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A number of minority groups within Islam have faced persecution by other Muslims for allegedly being incompatible with the regional majority of Islam. Accusation of heresy or apostasy can result in takfir (excommunication). [1]
The Ahmadiyya regard themselves as Muslims, but are seen by many other Muslims as non-Muslims and "heretics" since they are accused of not believing in the finality of prophethood since the death of Muhammad. Armed groups, led by the umbrella organization Khatme Nabuwwat ("Finality of Prophethood"), have launched violent attacks against their mosques in Bangladesh. [2]
They committed massacres against them which resulted in 2,000 Ahmadiyya deaths in Pakistani Punjab. Eventually, martial law had to be established and Governor general Ghulam Mohamed dismissed the federal cabinet. This anti-Ahmadiyya movement led Pakistani prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to declare that the Ahmadiyyas were "non-Muslims". [3] [4]
In 1984, the Government of Pakistan, under General Zia-ul-Haq, passed Ordinance XX, [5] which banned proselytizing by Ahmadis and also banned Ahmadis from referring to themselves as Muslims. According to this ordinance, any Ahmadi who refers to oneself as a Muslim by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, directly or indirectly, or makes the call for prayer as other Muslims do, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years. Because of these difficulties, Mirza Tahir Ahmad migrated to London, UK.
Despite the claims of Islam's egalitarian tenets,[ additional citation(s) needed ] units of social stratification, termed as "castes" by many, have developed among Muslims in some parts of South Asia. [6] [7] Various theories have been put forward regarding the development of castes among Indian Muslims. Majority of sources state that the castes among Muslims developed as the result of close contact with Hindu culture and Hindu converts to Islam, [6] [7] [8] [9] while few others feel that these developed based on claims of descent from Muhammad. [10] [11]
Sections of the ulema (scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) have declared the religious legitimacy of the caste system with the help of the concept of kafa'a. [12] A classic example of scholarly literature supporting the Muslim caste system is the Fatawa-i Jahandari, written by the 14th century Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a member of the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Barani was known for his intensely casteist views, and he regarded the Ashraf Muslims as racially superior to the Ajlaf Muslims[ citation needed ].
He divided the Muslims into grades and sub-grades. In his scheme, all high positions and privileges were to be a monopoly of the high born Turks, not the Indian Muslims[ citation needed ]. Even in his interpretation of the Koranic verse "Indeed, the pious amongst you are most honored by Allah", he considered piety to be associated with noble birth. [10] Barrani was specific in his recommendation that the "sons of Mohamed" [i.e. Ashrafs] "be given a higher social status than the low-born [i.e. Ajlaf]. [13] His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam. [14] His assertion was that castes would be mandated through state laws or "Zawabi" which would carry precedence over Sharia law whenever they were in conflict. [14]
In the Fatwa-i-Jahandari (advice XXI), he wrote about the "qualities of the high-born" as being "virtuous" and the "low-born" as being the "custodians of vices". Every act which is "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominy, comes elegantly [from the Ajlaf]". [15] Barani had a clear disdain for the Ajlaf and strongly recommended that they be denied education, lest they usurp the Ashraf masters[ citation needed ]. He sought appropriate religious sanction to that effect. [9] Barrani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of Imperial officers ("Wazirs") that was conducted primarily on the basis of caste. [13]
In addition to the Ashraf/Ajlaf divide, there is also the Arzal caste among Muslims, [16] whose members were regarded by anti-Caste activists like Babasaheb Ambedkar as the equivalent of untouchables. [17] [18] The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc. [17] [18] The Arzal group was recorded in the 1901 census in India and its members are also called Dalit Muslims "with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground"[ citation needed ].They are relegated to "menial" professions such as scavenging and carrying night soil. [19]
The Alawites are a sub group of the Muslim faith that believes in the divine nature of Ali, the cousin of Muhammad.
