Award winning blogger Sheila X of Higher-Criticism writes a review of Wahabi Islam by Delong-Bas

http://higher-criticism.com/2009/05/review-of-wahhabi-islam-natana-delong-bas.html

Appropriate honorifics have been added or adjusted to this excerpt:

Interestingly, DeLong-Bas herself provides ample evidence of Ibn Abdul Wahhab’s general deviation from mainstream Muslim thought. For example, she reports a religious edict issued by him, fatawa-wa-masa’il, in which [Abdul Wahab] discussed the actions of a close Companion of the Prophet, Abu Bakr (d. 634) (R). Abu Bakr (R) had been the first caliph of the Islamic community, and during his tenure (see The Political Careers of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs), had established the practice of the caliph serving as a paid guardian over the people. Ibn Abdul Wahhab expressed vehement disagreement with the decision saying that Abu Bakr (R) had mis-applied vague Quranic verses to justify the ruling. [Abdul Wahab] goes on to label Abu Bakr’s (R) decision as:

“…the most astonishing part of his ignorance 4“.

In the same edict, Ibn Abdul Wahhab described Abu Bakr’s (R) claim that such spending was for public good as:

…an awesome lie 5.

The last accusation is particularly ironic, since Abu Bakr (R)was so famous for his honesty that he was nicknamed The Truthful. Nevertheless, Ibn Abdul Wahhab’s harsh criticism of Abu Bakr (R) is a radical departure from the reverence that mainstream Muslims typically have of the Companions of the Prophet.

Whoever speaks well of the Companions of the Messenger of God, his chaste wives, and his purified progeny is absolved of hypocrisy. The pious scholars of the past and those after them who follow their path- the people of goodness and tradition, of understanding and profound scholarship- should be mentioned only in the best manner. Anyone who speaks ill of them has deviated from the path 6.