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| Islam |
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Islamic schools and branches have different understandings ofIslam. There are many different sects or denominations,schools of Islamic jurisprudence, andschools of Islamic theology, orʿaqīdah (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves there may be differences, such as different orders (tariqa) withinSufism, and withinSunnī Islam different schools of theology (Atharī,Ashʿarī,Māturīdī) and jurisprudence (Ḥanafī,Mālikī,Shāfiʿī,Ḥanbalī).[1] Groups in Islam may be numerous (Sunnīs make up 85-90% of all Muslims), or relatively small in size (Ibadis,Ismāʿīlīs,Zaydīs).[2]
Differences between the groups may not be well known to Muslims outside of scholarly circles, or may have induced enough passion to have resulted inpolitical andreligious violence (Barelvi,Deobandi,Salafism,Wahhabism).[3][4][5][6] There are informal movements driven by ideas (such asIslamic modernism andIslamism), as well as organized groups with governing bodies (such asNation of Islam). Some of the Islamic sects and groups regard certain others as deviant ornot being truly Muslim (for example,Sunnīs frequently discriminate againstAhmadiyya,Alawites,Quranists, and sometimesShīʿas).[3][4][5][6] Some Islamic sects and groups date back to theearly history of Islam between the 7th and 9th centuries CE (Kharijites,Sunnīs,Shīʿas), whereas others have arisen much more recently (Islamic neo-traditionalism,liberalism and progressivism,Islamic modernism,Salafism and Wahhabism), or even in the 20th century (Nation of Islam). Still others were influential historically, but are no longer in existence (non-IbadiKharijites,Muʿtazila,Murji'ah).
Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches are known asnon-denominational Muslims.
The original schism betweenKharijites,Sunnīs, andShīʿas amongMuslims was disputed over thepolitical and religious succession to the guidance of theMuslim community (Ummah) after the death of theIslamic prophetMuhammad.[7] From their essentially political position, the Kharijites developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims.[7] Shīʿas believeʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is the true successor to Muhammad, while Sunnīs considerAbu Bakr to hold that position. The Kharijites broke away from both the Shīʿas and the Sunnīs during theFirst Fitna (the first Islamic Civil War);[7] they were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach totakfīr (excommunication), whereby they declared both Sunnī and Shīʿa Muslims to be eitherinfidels (kuffār) orfalse Muslims (munafiqun), and therefore deemed themworthy of death for their perceivedapostasy (ridda).[7]
In addition, there are several differences within Sunnī and Shīʿa Islam: Sunnī Islam is separated into four main schools of jurisprudence, namelyMālikī,Ḥanafī,Shāfiʿī, andḤanbalī; these schools are named after their foundersMālik ibn Anas,Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān,Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī, andAḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, respectively.[1] Shīʿa Islam, on the other hand, is separated into three major sects:Twelvers,Ismāʿīlīs, andZaydīs. The vast majority of Shīʿa Muslims are Twelvers (a 2012 estimate puts the figure as 85%),[8] to the extent that the term "Shīʿa" frequently refers to Twelvers by default. All mainstream Twelver and Ismāʿīlī Shīʿa Muslims follow the same school of thought, theJaʽfari jurisprudence, named afterJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, thesixth Shīʿīte Imam.
Zaydīs, also known as Fivers, follow the Zaydī school of thought (named afterZayd ibn ʿAlī).Ismāʿīlīsm is another offshoot of Shīʿa Islam that later split intoNizārī andMusta'lī, and the Musta'lī further divided intoḤāfiẓi andṬayyibi.[9] Ṭayyibi Ismāʿīlīs, also known as "Bohras", are split betweenDawudi Bohras,Sulaymani Bohras, andAlavi Bohras.[10]
Similarly,Kharijites were initially divided into five major branches:Sufris,Azariqa,Najdat,Adjarites, andIbadis. Of these, Ibadi Muslims are the only surviving branch of Kharijites. In addition to the aforementioned groups, new schools of thought and movements likeAhmadi Muslims,Quranist Muslims, andAfrican-American Muslims later emerged independently.
Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches are known asnon-denominational Muslims.
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Sunnī Islam, also known asAhl as-Sunnah waʾl Jamāʾah or simplyAhl as-Sunnah, is by far the largestdenomination of Islam, comprising around 85% of the Muslim population in the world. The termSunnī comes from the wordsunnah, which means the teachings, actions, and examples of theIslamic prophetMuhammad andhis companions (ṣaḥāba).
