grandsons of Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdel Wahab, who was equivalent to a grand mufti in the second Saudi state. He sent letters to Prince Faisal bin Turki al-Saud (1788 聳 1865) reminding him of the religious basis that the Saudi state was founded on: "And the people of Islam did not assail those who opposed them, but by the sword of prophecy and its dominion, especially your state, which did not come to be except with this religion..." (The Splendid Pearls in the Najdi Answers, collected by Abdel Rahman bin Mohammed al-Najdi, 7th edition nike air max 90 nz , 2004, part 14, p. 70). Wahhabi scholars warned the princes of the second Saudi state against the dire conditions that befell the first Saudi state when Prince Saud bin Abdel Aziz bin Mohammed changed his father's way, and wanted it to be a kingdom, in the words of Sheikh Abdel Rahman bin Hassan al-Sheikh. That is when "worldly matters overshadowed religious matters," as he put it (The Splendid Pearls in the Najdi Answers, part 14, p. 123). Sheikh Abdel Rahman wanted to stress the role of religion in the endurance, stability, strength and unity of the state and its centralization in Najd. That is why he vehemently asked the prince to make governance a matter of religion (The Splendid Pearls nike roshe flyknit womens , part 14, p. 124). Clerics' letters in later years reveal a deep frustration with the Saudi state's divergence from Wahhabi principles and the rift between the two sides widened. Saudi rulers insisted on keeping the source of religious legitimacy within the popular environment that supports their rule, namely Najd. At the same time, they faced tremendous challenges imposed by modernity, such as borrowing systems and legislation not derived directly from the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of Prophet Mohammad). The clerics considered this a violation of their sovereign domain, since legislation is their prerogative. This prompted the Grand Mufti and head judge during King Faisal's rule, Sheikh Mohammed ibn Ibrahim al-Sheikh, to write a letter on the arbitration of the laws (Mecca 1960) which stated: "He who governs by other than what God revealed is a disbeliever, either disbelief (kufr) of opinion that expels one from the religion or disbelief of action that does not expel one from the religion." Clerics' letters in later years reveal a deep frustration with the Saudi state's divergence from Wahhabi principles and the rift between the two sides widened. The former mufti, Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Baz (1999) was asked: "Are rulers who govern by other than what God revealed disbelievers? He replied: He who governs by other than what God revealed believes it is better than God's law and is therefore a disbeliever (The Compiled Edicts of Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Baz nike roshe flyknit nz , 4th volume, p. 416). Students of Sheikh bin Baz and those who came after them, especially jihadis in al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), understood from these edicts that the Saudi regime is at the forefront of the regimes targeted by the edicts of the two clerics, ibn Ibrahim and bin Baz. These edicts set the ground for declaring the Saudi state a "disbeliever" since it applied secular laws in the courts. The first dispute between the House of Saud and their popular base manifested itself in the conflict between ibn Saud and his ideological army represented by the Ikhwan about keeping the operational authority of the Wahhabi ideological vision based on takfir (disbelief), hijra (exile or emigration) and jihad open. They criticized him because he "neglected the obligation of jihad" and introduced innovations (bidah) like the wireless and the telegraph into the land of Islam. The Battle of Sabilla in 1929 between ibn Saud and the Ikhwan was a confrontation between the modernizing Saudi state and the guardians of Wahhabism in its original version. The Ikhwan were defeated with British military support and their remnants were accommodated inside state institutions. There was another attempt in the mid-1960s by young men, some of whom were descendants from members of the Ikhwan. They established a proselytizing group that called itself Al-Jamaa Al-Salafiya Al-Muhtasiba (The Salafi Group That Commands Right and Forbids Wrong) and chose the previous mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Baz as their guide. The leaders of the group soon developed their ideas and methods into a religious and political vision and moved from the stage of peaceful proselytizing to a stage of armed confrontation, not only to re- "Wahhabize" the Saudi state but to transition to an advanced stage of global conflict. The confrontation culminated in the outbreak of a Mahdist rebel movement inside the Grand Mosque in November 1979 under the lea