Sectarianism: An Islamic Perspective

The word sect comes from the Latin secta (from sequi, to follow), meaning a course of action or a way of life. It has now come to be commonly understood as an adherence to a particular party or denomination – a religious group that has branched off from a larger established religion, with a number of doctrinal differences. In Scotland and within Christianity, Catholics and Protestants are the two main sects. Sectarianism is most commonly related to negative attitudes between members of these two groups.

In the context of Islam, the earliest sects emerged because of political and theological differences, and have ultimately become coherent groups with established ideologies. Some early sects no longer exist. This section does not seek to discuss historical sects; rather, it seeks to explain and explore the different forms of 'sectarianism' that exist in Muslim societies today. The term 'sectarianism' is perhaps too narrow to encompass and explain differences in the faith. Differences can be explained in three distinct categories. These are:

1. Emergence of sects from the Islamic faith, who are ultimately not considered Muslim.
2. Emergence of Shi'ism as a distinct sect, apart from orthodox Islam or Sunn'ism.
3. Different approaches within orthodox Islam.

Before explaining these three categories, it is important to establish a key point. Islam as a faith is defined by the basic declaration of faith, 'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God'. A Muslim is one who believes in this, and any contradiction to this statement takes one outside the realm of Islamic faith. However, within Islam there is scope for differences of opinion in matters that are not related to creed and belief.

Further, as noted, the majority of the Muslims in the UK are from the Indian Subcontinent; hence, the majority of Muslim groups in the UK emerged from this context. Thus, much of the discussion is focused on Muslim perspectives emerging from the Subcontinent.

Emergence of sects from the Islamic faith, who are not considered Muslim

Although there are other groups who are not considered 'Muslim' by the majority of Muslims across the world, such as the Nation of Islam, the Ahmadiyyah are most prominent in the UK, primarily due to fact that the majority are from Pakistan.

Ahmaddiyah

The founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed (1839-1908), emerged as a voice against Christian missionaries in nineteenth century India. He ultimately ended up viewing himself as a symbolic representation of the Islamic 'Mahdi', Krishna from Hinduism, and Jesus. He then went on to proclaim himself as a minor Prophet with a mission to renew the Islamic faith. In doing so he denied the finality of the Prophet Muhammad, and so he and his followers broke off from Islam and began to practice their own version of the faith. They are also known as Mirzai and Qadianis by the majority of Muslims. However, after the death of Ghulam Ahmed in 1914, a major schism emerged in the community relating to Ahmed's claim of prophethood. A group led by Khwaja Kamaluddin (Imam of the Woking Mosque – the first purpose built mosque in the UK) and Muhammad Ali (Translator of the Qur'an), recognised Ahmed as merely a renovator of the faith and not a prophet. This group are known as the 'Lahoris' (the Lahore Party) as opposed to the orthodox Mirzai or Qadianis (Francis Robinson, Varieties of South Asian Islam, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, Research paper no. 8, 1988).

It is vital to understand that, whilst such groups are not considered Muslim by the majority of the Muslim world, to show hostility toward them, to discriminate or to label them using derogatory terms is unacceptable from an Islamic perspective.

The Islamic vision of tolerance and plurality is based on the Qur'anic teaching of unity and diversity. According to the Qur'an, every human is honoured just by virtue of being human: “And we have honoured the children of Adam…” [The Qur'an, 17:70], before they are categorised or divided in any way. The oneness of humanity is the foundation for the entitlement to basic human rights and equality. The Qur'an confirms divine unity on many occasions, but it also recognises the diversity of cultures, religions and ethnicity. Above this, it recognises the freedom for humans to choose their way:

Let there be no compulsion in religion…
(The Qur'an, 2:256)

If it had been you Lord's will, they would all have believed – all who are on the earth! Will you then compel people against their will to believe.
(The Qur'an, 10:99)

O mankind! We have created you from a single (pair) of male and female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other.
(The Qur'an, 49:13)

The unity of God's creation and the diversity of religions and cultures is accepted as a unity in diversity. Conflict between people is condemned; healthy debate is promoted between people. Acceptance and appreciation of a plurality of religions and cultures is propagated.

