<i>Wahhabism, a traditionalist Sunni practice</i><p>Wahabism (Salafism) is decidedly not traditionalist. At best, it&#x27;s a form of degraded literalism that abandons 1400 years of exegesis for an anarchic reading of Islamic texts. It lends itself easily to terrorism, and, as the founding doctrine of the Saudi state, it is gaining traction in much of the world. It seems to have particular appeal for &quot;born again&quot; types like the subject of this article.