Sunnīs believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead theMuslim community(Ummah) before his death in 632 CE, however they approve of the private election of the first companion,Abū Bakr.[12][13] Sunnī Muslims regard the first four caliphs—Abū Bakr (632–634),ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (Umar І, 634–644),ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (644–656), andʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—asal-Khulafāʾ ur-Rāshidūn ("the Rightly-Guided Caliphs"). Sunnīs also believe that the position of caliph may be attained democratically, on gaining a majority of the votes, but after the Rashidun, the position turned into a hereditarydynastic rule because of the divisions started by theUmayyads and others. After the fall of theOttoman Empire in 1923, there has never been another caliph as widely recognized in theMuslim world.
Followers of the classical Sunnīschools of jurisprudence andkalām (rationalistic theology) on one hand, andIslamists andSalafists such asWahhabis andAhle Hadith, who follow a literalist reading of early Islamic sources, on the other, have laid competing claims to represent the "orthodox" Sunnī Islam.[14] Anglophone Islamic currents of the former type are sometimes referred to as "traditional Islam".[15]Islamic modernism is an offshoot of theSalafi movement that tried to integrate modernism into Islam by being partially influenced by modern-day attempts to revive the ideas of theMuʿtazila school by Islamic scholars such asMuhammad Abduh.
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Shīʿa Islam is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising around 10–15%[16] of the total Muslim population.[17] Although a minority in the Muslim world, Shīʿa Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim populations inIran,Iraq,Bahrain, andAzerbaijan, as well as significant minorities inSyria,Turkey,South Asia,Yemen, andSaudi Arabia,Lebanon as well as in other parts of thePersian Gulf.[18]
In addition to believing in the supreme authority of theQuran and teachings of Muhammad, Shīʿa Muslims believe that Muhammad's family, theAhl al-Bayt ("People of the Household"), including his descendants known asImams, have distinguished spiritual and political authority over the community,[19] and believe thatʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and therightful successor to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first threeRāshidūn caliphs.[20][full citation needed]
Shīʿīte groups and movements who either ascribe divine characteristics to some important figures in thehistory of Islam (usually members of Muhammad's family, theAhl al-Bayt) or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shīʿa Muslims were designated asGhulat.[39]
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Kharijite (literally, "those who seceded") are an extinct sect who originated during theFirst Fitna, the struggle for political leadership over the Muslim community, following the assassination in 656 of the third caliphUthman.[40][7] Kharijites originally supported the caliphate of Ali, but then later on fought against him and eventually succeeded in his martyrdom while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa. While there are few remaining Kharijite or Kharijite-related groups, the term is sometimes used to denote Muslims who refuse to compromise with those with whom they disagree.
Sufris were a major sub-sect of Kharijite in the 7th and 8th centuries, and a part of the Kharijites.Nukkari was a sub-sect of Sufris.Harūrīs were an early Muslim sect from the period of theFour Rightly-Guided Caliphs (632–661 CE), named for their first leader, Habīb ibn-Yazīd al-Harūrī.Azariqa,Najdat, and Adjarites were minor sub-sects.
The only Kharijite sub-sect extant today isIbadism, which developed out of the 7th century CE. There are currently two geographically separated Ibadi groups—inOman, where they constitute themajority of the Muslim population in the country, and in North Africa where they constitute significant minorities inAlgeria,Tunisia, andLibya. Similarly to another Muslim minority, theZaydīs, "in modern times" they have "shown a strong tendency" to move towards the Sunnī branch of Islam.[21]
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Islamic schools of jurisprudence, known asmadhhab, differ in themethodology they use to derive theirrulings from theQuran,ḥadīth literature, thesunnah (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to theIslamic prophetMuhammad during his lifetime), and thetafsīr literature (exegetical commentaries on the Quran).
Sunnī Islam contains numerousschools of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) andschools of Islamic theology (ʿaqīdah).[1] In terms of religious jurisprudence (fiqh), Sunnism contains several schools of thought (madhhab):[1]
In terms of religious creed (ʿaqīdah), Sunnism contains several schools of theology:[1]
TheSalafi movement is a conservative reform branch and/orrevivalist movement within Sunnī Islam whose followers do not believe in strictly following one particularmadhhab. They include theWahhabi movement, an Islamic doctrine and religious movement founded byMuhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, and the modernAhle Hadith movement, whose followers call themselvesAhl al-Ḥadīth.