Emergence of Shi'ism as a distinct sect, apart from orthodox Islam or Sunn'ism

Today approximately 85-90% of the Muslim world is Sunni, whilst the remainder are Shia. Sunnis and Shias share the fundamental premises of Islam, belief in the oneness and unity of God (Tawhid), the Prophet Muhammad and the revelation of the Qur'an to him from God. Shias, however, follow the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence, as opposed to the four main schools of Sunni jurisprudence. The crux of their differences is rooted in the issue of succession and leadership of the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad in 632CE. Shias believe that the leadership of the community was the exclusive prerogative of Muhammad himself, as opposed to consensus and elected leadership, and after Muhammad this right resided with his descendants. Shias believe that Ali (the fourth Caliph), Muhammad's son in-law, should have succeeded him, as opposed to Abu Bakr (the first Caliph), and they claim that Muhammad actually designated Ali as his successor.

The term Shia at first implied partisan, or the party who supported Ali. This term emerged after the assassination of Uthman (the third Caliph), when there was a disagreement over who should succeed him as Caliph, Ali or Muawiyah. However, it was not until after the death of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn at Karbala (believed to be the third Imam) that Shi'ism emerged as a distinct and consolidated sect with definite doctrinal differences and beliefs.

Husayn was martyred at Karbala by the army of Yazid because he refused Yazid's demand for a political alliance. This milestone event has become an event which is remembered by Shias, as well as Sunnis, as a huge tragedy. Shias understand this event as a struggle between truth and falsehood, and Husayn as a martyr for the truth and justice. The emotional intensity with which the event is remembered by Shias, as well as their veneration for Ali, often causes irritation for Sunnis, and is the point at which sectarian divides emerge strongly. Sunnis believe that succession was a democratic process, and the leaders were elected according to majority vote. The denunciation of the first three Caliphs, along with other issues, is also a cause of divisions.

Thus, Shias follow a line of religious leadership emanating from Ali, who is regarded as the first Imam. In all there are twelve Imams in the lineage. The last, Imam Muhammad al-Muntazar, is believed to have gone into occultation, and it is believed that he will re-emerge at the end of the world as a messiah (mehdi).

The majority of Shias are 'twelvers'. The 'twelvers' became the dominant Shia community in the sixteenth century, particularly in Persia, where it became the official state religion.

After the sixth Imam, there was a disagreement over whether the legitimate successor was his eldest son Ismail or his younger son, Musa al-Kazim. The majority supported Musa al-Kazim and they became the 'twelvers'. Those who believed the Imamate ended with Ismail formed a separate group and are known as 'Ismailis'.

As a result of division over the succession to the Fatimid Caliph Mustansir, the Ismaili's in the Subcontinent further divided into two groups, the 'Bohras' and the 'Khojas'.

The Bohras are further divided into two main groups, the Daudis and the Sulaimanis. Most Bohras are converts from Hinduism and still retain many of their customs. They pray in their own masjids, and only pray three times a day. They bury their dead in separate cemeteries and do not perform the congregational Friday prayer.

The Khojas are also known as Aga Khanis. They look to Aga Khan as the head of their community. Aga Khan claimed to be a descendant from the seventh Imam. The majority of Khojas are also converts from Hinduism and their customs are a reflection of this. Most Ismailis in the UK came to Britain via East Africa.

The contentions issues between Sunnis and Shias are basically political and theological in nature – they started from the question of a legitimate successor. The current divisions all emanate from this point of ideological and doctrinal difference.

Different approaches within orthodox Islam

There exist amongst Sunni Muslims different approaches to Islam. These emerged against a backdrop of various circumstances. The differences are only minor in detail and do not include fundamental pillars of belief. Major disagreements on issues of 'Aqeeda' or creed are related to the groups mentioned in the section above.

The differences in the groups discussed below emerged mainly in the context of nineteenth century Subcontinent. The question Muslims were seeking to find answers to was how Islam could be sustained under colonial rule. Various answers emerged at the time, but the question of the sustainability of Islam in the face of western civilization continued to be prominent. As Muslim people migrated from India and Pakistan to the UK, they brought these concerns with them. It should be noted here that each of these groups may and probably have changed some of their approaches in the British context, however their origins and perspectives will still be influenced by established ideas.

