Decoding the sects of Islam

Does Islam have sects? I started pondering on this question last week, when someone new to Islam asked me how the official figure of 1.6 billion Muslims in the world panned out. While some scholars such as Dr. Zakir Naik may naively claim “Islam has no sects”, the truth is far from it as seen with the sectarian conflicts we are accustomed to nowadays. I also understand the viewpoint of such scholars in denying the fracture of Islam fearing a disappearance of the core essence of Islamic principles i.e unity of the ‘Ummah’ (Islamic community). The most obvious instance of this fracture is that between the Sunnis and Shias. 

The Sunni- Shia divide DID NOT exist during the time of the Prophet and only came about as a result of the ambiguity in choosing the Prophets successor as the leader of the ‘Ummah’ post his demise. While one group chose Abu Bakr Siddiq, the prophet’s closest friend, companion and father-in-law, another group that sheltered the prophet in Medina during his early years as a Prophet was of the opinion that only the prophet’s family should be rightful successors to the title of Caliph i.e leader of the Muslim people.  Ali, the prophet’s son-in-law and cousin was therefore put forward by the latter group and later constituted to form the Shia of today.

The division initially was only purely on the basis of allegiance and early Shia groups were no different that the Sunnis in terms of beliefs and Islamic theology. It can thus be argued that there was no division per se of Islam at the time. The actual rift we see today came about as a result of a sequence of events starting with the assassination of Ali by a fringe group known as the Khwajarites in 661 A.D to the murder of Ali’s son Husayn in 680 A.D by members of the then ruling Ummayad dynasty. Popular support grew for the family of the Prophet to take the mantle of leader and the Shias abolished the term Caliph and substituted it with a new title - Imam. 

Since then both the Sunnis and Shias have had various sub-sects form under them. On the Sunni side, the differences in the sects were purely on interpretation of understanding the Quranic  laws and social framework, while on the Shia side, the differences were more on the line of succession of their Imams.

In addition to this, over the past 1000 years, many new groups have emerged. Only a handful of those groups have survived to this day. 

During the course of my research, questions did arise on the method of classifying a group as a separate group vs. a sub sect under one of the Shia or Sunni sects. I therefore kept the following rules in mind for the best possible classification of Islamic sects possible (in my opinion anyway)-

1. Groups that differed from the core characteristics of Islam, i.e the concept of one God and Mohammed‘s (pbuh) claim to prophet hood were automatically not classified as Islamic and hence not considered.
2.  Groups that shared the same initial beliefs but later differed owing to separate successor claims were broad-based and taken as one group. For example- Nizari Shias and Dawoodi Shias have the same core beliefs and differ only on the succession of their imams and were hence classified under Ismailism. Similarly other groups were also broad-based where there were multiple sub-sects with common beliefs

The table below shows the 16 sects of Islam as seen today with details on their estimate populations and characteristics of their core beliefs
 

The 16 Sects of Islam as seen today (Source: Wikipedia, Pew Research) - Click to enlarge

-- Hanafism, Shafism and Malikism --

Founders: The 3 schools of thought were started by Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shaafi and Imam Malik respectively and represent 60-70% of Muslims worldwide. (Not to be confused with the ‘Imam’ reference in Shia parlance)

How they are different from others: All three are classified as Sunni groups and their differences are in the minute details of interpreting Muslim jurisprudence. For instance – Time of certain prayers differs slightly between each of these groups based on the respective Imam’s understanding of the Sun’s position. Nevertheless, these 3 groups have seldom clashed and integrate into societies well. It should also be noted that Shaafism is predominately found in coastal regions of the world suggesting that it may have been the most common school of thought among Arab sailors in the middle ages.

Revered personalities other than the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh): None

Top 2 majority population regions: Hanafism (Pakistan and North India), Shaafism (Indonesia and South India), Malikism (Nigeria and Inner Egypt)

-- Hanbalism , Wahabbism and Qutbism --

Founders: Imam Hanbal, Abd-al –Wahabb , and Syed Qutb, are considered to be the founders of these three groups respectively. Together, they represent 6-7% of the Muslim population

How they are different from others: Traditionally, Hanbalism was grouped as the 4^th school of Islamic thought, however with the emergence of terrorism recently and its link to Salafi ideology, they are classified separately with Wahabbism and Qutbism (even though all three are Sunni in nature). Seen as highly non-progressive, the Salafi ideology which is a mainstay with all 3 groups, hinges on the concept of removing ‘Bidah’ i.e innovation from Islam. Consequently, followers of these groups believe in strict adherence to the alleged ways of the Prophet often applying medieval concepts to modern scenarios. The Hanbalis are classified as Purist Salafis who practice strict adherence to Salafi Ideology but do not enforce it. The Wahabbists on the other hand are considered to be active Salafis often using Salafi ideology as a political tool to implement Shariah (Quranic law) and in some cases enforcing it. The most extreme form of Salafi ideology are the followers of Qutbism who consider Salafi ideology as a basis for waging Jihad (Holy War) against all non- believers.