InShīʿa Islam, the major Shīʿīte school of jurisprudence is theJaʿfari or Imāmī school,[42] named afterJaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, thesixth Shīʿīte Imam. The Jaʿfari jurisprudence is further divided into two branches: theUsuli school, which favors the exercise ofijtihad,[43] and theAkhbari school, which holds the traditions (aḵbār) of theShīʿīte Imams to be the main source of religious knowledge.[44] Minor Shīʿa schools of jurisprudence include theIsmāʿīlī school (Mustaʿlī-FāṭimidṬayyibi Ismāʿīlīs) and theZaydī school, both of which have closer affinity to Sunnī jurisprudence.[42][45][46]Shīʿīte clergymen andjurists usually carry the title ofmujtahid (i.e., someone authorized to issue legal opinions in Shīʿa Islam).
Thefiqh or jurisprudence ofIbadis is relatively simple. Absolute authority is given to theQuran andḥadīth literature; new innovations accepted on the basis ofqiyas (analogical reasoning) were rejected asbid'ah (heresy) by the Ibadis. That differs from the majority of Sunnīs,[47] but agrees with most Shīʿa schools[48] and with theẒāhirī and earlyḤanbalī schools of Sunnism.[49][50][51]
Aqidah is an Islamic term meaning "creed", doctrine, or article of faith.[52][53] There have existed many schools of Islamic theology, not all of which survive to the present day. Major themes of theological controversies in Islam have includedpredestination and free will, thenature of the Quran, the nature of thedivine attributes,apparent andesoteric meaning of scripture, and the role ofdialectical reasoning in the Islamic doctrine.
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Kalām is theIslamic philosophy of seeking theological principles throughdialectic. In Arabic, the word literally means "speech/words". A scholar ofkalām is referred to as amutakallim (Muslim theologian; pluralmutakallimūn). There are many schools of Kalam, the main ones being theAshʿarī andMāturīdī schools in Sunni Islam.[54]
Ashʿarīsm is a school of theology founded byAbū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the 10th century. The Ashʿarīte view was that comprehension of the unique nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability. Ashʿarī theology is considered one of the orthodox creeds of Sunni Islam alongside theMāturīdī theology.[54] Historically, the Ashʿarī theology prevails inSufism and was originally associated with theḤanbalīschool of Islamic jurisprudence.[54]
Māturīdism is a school of theology founded byAbū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī in the 10th century, which is a close variant of the Ashʿarī school. Māturīdī theology is considered one of the orthodox creeds of Sunni Islam alongside the Ashʿarī theology,[54] and prevails in theḤanafīschool of Islamic jurisprudence.[54] Points which differ are the nature of belief and the place of human reason. The Māturīdites state thatimān (faith) does not increase nor decrease but remains static; rather it'staqwā (piety) which increases and decreases. The Ashʿarītes affirm that belief does in fact increase and decrease. The Māturīdites affirm that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation. The Ashʿarītes affirm that the unaided human mind is unable to know if something is good or evil, lawful or unlawful, without divine revelation.
The Atharī school derives its name from the word "tradition" as a translation of the Arabic wordhadith or from the Arabic wordathar, meaning "narrations". The traditionalist creed is to avoid delving into extensive theological speculation. They rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and sayings of the Sahaba, seeing this as the middle path where the attributes of Allah are accepted without questioning their nature (bi-la kayf).Ahmad ibn Hanbal is regarded as the leader of the traditionalist school of creed. The modernSalafi movement associates itself with the Atharī creed.[55][56][57][58]
Muʿtazilite theology originated in the 8th century inBasra whenWasil ibn Ata left the teaching lessons ofHasan al-Basri after a theological dispute. He and his followers expanded on the logic and rationalism ofGreek philosophy, seeking to combine them with Islamic doctrines and show that the two were inherently compatible. The Mu'tazilite resolved many theological and philosophical discourse issues such as whether theQur'an was created or eternal with God, whether evil was created by God or existed by itself, the problem ofdestiny versusfree will, whether the Qur'an should be interpreted allegorically or literally. In this regard, Mu'tazila places more emphasis on rationality in answering Islamic theological and philosophical questions.[59][60]
Murji'ah was a name for an early politico-religious movement which came to refer to all those who identified faith (iman) with belief to the exclusion of acts.[61] Originating during the caliphates of Uthman and Ali, Murijites opposed the Kharijites, holding that only God has the authority to judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and that Muslims should consider all other Muslims as part of the community.[62] Two major Murijite sub-sects were the Karamiya and Sawbaniyya.[63]
Qadariyya is an originally derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who asserted that humans possess free will, whose exercise makes them responsible for their actions, justifying divine punishment and absolving God of responsibility for evil in the world.[64][65] Some of their doctrines were later adopted by theMu'tazilis and rejected by theAsh'aris.[64]
