Similarities Between The Protestant Reformation And The Wahhabi Movement In Islam Essay

The Protestant Reformation was the change within the Christianity in Europe. It was initiated by Protestants such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and John Calvin and among other Protestants. Its roots can be traced in late 1400 AD and at around 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses. The reformers objected to protest the doctrines, leadership and the structures of the Roman Catholic Church. Other factors that led to the widespread of protestant reformation include the spread of Renaissance ideas, the invention of the printing press and the collapse of the Roman Empire. This essay's main objective is to discuss the main ideas of the Protestant Reformation and its similarities with the Wahhabi movement of Islam of 1700s.
The reformation began when the priests attempted to get rid of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. They perceived some practices as false doctrines especially the teaching and selling of absolutions, and the sale and procurement of clerical offices. They perceived this as confirmation of the sleaze within the church that involved the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church including the pope. Reformation in Germany began in 1517-1521 when Martin Luther expressed his concerns over the transparency of indulgences of the pope. In January, 1521, Martin Luther communicated to the Catholic Church, and this was the major cause of the protest reformation. The Reformation began at Wittenberg, Saxony, where Martin Luther posted his thesis on the power and efficacy of indulgences.
Martin Luther’s theses criticized the church and the pope. It also concentrated on doctrinal programs about specific judgments and the power of the pope. Later in 1517, he wrote about the Catholic devotion to Mary, the mother of God, the devotion of saints, the sacraments, the clerical celibacy and the freedom of a Christian. Soon, others reformers like Ulrich Zwingli soon followed and protestant churches began to be established such as the Unitas Fratrum and the Moravian Church. In 16 the century, the Protestants erupted rapidly and spread all over Europe.
The main idea behind the Protestant Reformation was corruption. The church taught that it was the only representative of the God on the earth. There were doctrine powers for Pope, and even he was named the Vicar of Christ. However, according to Luther’s theses, everyone was equal in the eyes of God. The printing press by Johannes Gutenberg leads to the widespread of reformation thinking quickly. It is because the writings of Martin Luther were available, and their production was fast. He also translated the Bible into German. King Henry viii (1509-1547) separated England from the Catholic Church because the Pope denied him a divorce from his wife.
Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhabi founded the Wahhabi Movement in 1703. It was a reform movement for restoration of pure monotheistic worship. It was meant to revive the right Islamic belief and practice. There are similarities between the Christian Protestant Reformation and the Wahhabi movement. These include that both there was a dispute over religious and cultural practices of the two faiths. The Protestant movement differed from the Catholic Church, and the Wahhabism differed from the original thoughts of the Muslim religion.
Both movements seem to be promoting Puritanism in their religious set up. The Protestant tradition took the Christian church back to its essence of focusing on the authority of the Catholic Church. The Wahhabi movement also promoted ideas that are not in the original Quran or evidenced by Prophet Mohammad’s life especially when it comes to the roles of the treatment of women. Both have taken their respective scriptures to a great extent with a more literal interpretation when compared to the original mainstream of that time.
In conclusion, we can see that the Protestant movement of the late 1400 AD started in Wittenberg. It spread all over Europe, England, Italy, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium, Ireland and other parts of Europe. Among the pioneers of the Protestant movement was Martin Luther, John Wycliffe among others. It led to widespread of thoughts of Martin Luther in his 95 theses. The idea differed with the original practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The papacy involved in activities such as the buying and selling of the land, selling of clerical offices and charging religious activities like the baptism practices. As a result, there were mass protests in Europe that led to the creation of Protestant churches. The Wahhabi movement also rose in early 1700 AD and led to the change in the original thought of Prophet Mohammad. Wahhabism called for Puritanism of the Muslim faith. Both The Wahhabism and the Protestant movements have similarities as mentioned above.

Works Cited

Newsweek. "Wahhabism: A Brief History." Newsweek 140.14 (2002): 33. Web. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7383356&site=ehost-live>.
Okon, Etim E. "The Causation of Protestant Reformation: Lessons of History." IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science 10.2 (2013): 11 - 20. Web. <http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol10-issue2/B01021120.pdf>.