Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global JihadUntil September 11, 2001 few Westerners had ever heard of Wahhabism. Now most of us recognize the word as describing an austere and puritanical type of Islam, mentioned frequently in connection with Osama bin Laden and Saudi Arabia and often named as the inspiration behind the 9 11 terror attacks. The word Wahhabi stems from the name of the founder of this system of thought, Muhammad Ibn Abd al Wahhab (1702 1791), companion and religious adviser to