In direct contrast to theQadariyyah, Jabriyah was an early Islamic philosophical school based on the belief that humans are controlled bypredestination, without having choice or free will. The Jabriya school originated during theUmayyad dynasty inBasra. The first representative of this school was Al-Ja'd ibn Dirham who was executed in 724.[66] The term is derived from the Arabic root j-b-r, in the sense which gives the meaning of someone who is forced or coerced by destiny.[66] The term Jabriyah was also a derogatory term used by different Islamic groups that they considered wrong,[67] TheAsh'ariyah used the term Jabriyah in the first place to describe the followers of,Jahm ibn Safwan who died in 746, in that they regarded their faith as a middle position between Qadariyah and Jabriya. On the other hand, theMu'tazilah considered the Ash'ariyah as Jabriyah because, in their opinion, they rejected the orthodox doctrine of free will.[68] TheShiites used the term Jabriyah to describe theAsh'ariyah andHanbalis.[69]
Jahmis were the alleged followers of the early Islamic theologianJahm bin Safwan who associated himself withAl-Harith ibn Surayj. He was an exponent of extremedeterminism according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun acts or does something when it sets.[70]
Bāṭiniyyah is a name given to an allegoristic type of scriptural interpretation developed among some Shia groups, stressing thebāṭin (inward, esoteric) meaning of texts. It has been retained by all branches ofIsma'ilism and itsDruze offshoot.Alevism,Bektashism and folk religion,Hurufis andAlawites practice a similar system of interpretation.[71]
Sufism is Islam'smystical-ascetic dimension and is represented by schools or orders known asTasawwufī-Ṭarīqah. It is seen as that aspect of Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of inner self. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.[72][full citation needed]
The following list contains some notable Sufi orders:
Manyslaves brought from Africa to the Western Hemisphere wereMuslims,[82] and the early 20th century saw the rise of distinct Islamic religious and political movements within theAfrican-American community in the United States,[83] such as Darul Islam,[82] the Islamic Party of North America,[82] the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood (MIB),[82] the Muslim Alliance in North America,[82] theMoorish Science Temple of America,[83] theNation of Islam (NOI),[83][84][85][86] and theAnsaaru Allah Community.[87] They sought to ascribe Islamic heritage to African-Americans, thereby giving much emphasis on racial and ethnic aspects[84][83][85][86][88] (seeblack nationalism andblack separatism).[82][87][89] Theseblack Muslim movements often differ greatly in matters of doctrine from mainstream Islam.[83][85][87][89] They include:
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TheAhmadiyya Movement in Islam was founded in British India in 1889 byMirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian, who claimed to be the promisedMessiah ("Second Coming ofChrist"), theMahdi awaited by the Muslims as well as a"subordinate" prophet to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[95][96][97][98] Ahmadis claim to practice the pristine form of Islam as followed by Muhammad and hisearliest followers.[99][100] They believe that it was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's task to restore the originalsharia given to Muhammad by guiding theUmmah back to the "true"Islam and defeat the attacks on Islam by other religions.[95][96][97][98][101]
There are a wide variety of distinct beliefs and teachings of Ahmadis compared to those ofmost other Muslims,[95][96][97][98] which include the interpretation of the Quranic titleKhatam an-Nabiyyin,[102] interpretation of theMessiah's Second Coming,[96][103] complete rejection of theabrogation/cancellation of Quranic verses,[104] belief thatJesus survived the crucifixion and died of old age in India,[96][97][105]conditions of the "Jihad of the Sword" are no longer met,[96][106] belief thatdivine revelation (as long as no newsharia is given) will never end,[107] belief incyclical nature of history until Muhammad,[107] and belief in the implausibility of a contradiction betweenIslam and science.[101] These perceived deviations from normative Islamic thought have resulted in severepersecution of Ahmadis in variousMuslim-majority countries,[96] particularlyPakistan,[96][108] where they have been branded as Non-Muslims and their Islamic religious practices are punishable by the Ahmadi-Specific laws in thepenal code.[109]
The followers of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam are divided into two groups: the first being theAhmadiyya Muslim Community, currently the dominant group, and theLahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam.[96] The larger group takes a literalist view believing that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the promised Mahdi and aUmmati Nabi subservient to Muhammad, while the latter believing that he was only areligious reformer and a prophet only in an allegorical sense.[96] Both Ahmadi groups are active indawah or Islamic missionary work, and have produced vasts amounts of Islamic literature, includingnumerous translations of the Quran, translations of the Hadith,Quranictafsirs, a multitude ofsirahs of Muhammad, and works on the subject ofcomparative religion among others.[96][98] As such, their international influence far exceeds their number of adherents.[96][98][110] Muslims from more Orthodox sects of Islam have adopted many Ahmadi polemics and understandings of other religions,[111] along with the Ahmadi approach to reconcile Islamic and Western education as well as to establish Islamic school systems, particularly in Africa.[112]
Sunni Muslims of the Indian subcontinent comprising present day India,Pakistan andBangladesh who are overwhelminglyHanafi byfiqh have split into two schools or movements, theBarelvi and theDeobandi. While the Deobandi is revivalist in nature, the Barelvi are more traditional and inclined towardsSufism.
