“Wahhabism” and “Wahhabis” are names, often used and given to the doctrine and followers of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab, who, annoyed by practices which he claimed were bordering on kufr, launched a campaign to purify the Islamic faith. Many have compared the Wahhabi campaign to Islamic reformation and revivalist movements in various parts of the Muslim world.
Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab was the founder and first modern Islamic fundamentalist and extremists allied to the Al-Saud clan who promoted an extreme version of Salafism which is a term used to describe fundamentalist islamic thought and the jihadist movement or ideology amond Salafi Muslims (Global, 2014). Wahhab made the central point of his reform movement the principle that absolutely every idea added to Islam after the third century of the Mulsim era was false and should be eliminated.

Muslims, in order to be true Muslims, must adhere solely and strictly to the original beliefs set forth by Muhammad. The reason for this extremist stance, and the focus of Wahhab's reform efforts, was a number of popular practices which he believed represented a regression to pre-Islamic polytheism. These included praying to saints, making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques, venerating trees, caves, and stones, and using votive and sacrificial offerings. These are all practices commonly and traditionally associated with religions, but they were unacceptable to Wahhab. Contemporary secular behaviors are even more anathema to Wahhab's successors. It is against modernity, secularism, and the Enlightenment which current Wahhabists do battle, and it is this anti-secularism, anti-modernism which helps drive their extremism, even to the point of violence.

Professor Hamid Algar’s study of the Wahhabi phenomenon is timely; it comes after the rise and fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, whose ‘Islamic’ rule few would deny was a carbon copy of the Wahhabi-Saudi rule in the Arabian Peninsula. The difference between them is mainly that the former was destroyed because of its resistance to Western bullying, and the latter survives because of America’s interest in the region’s petroleum resources. The western media have labeled as “Wahhabis” any jihad groups in Central Asia, and conveniently used phrases such as "strict Sunni Islam" or "puritan Islam" to describe the Saudi and the Taliban governments. However, “Wahhabism” is not Sunni Islam; in fact many Sunni traditions have been attacked by the Wahhabis as shirk and bid’ah (innovations), the most common example of which is the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday (Algar, 2002). Today, Wahhabism is the dominant Islamic tradition on the Arabian Peninsula, though its influence is minor in the rest of the Middle East. Because Osama bin Laden comes from Saudi Arabia and is Wahhabi himself, Wahhabi extremism and radical ideas of purity have obviously influenced him considerably. Adherents of Wahhabi Islam do not regard it as simply one school of thought out of many; rather it is the only path of true Islam as nothing else counts.

Even though Wahhabism is a minority position overall in the Muslim world, it has nevertheless been influential for other extremist movements throughout the Middle East. This can be seen with a couple of factors, first of which is al-Wahhab’s use of the term jahiliyya to vilify a society which he does not consider pure enough, whether they call themselves Muslim or not. Even today, Islamists use the term when referring to the West and at times even to their own societies. With it, they can justify overthrowing what many might regard as an Islamic state by essentially denying that it is truly Islamic at all.

The Sectarian and geo-political agendas are behind much of the controversy and misconceptions around Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his monotheistic movement in the 18th century. The controversy is fuelled in part by anti “Wahhabi” propaganda which comes mostly from the Sufis from the Ottoman era, the Nusayree Baatinees from Syria, the Radfidah Shiah from Iran and in the past, the Ba'thists from Iraq, who all have invested a great deal of money and effort to push anti “Wahhabi” propaganda. Further, contemporary extremist and terrorist groups are associated with Ibn Abd al-Wahhaab and the “Wahhabis” because most of the factions attempt to support and justify their activities by appeal to Ibn Abd al-Wahhaab (Algar, 2002).

According to Yungher, the sampling of Wahhabi thought provides a clearer perspective that some aspects of present-day Wahhabism, which may contribute to radical Islamists stoking the fires of terrorism. Wahhabism pretty much states that if you are not with them, you are against them. He believes for his jihad to work, believers who reside in the United States for any reason should feel as if they are in hostile territory, and, therefore, should try to convert local non-believers, accumulate funds to be used later in jihad, or conclude their business as soon as possible and leave (Yungher, 2002).

Since the 9-11 attacks in September, 2011, the impact of terror today not only affected the economy of the United States, but it also created disruptions in the global economy as well. Major areas of economy that felt this impact were airline industries. This is due in part as many people were afraid to fly due to the possibility of the airline being hi-jacked. With the reduction in airlines, global tourism took a hit as well. Another area that felt the sting from the 9-11 attacks was the financial markets. While the global economy has recovered and is adjusting to the new global realities, the longer-term impact of heightened security risk across the world can be felt in the form of higher risk premiums in asset markets, as well as a shift of resources towards dealing with terrorism. Just as World War II had accelerated the development of nuclear energy as well as a major contributing factor in the genesis of Silicon Valley, the current war against terrorism will affect both the pace and trajectory of technology trends as efforts are focused on developing technologies to combat terrorism (Koh, 2006).

As a result from the attacks on September, 9-11, terrorism in the future will be on the rise and as a result, we may see an influx of homegrown terrorist rising from within to support the cause of those Muslim countries and radical people who want to destroy the United States as their recruitment is on the rise and will only gain more people who sympathize with their cause. From what I see, the group known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could be the next big threat that the United States will have to deal with as they have already been making threats to attack us when we least expect it. In addition, although not as effective in inducing terror, information warfare tactics is another method that will be used in the future which will allow tomorrow's terrorist to cause great disruption without physical harm to individuals.

While conventional terrorism will still involve physical destruction of property and human life, cyber-terrorism will utilize cyber-violence and "virtual" destruction of data in cyberspace. While directly causing no casualties, this action will still fulfill the goals of advertising, morale building, disorientation, and response provocation. Some cyberterror actions, such as attacking safety or control systems such as aircraft avionics, air traffic control towers and have the potential to create cascading failures that will lead to loss of life. Cyberterrorists will in many cases, have the option of including destruction along with disruption to create terror and a more permanent result. While we have yet to see the combination of political motivation and criminal activity in cyberspace, we cannot disregard the potential of this type of terrorism. Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhaab is commonly referred to as the founder of the “Wahhabism.” He found it was necessary to create a new interpretation of Islam that would sanction such murder, but under the appearance of Jihad. People such as Osama Bin Laden were influenced and followed this philosophy and even carried on a personal jihad with the United States with the attack of the twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon. This alone affected the economy not only locally, but also on a global scale and changed the way that most countries handle security.

References
Algar, J. (2002). Wahhabism. A Critical Essay. Oneonta, NewYork: Islamic Publication

International

Global. (2014). Retrieved on 22 August, 2014 from

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-salafi.htm

Koy, W. (2006). Retrieved on 22 Aug, 2014 from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162506000072

Yungher, N. (2008). Terrorism: The Bottom Line. Upper Saddle River,

New Jersey: Pearson