Revered personalities other than the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh): None

Top 2 majority population regions:  Hanbalism (Saudi Arabia and Qatar), Wahabbism (Saudi Arabia and Egypt), Qutbism (ISIS and Libya)

-- Jafarism, Ismailism and Zaydism --

Founders: Imam Jafaar al Sadiq, Imam Ismail Jafaar and Imam Zayd respectively. They represent about 10-11% of the worldwide population of Muslims.

How they are different from others: All three are Shia groups and hence the differences lie mostly in the lineage of their Imams. Among the 3, the Jafaaris are the most populous group while the Zaydis are considered to be oldest of the 3 Shia groups and may well be ancestors of the group from Medina (Ansars) from which the first Shia group was formed

Revered personalities other than the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):  Ali

Top 2 majority population regions: Jafaarism ( Iran and Iraq), Ismailism (Pakistan and India), Zaydism (Yemen and Saudi Arabia)

-- Sufism , Alwatism, Ahmediyya, Bahai and Druze --

Founders: Sufism is divided into multiple orders and hence has multiple founders. It represents 13-14% of the Muslim population.  Besides Sufism, the other groups contribute less than 1% of the overall Muslim population and in some cases have founders who are believed to be prophets who came after the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)

How they are different from others: Sufism is a mystical form of Islam incorporating music and the arts into religion. They first gained prominence from missionary saints who spread the message of Islam through Africa and later Asia. Among the other groups, there is a commonality in that they all believe in prophets who came after Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) and other specific beliefs. For example, the Druze believes in reincarnation. All of these groups are considered non-Muslims in the eyes of most traditional Muslims

Revered personalities other than the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):  Sufism (Multiple), Alwatism (Ali), Ahmediyya (Ghulam Ahmed), Bahai (Bahaullah) and Druze (Jethro)

Top 2 majority population regions:  Sufism (Pakistan and India), Alwatism (Syria and Turkey), Ahmediyya (India and UK), Bahai (Israel and United States) and Druze (Syria and Lebanon)

-- Quranism and Ibadism --

Founders: Quranism does not have a founder and is an ideology adapted by its adherents. Ibadism was founded by ibn Ibadi. Both these groups represent less than 1% of the world’s Muslim population

How they are different from others: Quranism is different in that they reject the hadith (Book of sayings and actions of the prophet) completely. Consequently, the norms of prayer and general Islamic philosophies come from an individualistic interpretation of the Quran. Popular Islamic practices such as Polygamy and circumcision for instance are not allowed as it is not mentioned in the Quran but only in the hadith.

Ibadism is a breakaway group who are considered to one of the first groups to distance themselves from mainstream Muslims. There are minor differences with the Sunni groups on prayer and other aspects. Some say they are descended from the Khwarajites who assassinated Ali, however there is no conclusive evidence on this.

Revered personalities other than the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):  None

Top 2 majority population regions:  Quranism (Nigeria and Egypt), Ibadism (Oman and Algeria)
 

Figure B below shows how these sects tolerate new or foreign ideas and concept by measuring the perceived level of toleration to the population. It can be inferred that less than 1% of the Muslim population in the world today are classified as highly tolerant. For the most part Muslims are neutral with a small percentage (about 10%) bordering the non-tolerant zone leading to extremism.

Fig B: How tolerant are the sects of Islam to new ideas / philosophies - Click to enlarge

 Other things to note:

1. It should be noted that many groups that are defined here as Islamic are not regarded as such by a majority of the Muslim population. They, however fulfill the primary requirements of Islamic belief and hence are classified as Muslims. For example, many Sunni Muslims who fall under Qutbism or Wahabbism generally do not recognize the Shia as Muslim. Similarly both Sunnis and Shias, do not identify with groups such as Sufis and Ahmediyyas brandishing them as heretics.
2. Within each sub sect, there lies a very wide range in the ideology of how Islam should be practiced. This is indicated in the graph by the following symbol:
   

The red and green representing the two extremes. For example, Within the Hanafi school of thought, while the majorities are Muslims who integrate well with modern societies, there are a few such as the ‘Deobandis’ who practice a stricter form of Hanafism as seen in the case of the ‘Taliban’.