TheGülen movement, usually referred to as theHizmet movement,[113] established in the 1970s as an offshoot of theNur Movement[114] and led by the TurkishIslamic scholar and preacherFethullah Gülen in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world, is active in education, with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as with many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums forinterfaith dialogue.[115][116] TheCemaat movement's structure has been described as a flexible organizational network.[117] Movement schools and businesses organize locally and link themselves into informal networks.[118] Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely; it appears there are about 300Gülen movement schools in Turkey and over 1,000 schools worldwide.[119][120]
Islamic modernism, also sometimes referred to as "modernist Salafism",[121][122][123][124][125] is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response"[126] attempting to reconcile Islamic faith with modern Western values such asnationalism,democracy, andscience.[127]
Islamism is a set of politicalideologies, derived from variousfundamentalist views, which hold that Islam is not only a religion but apolitical system that should govern the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. Many Islamists do not refer to themselves as such and it is not a single particular movement. Religious views and ideologies of its adherents vary, and they may be Sunni Islamists or Shia Islamists depending upon their beliefs. Islamist groups include groups such asAl-Qaeda, the organizer of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks and perhaps the most prominent; and theMuslim Brotherhood, the largest and perhaps the oldest. Although violence is often employed by some organizations, most Islamist movements are nonviolent.
TheAl-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun (withIkhwanالإخوان brethren) orMuslim Brotherhood, is an organisation that was founded by Egyptian scholarHassan al-Banna, a graduate ofDar al-Ulum. With its various branches, it is the largest Sunni movement in the Arab world, and an affiliate is often the largest opposition party in many Arab nations. The Muslim Brotherhood is not concerned with theological differences, accepting both, Muslims of any of the four Sunni schools of thought, and Shi'a Muslims. It is the world's oldest and largestIslamist group. Its aims are to re-establish theCaliphate and in the meantime, push for more Islamisation of society. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an andsunnah as the "sole reference point for... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community... and state".[citation needed]
TheJamaat-e-Islami (or JI) is an Islamist political party in theIndian subcontinent. It was founded in Lahore, British India, bySayyid Abul Ala Maududi (with alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi) in 1941 and isthe oldest religious party in Pakistan. Today, sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind),Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh),Kashmir (Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir), andSri Lanka, and there are "close brotherly relations" with the Islamist movements and missions "working in different continents and countries", particularly those affiliated with theMuslim Brotherhood (Akhwan-al-Muslimeen). The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan and Bangladesh governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization—including secularization, capitalism, socialism, or such practices as interest based banking, and favours an Islamic economic order andCaliphate.[citation needed]
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic:حزب التحرير) (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international,pan-Islamist political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Islamic ways of life in the Muslim world. The caliphate would unite the Muslim community (Ummah)[128] upon their Islamic creed and implement theShariah, so as to then carry theproselytizing of Islam to the rest of the world.[129]
Quranism[130] or Quraniyya (Arabic:القرآنية;al-Qur'āniyya) is a quran only[131][clarification needed] branch ofIslam. It holds the belief thatIslamic guidance and law should only be based on theQuran, thusopposing the religious authority and authenticity of thehadith literature.[132][133] Quranists believe that God's message is already clear and complete in the Quran and it can therefore be fully understood without referencing outside texts.[134] Quranists claim that the vast majority of hadith literature are forged lies and believe that the Quran itself criticizes the hadith both in the technical sense and the general sense.[135][132][136][137][138][139][excessive citations]
