Brian, eds. (10 May 2011). Fault Lines in Global Jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures. Taylor & Francis. p. 187. ISBN 9781136710582.
  4. ^ Joas Wagemakers (11 Jun 2012). A Quietist Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. Cambridge University Press. pp. 34, 77. ISBN 9781139510899.
  5. ^ Moghadam, Assaf; Fishman, Brian, eds. (10 May 2011). Fault Lines in Global Jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures. Taylor & Francis. pp. 187–8. ISBN 9781136710582.
  6. ^ Khatib, Lina; Lust, Ellen, eds. (16 Apr 2014). Taking to the Streets: The Transformation of Arab Activism (illustrated, reprint ed.). JHU Press. p. 318. ISBN 9781421413112.
  7. ^ Jerrold D. Green; Frederic M. Wehrey; Charles Wolf (2009). Understanding Iran. Rand Corporation. p. 121. ISBN 9780833045584.