(a ullah bin abdul aziz): >> smith: fact, their legitimacy is rooted in the deal made at the founding the saudi state in 1932. king abdul aziz ibn saud, in order to ufy the warring tribes of arabia, signed a pact with fundamentalist wahhabi clerics. the wahhabis follow the teachings of an 18th-century islamic cleric, mohammed bin abd al wahhab, who had demanded a return to an older, harsher faith. >> being harsh, th reflects the ciheumstances of arabia in t 18th century. a you know, religious political movement starts, always at the beginning, they are very austere, very conservative, very harsh, very radical.tive, very harsh, very (call to pyer over loudspeaker) >> whabism, really, is an extremely puritan form of islam. the wahhabis believe that islam has to be cleansed of all the accoutrements, that the has to be very literal interpretation of the text. and they are very intolerant about people who don't agree with them. (man): >> smith: in riyadh i listeneda' as saudi arabis highest religious authority, the grand mufti, warned his faithfulai agnst deviation. the mufti is airect des