Liberal Islam originally emerged from theIslamic revivalist movement of the 18th–19th centuries.[140] Liberal andprogressive Islamic organizations and movements are primarily based in the Western world, and have in common a religious outlook which depends mainly onijtihad or re-interpretation of thesacred scriptures of Islam.[140] Liberal and progressive Muslims are characterized by arationalistic, critical examination and re-interpretation of the sacred scriptures of Islam;[140] affirmation and promotion of democracy,gender equality, human rights,LGBT rights,women's rights,religious pluralism,interfaith marriage,[141][142]freedom of expression,freedom of thought, andfreedom of religion;[140] opposition totheocracy and total rejection ofIslamism andIslamic fundamentalism;[140] and a modern view ofIslamic theology,ethics,sharia,culture, tradition, and other ritualistic practices in Islam.[140]
Mahdavia, or Mahdavism, is aMahdiist sect founded in late 15th century India bySyed Muhammad Jaunpuri, who declared himself to be theHidden Twelfth Imam of the Twelver Shia tradition.[143] They follow many aspects of the Sunni doctrine. Zikri Mahdavis, orZikris, are an offshoot of the Mahdavi movement.[144]
"Non-denominational Muslims" (Arabic:مسلمون بلا طائفة,romanized: Muslimūn bi-la ṭā’ifa) is anumbrella term that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to a specific Islamic denomination, do not self-identify with any specific Islamic denomination, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches.[145][146][147] A quarter of theworld's Muslim population see themselves as "just a Muslim".[148]
Non-denominational Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim population in seven countries, and a plurality in three others:Albania (65%),Kyrgyzstan (64%),Kosovo (58%),Indonesia (56%),Mali (55%),Bosnia and Herzegovina (54%),Uzbekistan (54%),Azerbaijan (45%), Russia (45%), andNigeria (42%).[148] They are found primarily in Central Asia.[148]Kazakhstan has the largest number of non-denominational Muslims, who constitute about 74% of the population.[148] While the majority of the population in the Middle East identify as eitherSunni orShi'a, a significant number of Muslims identify as non-denominational.[149] Southeastern Europe also has a large number of non-denominational Muslims.[150]
In 1947, the non-sectarian movementJama'ah al-Taqrib bayna al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah was founded in Cairo, Egypt.[151] Several of its supporters were high-ranking scholars ofAl-Ahzar University.[152] The movement sought to bridge the gap between Sunnis and Shi'is.[152] At the end of the 1950s, the movement reached a wider public, as the Egyptian presidentGamal Abdel Nasser discovered the usefulness ofpan-Islamism for his foreign policy.[152]
Ahl-i Hadith (Persian:اهل حدیث,Urdu:اہل حدیث:transl. People of the traditions of the Prophet) is a movement which emerged in theIndian subcontinent in the mid-19th century. Its followers call themselvesAhl al-Hadith and are considered to be a branch of theSalafiyya school. Ahl-i Hadith is antithetical to various beliefs and mystical practices associated with folkSufism. Ahl-i Hadith shares many doctrinal similarities with theWahhabi movement and hence often classified as being synonymous with the "Wahhabis" by its adversaries. However, its followers reject this designation, preferring to identify themselves as "Salafis".[153][154][155][156]
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TheSalafiyya movement is a conservative,[157]Islahi (reform)[158] movement withinSunni Islam that emerged in the second half of the 19th century and advocate a return to the traditions of the "devout ancestors" (Salaf al-Salih). It has been described as the "fastest-growing Islamic movement"; with each scholar expressing diverse views across social, theological, and political spectrum. Salafis follow a doctrine that can be summed up as taking "afundamentalist approach to Islam, emulating the ProphetMuhammad and his earliest followers—al-salaf al-salih, the 'pious forefathers'....They reject religious innovation, orbidʻah, and support the implementation ofSharia (Islamic law)."[159] The Salafi movement is often divided into three categories: the largest group are the purists (orquietists), who avoid politics; the second largest group are themilitant activists, who get involved in politics; the third and last group are thejihadists, who constitute a minority.[159] Most of the violent Islamist groups come from theSalafi-Jihadist movement and their subgroups.[160] In recent years, Jihadi-Salafist doctrines have often been associated with the armed insurgencies ofIslamic extremist movements andterrorist organizations targeting innocent civilians, both Muslims and Non-Muslims, such asal-Qaeda,ISIL/ISIS/IS/Daesh,Boko Haram, etc.[161][162][159][160] The second largest group are the Salafi activists who have a long tradition of political activism, such as those that operate in organizations like theMuslim Brotherhood, theArab world's majorIslamist movement. In the aftermath of widescale repressions after theArab Spring, accompanied by their political failures, the activist-Salafi movements have undergone a decline. The most numerous are thequietists, who believe in disengagement from politics and accept allegiance to Muslim governments, no matter how tyrannical, to avoidfitna (chaos).[159]
