Muhammad Surur

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

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.