The ISIL Renaissance

Over the past few weeks, no four letters have been more prominent among the mainstream news media than the threat of I.S.I.L or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. What started as an organization called ISIS (Islamic state in Iraq and Syria) claiming to fight the tyrannical regimes in Syria and Iraq today has captured almost the entire world’s attention with their beheading videos and their claim to establish an Islamic Caliphate. 

What is discerning to me in light of recent events is that, again like the aftermath of 9/11, Muslims all around the world are being looked at with suspicion. I find people asking questions on why Muslims cannot control these so called extremists within their communities. There is a sense that Muslim communities are weak in that, such a cancerous ideology cannot be unjustified and contained. 

To make matters worse, the times of distress are upon us also called the ‘Fitna’ in Arabic. With wars raging endlessly across the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa, journalists all around the world no longer look at reporting raw and real boring news but instead look to fuse information with sensationalism thus giving a much distorted picture of the reality that confronts us. Like I have mentioned in my earlier posts two things happen as a result – 

1. The depressed and lonely turn to other outlets for news such as the internet to gain their information and consequently get sucked into the vortex of extremist thought.
2. The media constantly looks at weaving a good guy vs. bad guy rhetoric by profiling such individuals as belonging to a bad organization with militants who have designations, titles and a hierarchical order in which they go about doing their business; In fact my personal opinion is that almost all these so called terrorist organizations have no sense whatsoever of where they are headed, why they are headed that way and how it all came to this. There is no “structure" within their “organizations” and they are guided by an ideology that has no place in Islam, of which they are fully aware of but are fearful of admitting given that they are already at the point of no return.

If I look though history, I see parallels here with gloomy Europe just before the renaissance period. Though it took 400 years to culminate, the end result was an astounding era of rational thought that wiped out false beliefs, turned grief into a creative outlet and brought a sense of positivity all across Europe. What the Islamic world needs today is exactly that renaissance.  In my opinion there are 4 goals that need to be aimed at to bring about this change.  Ironically, I call these goals the ISIL goals- 

Intention –

In the Islamic faith, the intention or ‘Niyat’ forms an important part of every act of supplication and action. It follows from the idea that in order to have a positive action, you need a positive thought first. Similarly, there has to be a ‘consensus in thought’ among Muslims of today that a change is indeed needed towards reformation. There are still large sections within Muslim societies that are afraid to review Shariah law for fear of offending Islamic principles. Frankly, I find this silly since Islamic principles were designed to be forward looking in essence and certain laws governed by Shariah no longer seem to be forward looking (though they might have been at the time of the prophet and shortly thereafter). The day the major Muslim leaders converge on the idea that we as a people (Ummah) want to be forward looking will be the day in my opinion, Islam wins its greatest ‘Jihad ‘.

Sectarian Peace –

Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is said to have predicted the split of the Islamic faith into two distinct sects – The Shias and Sunnis, 200 years before it actually happened. It therefore follows that there might be no going back and uniting these sects. That said, I am surprised of the utter hatred these two groups have for each other, given that we have the same concepts in place – Tauheed , the oneness of the Almighty and a love for our dear prophet. The hatred in my opinion is all politically instigated and it is therefore necessary that we have governments in Muslim lands that are free from such prejudices. Saudi Arabia and Iran are examples of governments that have used their political influence to arm twist other secular countries to have Sunni-Shia divisions within their lands. Sectarian peace can only exist if these governments preach peace and portray a sense of oneness to all sects within their lands.

Interpretation –

Perhaps the most influential part of how the world sees Islam is in the interpretation of the laws under the Shariah. There is a massive difference in the way countries like Malaysia and Turkey follow Islamic law vs. countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Somalia. I am not professing what is right and wrong. The point I am trying to make is that there has to be uniformity in what works in today’s society and what does not work. In what might be a controversial thought, I feel the need to have an equivalent to a new testament for the hadith. What is the hadith after all? – A collection of historical actions and stories about the prophet that may or may not have stood the test of time in terms of being accurate. The highly learned and respected within the Islamic world will need to come together, review the Quran and Hadith and finally come to laws that make sense in today’s generation, free from ambiguity and interpretation. There should ideally be only the Quran for divine guidance and a ‘reformed’ book that takes from the hadith and Quran to serve as a textbook of living in the Muslim community.

Leadership –

For all the goals mentioned so far to work effectively, Islam’s need of the hour is a strong and robust leadership. Though the caliphate model would seem ideal to most Muslims, my sense is that we need a more innovative solution in this day and age. Unlike, the Rashidun caliphates (first four leaders after the Prophet), the subsequent leaders till today have for the most part been corrupt, unaccountable and unapologetic.  I would prefer a corporate style of leadership where Islam’s ‘CEO’ is completely accountable and is constantly kept in check by a ‘board of directors’ comprised of respected and highly learned leaders from all walks of Islamic society.