Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-176) and index.

Introduction: Unraveling the myths / Mohammed Ayoob and Hasan Kosebalaban -- Wahhabism : religious movement and political ideology -- Wahhabism and the question of religious tolerance / Natana J. DeLong-Bas -- Wahhabism as an ideology of state formation / Khalid S. al-Dakhil -- Contestation and authority in Wahhabi polemics / David Commins -- Wahhabism and the Saudi state -- Wahhabi origins of the contemporary Saudi state / John S. Habib -- The annexation of the Hijaz / William Ochsenwald -- State power, religious privilege, and myths about political reform / Gwenn Okruhlik -- Religious revivalism and its challenge to the Saudi regime / Toby Craig Jones -- Saudi-US relations -- A most improbable alliance : placing interests over ideology / Thomas W. Lippman -- Official Wahhabism and the sanctioning of Saudi-US relations / F. Gregory Gause III -- Conclusion -- The impact of the Wahhabi tradition / John O. Voll.