TheWahhabi movement was founded and spearheaded by the Ḥanbalī scholar and theologianMuhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab,[163][164][165] a religious preacher from theNajd region incentral Arabia,[166][167][168][169][170] and was instrumental in the rise of theHouse of Saud to power in the Arabian peninsula.[163] Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab sought torevive and purifyIslam from what he perceived as non-Islamic popular religious beliefs and practices by returning to what, he believed, were thefundamental principles of the Islamic religion.[167][168][169][170] His works were generally short, full of quotations from theQuran andHadith literature, such as his main and foremost theological treatise,Kitāb at-Tawḥīd (Arabic:كتاب التوحيد; "The Book of Oneness").[167][168][169][170] He taught that the primary doctrine of Islam was theuniqueness and oneness of God (tawḥīd), and denounced what he held to be popular religious beliefs and practices among Muslims that he considered to be akin toheretical innovation (bidʿah) andpolytheism (shirk).[167][168][169][170]
Wahhabism has been described as a conservative, strict, andfundamentalist branch of Sunnī Islam,[171] withpuritan views,[171] believing in a literal interpretation of the Quran.[163] The terms "Wahhabism" and "Salafism" are sometimes evoked interchangeably, although the designation "Wahhabi" is specifically applied to the followers of Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and hisreformist doctrines.[163] The label "Wahhabi" was not claimed by his followers, who usually refer themselves asal-Muwaḥḥidūn ("affirmers of the singularity of God"), but is rather employed by Western scholars as well as his critics.[163][164][168] Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, theinternational propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism within Sunnī Islam[171] favored by theKingdom of Saudi Arabia[166][172][173] and otherArab states of the Persian Gulf has achieved what the French political scientistGilles Kepel defined as a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam."[174]
22 months after theSeptember 11 attacks, when theFBI consideredal-Qaeda as "the number one terrorist threat to the United States", journalistStephen Schwartz and U.S. SenatorJon Kyl have explicitly stated during a hearing that occurred in June 2003 before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security of theU.S. Senate that "Wahhabism is the source of theoverwhelming majority of terrorist atrocities in today's world".[175] As part of the global "War on terror", Wahhabism has been accused by theEuropean Parliament, various Western security analysts, and think tanks like theRAND Corporation, as being "a source of global terrorism".[175][176] Furthermore, Wahhabism has been accused of causing disunity in theMuslim community (Ummah) and criticized for its followers'destruction of many Islamic, cultural, and historical sites associated with theearly history of Islam and the first generation of Muslims (Muhammad's family and hiscompanions) in Saudi Arabia.[177][178][179][180]
| Denomination | Population |
|---|---|
| Sunni | Varies: 75% – 90%[181][182] |
| Non-denominational Muslim | 25%[183] |
| Shia | Varies: 10% – 13%[184] |
| Ibadi | 2.7 million[185] |
| Quranism | n/a |
The Pew Forum's estimate of the Shia population (10–13%) is in keeping with previous estimates, which generally have been in the range of 10–15%.
In pre-Islamic times, the custom of the Arabs was to elect their chiefs by a majority vote...the same principle was adopted in the election of Abu Bakr.
The Pew Forum's estimate of the Shia population (10–13%) is in keeping with previous estimates, which generally have been in the range of 10–15%. Some previous estimates, however, have placed the number of Shias at nearly 20% of the world's Muslim population.
Shi'a Islam is the second largest branch of the tradition, with up to 200 million followers who comprise around 15% of all Muslims worldwide...
Shia Islam represents 10–20% of Muslims worldwide...
"The Nusayris are more infidel than Jews or Christians, even more infidel than many polytheists. They have done greater harm to the community of Muhammad than have the warring infidels such as the Franks, the Turks, and others. To ignorant Muslims they pretend to be Shi'is, though in reality they do not believe in God or His prophet or His book ... Whenever possible, they spill the blood of Muslims ... They are always the worst enemies of the Muslims ... war and punishment in accordance with Islamic law against them are among the greatest of pious deeds and the most important obligations." – Ibn Taymiyyah
Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.
Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above.
Druze - An offshoot of Shi'ism; its members are not considered Muslims by orthodox Muslims.
In addition, there are several quasi-Muslim sects, in that, although they follow many of the beliefs and practices of orthodox Islam, the majority of Sunnis consider them heretical. These would be the Ahmadiyya, Druze, Ibadi, and the Yazidis.
As Druze is a nonritualistic religion without requirements to pray, fast, make pilgrimages, or observe days of rest, the Druze are not considered an Islamic people by Sunni Muslims.
Therefore, many of these scholars follow Ibn Taymiyya'sfatwa from the beginning of the fourteenth century that declared the Druzes and the Alawis as heretics outside Islam ...
Subsequently, Muslim opponents of the Druzes have often relied on Ibn Taymiyya's religious ruling to justify their attitudes and actions against Druzes...
Jama ̔at-i Ahmadiyya also asserts that the conditions of the world will not revert back to a situation that warrants violent jihad
Islamic modernism was the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge. Started in India and Egypt in the second part of the 19th century ... reflected in the work of a group of like-minded Muslim scholars, featuring a critical reexamination of the classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence and a formulation of a new approach to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis. This new approach, which was nothing short of an outright rebellion against Islamic orthodoxy, displayed astonishing compatibility with the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Anyone who has travelled to Central Asia knows of the non-denominational Muslims – those who are neither Shiites nor Sounites, but who accept Islam as a religion generally.
The appalling and catastrophic pictures of the so-called new extremist Isis Jihadist group made me think about someone who can say I am a Muslim of a non-denominational standpoint, and to my surprise/ignorance, such people exist. Online, I found something called the people's mosque, which makes itself clear that it's 100 per cent non-denominational and most importantly, 100 per cent non-judgmental.
Although many Iranian hardliners are Shi'a chauvinists, Khomeini's ideology saw the revolution as pan-Islamist, and therefore embracing Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, and other, more nondenominational Muslims.
Ahl-e-Hadith ... a branch of the international Salafi ... tradition, heavily influenced by Wahabism.
Nearly 22 months have passed since the atrocity ofSeptember 11. Since then, many questions have been asked about the role in that day's terrible events and in other challenges we face in thewar against terror ofSaudi Arabia and its official sect, a separatist, exclusionary and violent form of Islam known as Wahhabism. It is widely recognized that all of the19 suicide pilots were Wahhabi followers. In addition, 15 of the 19 were Saudi subjects. Journalists and experts, as well as spokespeople of the world, have said that Wahhabism is the source of the overwhelming majority of terrorist atrocities in today's world, fromMorocco toIndonesia, via Israel, Saudi Arabia,Chechnya. In addition, Saudi media sources have identified Wahhabi agents from Saudi Arabia as being responsible for terrorist attacks onU.S. troops in Iraq.The Washington Post has confirmed Wahhabi involvement in attacks against U.S. forces inFallujah. To examine the role of Wahhabism and terrorism is not to label all Muslims as extremists. Indeed, I want to make this point very, very clear. It is the exact opposite. Analyzing Wahhabism means identifying the extreme element that, although enjoying immense political and financial resources, thanks to support by a sector of the Saudi state, seeks to globally hijack Islam [...] The problem we are looking at today is the State-sponsored doctrine and funding of an extremist ideology that provides the recruiting grounds, support infrastructure and monetary life blood of today's international terrorists. The extremist ideology is Wahhabism, a major force behind terrorist groups, likeal Qaeda, a group that, according to theFBI, and I am quoting, is the "number one terrorist threat to the U.S. today".
BecauseWahhābism prohibits the veneration of shrines, tombs, and sacred objects, many sites associated with theearly history of Islam, such as the homes and graves ofcompanions ofMuhammad, were demolished under Saudi rule.Preservationists have estimated that as many as 95 percent of the historic sites aroundMecca andMedina have been razed.
It is the undisputed case that the Taliban justification for this travesty [the destruction of the Buddha statues at Bamiyan] can be traced to the Wahhabi indoctrination program prevalent in the Afghan refugee camps and Saudi-funded Islamic schools (madrasas) in Pakistan that produced the Taliban. ...In Saudi Arabia itself, the destruction has focused on the architectural heritage of Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, where Wahhabi religious foundations, with state support, have systematically demolished centuries-old mosques and mausolea, as well as hundreds of traditional Hijazi mansions and palaces.
