Ikhwan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Jami'at al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin, see Muslim Brotherhood.

The Ikhwan was the Wahhabi religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin that had converted to Wahhabism. After the conquest of the Hijaz in 1926 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control, the monarch found himself in some conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He succeeded in crushing the Ikhwan's resistance in 1929, following which the militia was reorganised as the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

Ikhwan is also the name of a "pro-government militia" in Jammu and Kashmir, composed of "reformed militants" who are mostly local Kashmiri men. They have been organised and supported by Indian security agencies to counter the terrorists groups operating in the state. Cruel acts and atrocities have been committed towards the local population in the war on terrorism by both sides.