The Barelvis

According to Raza (1991), the majority of Muslims in Britain belong to this grouping (Mohammed Raza, Islam in Britain: Past, Present and Future, Volcano Press Ltd: Leicester, 1991). This is perhaps not surprising because the majority of the Muslims in Britain immigrated from Mirpur and surrounding areas, and from north-eastern Punjab. Barelvis are the followers of Ahmed Riza Khan of Bareilly (1859-1921). He stressed the Sufi concept of the light of the Prophet Muhammad, which in essence is derived from God's light. Hence, they place more importance on celebrating the Prophet's birthday, and they also observe the annual celebrations of dead saints, particularly Adbul Qadir Jilani, the most prominent Sufi from this part of the world. Robinson (1988) explains this by stating that Ahmad Riza Khan “used his Hanafi legal scholarship to justify Islam as it has been handed down – a custom-laden Islam which was closely tied to the sufi world of the shrines where believers sought the help of saints to intercede from them with God” (Francis Robinson, Varieties of South Asian Islam, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, Research paper no. 8, 1988: p8).

The Deobandi

The Deobandi approach offered a way of practicing Islam without being linked with the affairs of the state. The focus of this group was, and still is, education. The 'Madrassa' system was pioneered and instated by the followers of Muhammad Qasim Nanautvi and Rashid Ahmad Ganghoi. A madrassa was set up at Deoband (a city about 90miles from Delhi). This became the focus for adhering to strict Shariah as well as a focus of revealed sciences rather than rational sciences. This group does not venerate the Prophet as much as the Barelvis do. The Deobandi movement “tolerated a restrained sufi practice which admitted no hint of intercession” (Francis Robinson, Varieties of South Asian Islam, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, Research paper no. 8, 1988:p4). Ultimately this culture has been carried through to Britain.

The Tablighi Jamaat

Maulana Muhammas Ilyas (1885-1944) was the founder of this movement. His main focus was on adhering strictly to the 'Sunnah', teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. This could be achieved in several ways: inculcating a missionary spirit; gaining and transmitting Islamic knowledge; working together in mutual love; and forbidding wrong and enjoining the right. He did not believe that one needed to be a professional scholar in order to reform Islam. Rather, each individual has a responsibility to pass awareness of Islam to others. Hence, the methods of the Tabligh are very open. Trained preachers will go door to door and invite people (mainly Muslims) to the masjid.

The Ahle-Hadith

This group are generally held to be more conservative in their approach. They reject the four schools of thought in jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali and Shafi'I) and directly used the Qur'an and Sunnah. They have been closely associated to 'Wahhabism', which originated in the Arabian Peninsula with Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703-1792 AD). Practicing intercession, visiting graves and erecting tombs were particularly common activities in the Najd, where Abdul Wahhab lived. This prompted him to start a movement to eliminate what he saw as foreign practices from Islam. Modern day Saudi Arabia is known to follow this strict and rigid interpretation of Islam.

The Revivalists

This broad category includes Muslims and organisations in Britain who are inspired by the notion of preserving the Islamic civilisation and uniting unilaterally with British society. Broadly termed the 'Islamic Movement', this group mould their organisational aims to the situation in which they find themselves.

Sufism

Sufism developed at an early stage in Islamic history. By most accounts it was a result of not only Islamic concepts themselves, but of early ascetic tendencies prevalent in the first century of the Islamic era, which were largely derived from Christian asceticism. Sufism has a special focus on spiritual closeness to Allah. In Britain there is a large Sufi presence. Sufis are normally part of a tariqa (literally meaning a path), which is lead by a Shaykh also known as murshid. A Sufi's path is to go through various stages (maqamat) under the guidance of the murshid. Maqamat are spiritual places through which a Sufi passes and spends some time before proceeding to the next. These are almost infinite, and always start with repentance, until the stage of rida (pleasure or satisfaction) is reached.

Orientalist Islam

This is the writing and teaching about Islam from Western European perspectives. It began as a study of the 'orient' in early centuries when the West came face to face with Islamic civilisation. Some Western writers, writing about the East and Middle East, have had negative and distorted views, while others have introduced positive Orientalism to correct misconceptions and stereotypes of the East and Middle East, including of Islam and Muslim peoples. Writers like Edward Said have written much about the concept of Orientalism, exploring the inter-dependency of the Orient (the East) and the Occident (the West), as well as the distortions created by Western writers of the reality of the East (including Islam) and the notion of the Orient which have been described within colonial and imperialist terms. Examples of some positive and critical contemporary writers on Islam are W. Montgomery Watt, Martin Lings and Karen Armstrong - particularly her books on Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet (1992) and Islam: A Short History (2000).