Ibn Taymiyyah asserted that Alawites were not Shi'ites and were heretics outside Islam, arguably being the most virulent anti-Alawite in his fatwas [20] where he stated that Alawites "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". [21] The Ottomans often relied on Ibn Taymiyya's religious rulings to justify their persecution of Alawites. [22]
In medieval Iraq, the Mu'tazili theological movement was made a state doctrine in 832, igniting the Mihna (ordeal) a struggle over the application of Greek logical proof of the Qu'ran; people who would not accept Mu'tazili claims that the Qur'an was created rather than eternal were sometimes persecuted. The most famous victims of the Mihna were Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who was imprisoned and tortured, and the judge Ahmad Ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i who was crucified. [23] Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was dragged before the inquisition, known as the Mihna, ordered by the caliph al-Maʾmūn. [24]
However, it lost official support soon afterwards. This coincided with the rise to prominence of the Ash'ari approach to Islam, of which Al-Ghazali was a staunch defender. Sunni and Shi'a Islam became the mainstream schools of Islam. As a consequence, the tables turned and some Mutazili scholars were victims of persecution themselves in the centuries to follow. Some Islamic philosophers like Averroes and Avicenna also faced persecution from fellow Muslims in their time. [25] Mu'tazilite doctrine – by now regarded as heretical by Sunnis – continued to be influential amongst some Shia in Persia and Zaydis in Yemen. [26]
Throughout history, Shi'as have faced genocide in Sunni majority locations. In 1513, Ottoman Sultan Selim I ("The Grim") ordered the massacre of 40,000 Shia "heretics" in Anatolia during the Safavid-Ottoman struggles. [27] [28]
The Mughal emperor Aurengzeb is also recorded to have persecuted Shi‘a communities. His persecution of the Ismaili successor to Imam al-Din, or Imamshah, changed the course of the history of his community of followers. Common folk took up arms against the military and captured the fortress of Broach. However, their initial success did not last and, along with other sister communities, they were put down. [29]
While some strand in Sunni regards Shiism as a valid madhhab, following Al Azhar, some Sunnis both now and in the past have regarded it as beyond the pale, and have attacked its adherents. In modern times, notable examples include the bombing campaigns by the Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba against Shia mosques in Pakistan, [30] the genocide of Hazara under the Taliban, [31] and the bloody attacks linked with Zarqawi and his Sunni followers against Shia in Iraq. [32]
Some of the worst Shia-Sunni sectarian strife has occurred before (under Saddam regime responsible for at least 400,000 Shia deaths) and after the American invasion of Iraq. [33] According to one estimate, as of early 2008, 1,121 Sunni suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Shia-majority Iraq. [34] Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians, [35] but mosques, shrines, [36] wedding and funeral processions, [37] markets, hospitals, offices, and streets. [38]
The Saudi Arabian government has been viewed as repressive against Shias living in Saudi Arabia, mainly because it encourages the Salafi faith, which denounces Shia Islam as heretical. Shias are mainly persecuted due to the belief that they are Iranian "puppets" and traitors. In several Saudi Arabian cities, Shia azans and Ashura demonstrations are banned.[ citation needed ]
The Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam was a process that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned Iran (Persia), which previously had a Sunni majority, into the spiritual bastion of Twelver Shi'ism. It was a process that involved forced conversion [39] [40] [41] [42]
Ismail I consolidated his rule over the country and launched a thorough and, at times, brutal campaign to convert the majority Sunni population to Twelver Shiism and thus transform the religious landscape of Iran. [43] His methods of converting Iran included:
Yaqub Beg's Uyghur forces declared a Jihad against Chinese Muslims under T'o Ming during the Dungan revolt. The Uyghurs thought that the Chinese Muslims were Shafi`i, and since the Uyghurs were Hanafi that they should wage war against them. Yaqub Beg enlisted non Muslim Han Chinese militia under Hsu Hsuehkung in order to fight against the Chinese Muslims. T'o Ming's forces were defeated by Yaqub, who planned to conquer Dzungharia. Yaqub intended to seize all Dungan territory. [58] [59]
Certain small groups – the Kharijites of early medieval times, and Takfir wal Hijra- follow takfirist doctrines, regarding almost all other Muslims as infidels whose blood may legitimately be shed. [60] [61]
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abu Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of Muhammad's other companions at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rashidun) caliph after Muhammad.
The Alawites, also known as Nusayrites, are an Arab ethnoreligious group that live primarily in the Levant and follow Alawism, a religious sect that splintered from early Shi'ism as a ghulat branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first Imam" in the Twelver school, as the physical manifestation of God. The group was founded by Ibn Nusayr during the 9th century. Ibn Nusayr was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called Nusayris.
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. The majority of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up around 15% of the Muslim population.
Islam began entering Iran a few years after it was founded by Muhammad in the 7th century. The Arab conquest of Iran, which culminated in the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the nascent Rashidun Caliphate, brought about a monumental change in Iranian society by purging Zoroastrianism, which had been the Iranian nation's official and majority religion since the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Since the Rashidun invasion, Islam has consistently held the status of Iran's official religion except for during a short period in the 13th century, when the Mongol invasions and conquests destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and smaller Islamic realms before resulting in the establishment of the Ilkhanate. The process by which Iranian society became integrated into the Muslim world took place over many centuries, with nobility and city-dwellers being among the first to convert, in spite of notable periods of resistance, while the peasantry and the dehqans took longer to do so. Around the 10th century, most Persians had become Muslims.
This is an alphabetical list of topics related to Islam, the history of Islam, Islamic culture, and the present-day Muslim world, intended to provide inspiration for the creation of new articles and categories. This list is not complete; please add to it as needed. This list may contain multiple transliterations of the same word: please do not delete the multiple alternative spellings—instead, please make redirects to the appropriate pre-existing Wikipedia article if one is present.
Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or ʿaqīdah (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves there may be differences, such as different orders (tariqa) within Sufism, and within Sunnī Islam different schools of theology and jurisprudence. Groups in Islam may be numerous, or relatively small in size.
Sunni and Shia are different sects among Muslims and the difference of opinions have resulted in many Fatwas, non-binding but authoritative legal opinion or learned interpretation issues pertaining to the Islamic law. Fatwas are based on the question and answer process found in the Quran, which seeks to enlighten on theological and philosophical issues, hadith, legal theory, duties, and the Sharia law. Sunni fatwas have been used to justify the persecution of Shia throughout their history.
Several different denominations and sects of Islam are practised within Syria, who collectively constitute approximately 87% of the population and form a majority in most of the districts of the country.
The holiest sites in Islam are located in the Arabian Peninsula. While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion that affirms two cities as having the highest degree of holiness, in descending order: Mecca, and Medina. Mecca's Al-Masjid al-Haram, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina are all revered by Muslims as sites of great importance.
Muslim communities has a system of social stratification arising from concepts other than "pure" and "impure", which are integral to the caste system in India. It developed as a result of relations among foreign conquerors, local upper-caste Hindus convert to Islam and local lower-caste converts (ajlaf), as well as the continuation of the Indian caste system by converts. Non-ashrafs are backward-caste converts. The concept of "pasmanda" includes ajlaf and arzal Muslims; ajlaf status is defined by descent from converts to Islam and by pesha (profession). These terms are not part of the sociological vocabulary in regions such as Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, and say little about the functioning of Muslim society.
After the death of Muhammad in 632, a group of Muslims believed that Muhammad's successor as caliph of the Islamic community should be Abu Bakr, whereas a second group of Muslims believed that his successor should be Ali ibn Abi Talib. This dispute spread across various parts of the Muslim world, which led to the Battle of the Camel and Battle of Siffin. Sectarianism based on this historic dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala. During the battle, Husayn ibn Ali and some of his close partisans, including members and children of Muhammad's household, were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I. The outcry for revenge divided the early Islamic community, albeit disproportionately, into the Sunni and the Shia. This is known today as the Islamic schism.
Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. Another Iranian religion known as Manichaeanism was present in Iran during this period. Jewish and Christian communities thrived, especially in the territories of northwestern, western, and southern Iran—mainly Caucasian Albania, Asoristan, Persian Armenia, and Caucasian Iberia. A significant number of Iranian peoples also adhered to Buddhism in what was then eastern Iran, such as the regions of Bactria and Sogdia.
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is His last Messenger.
Following their rise to power in Iran in the 16th century, the Safavid dynasty initiated a campaign of forced conversion against the Iranian populace, seeking to create a demographic environment in which Shia Islam would replace Sunni Islam as the nation's religious majority. Over the course of three centuries, the Safavids heavily persecuted Sunni Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other religious groups, eventually transforming Iran into a bastion of Shia Islam. This process led to hostilities with Iran's Sunni-majority neighbours, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The Safavid campaign sought to ensure Twelver dominance among Shia Muslims, particularly with regard to Zaydism and Ismaʿilism—each of which had previously experienced their own eras of sectarian dominance.
Criticism of Twelver Shia Islam dates from the initial ideological rift among early Muslims that led to the two primary denominations of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shias. The question of succession to Muhammad in Islam, the nature of the Imamate, the status of the twelfth Shia Imam, and other areas in which Shia Islam differs from Sunni Islam have been criticized by Sunni scholars, even though there is no disagreement between the two sects regarding the centrality of the Quran, Muhammad, and many other doctrinal, theological and ritual matters. Shia commentators such as Musa al-Musawi and Ali Shariati have themselves, in their attempts to reform the faith, criticized practices and beliefs which have become prevalent in the Twelver Shia community.
Anti-Shi'ism or Shiaphobia is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011, but it has been used in informal research and written in scholarly articles for decades.
Non-denominational Muslims are 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. Such Muslims do not think of themselves as belonging to a denomination but rather as "just Muslims" or "non-denominational Muslims." Muslims who do not adhere to a sect are also known as non-sectarian Muslims.
Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding creed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extant Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools; the extinct ones include the Qadari, Jahmi, Murji', and Batini schools.
Anti-Sunnism is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Sunni Muslims.
Shah Ismail pursued a relentless campaign of forced conversion of the majority Sunni population in Iran to (Twelver) Shia Islam...
Shah persecuted the philosophers, mystics, and Sufis who had been promoted by his grandfather, and unleashed fanatical campaigns of forcible conversion on Sunnis, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities
Forced conversion in the Safavid Empire made Persia for the first time dominantly Shia and left a lasting mark: Persia, now Iran, has been dominantly Shia ever since, and for centuries the only country to have a ruling Shia majority.
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