An Abridged Handbook of Islamic Sects and Trends

The other day I noticed a comment on richarddawkins.net by a normally insightful commentator; njwong, about the difference between Sufism and Wahhabism. Despite his usual insight I feel that the demarcation he makes is born of ignorance of these two "types" of Islam. So I am going to attempt to compile a list of common terms, groups, and influences that routinely pop up in discussions of Islam, and provide some abridged explanations (in no particular order, save in which they came to my mind). List of Terms:

Wahhabi(ism): A term used in a far too general a fashion. It is essentially a movement founded by Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the central plateau of the Arabian Peninsula (Najd) in the mid 18th Century. Descended from a long line of Hanbali scholars, Bin Abd al-Wahhab dedicated himself to correcting Islamic belief and practice, which he viewed as corrupted. His primary targets for reproach were Sufis (see below) and Shi'as. This is a term too widely applied these days for pejorative purposes. It was most likely first used by the Turks then later by the British. The descendants of Bin Abd al-Wahhab continue to hold the positions of official religious scholars in Saudi Arabia.

Sufi(sm): From the Arabic word tasawuf, meaning "wool", given to these people due to their garments of wool. Sufism is generally associated with spiritual and esoteric versions of Islamic practice. Often they are viewed, particularly by foreign observers, as antinomian, monkish type figures. This is unfair as Sufism spans a great many forms of practice. Some are very tolerant (one such Sufi master had both Jews and Christians in his funeral procession) to orders like the Qadari Tariqa of which 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam was a member (eponym of the Qassam rocket, and an inspiration to Hamas). Sufis are usually organized into an order known as a tariqa, an Arabic word mean "road" or "path". A single shaykh will lead the order and will be the spiritual leader for his followers. Strange practices are sometimes associated with the 'passing on' of the order; Stefania Pandolfo noted that some Sufis in Morocco would drink the bath water of the shaykh who led the order. Sufis range from the ultra liberal to the highly conservative, and many have been deeply involved in resistance movements... namely Sayyid Ahmed Barelwi in the Northwest Frontier Province, and the timeless intellectual Shah Waliullah Dihlavi (who shared a teacher, Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi, with Muhammad Bin Abd al-Wahhab).

Salafi(sm): From the Arabic term, Ahl al-Salif al-Salih (People of the Righteous Forebearers). It is essentially an ultra-traditional interpretation of Islam, harkening back to the aforementioned 'forebearers', referring to Muhammad and his companions. These Muslims often take as their impetus a Hadith attributed to Muhammad in which he said; "Blessed is the one who has seen me, and blessed is the one who has seen the one who has seen me." This is sometimes used interchangeably with the term immediately below. Some Wahhbis eschew the term Wahhabi and prefer to call themselves Salafis. Salafis are more inclined to take issue with non-Muslims than Wahhabis (who are primarily concerned with incorrect practice from Muslims). Salafis range from the highly faithful (but inactive) to the highly radical violent types seen in al-Qaeda and other purification/jihad groups. One such "passive" group is the Jama'a-i Tabliq.

Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamma': A term meaning People of the Way of the Prophet and the Community. Essentially a group similar to Salafis who focus on the early period of Islam for developing the correct Islamic lifestyle.

Jama'a-i Tabliq: A group of highly fundamentalist Muslims who do not take action with regard to non-Muslims, but instead choose to proselytize to their fellow Muslims who they feel are practicing Islam incorrectly. This group is often found to promote the notion that all the problems of the Muslim Ummah can be corrected by proper worship, and that as a corollary the current problems in the ummah are a direct result of incorrect worship. These Muslims are not all that dissimilar from Wahhabis, however the Tabliq are often comprised of Muslims from the Subcontinent.

The Muslim Brotherhood: Known in Arabic as al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen, or Ikhwan for short. A movement founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna (who was greatly influenced by Rashid Rida' and Muhammad Abduh, who were in turn greatly influenced by a Shi'a Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani) who claimed that the Qur'an and the Sunnah would provide the perfect model for Muslim life, and that the Caliphate should and would be re-established from Spain to Indonesia... and eventually the entire world. The credo of the brotherhood is: "Allah is our objective. "The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." The Brotherhood has been repeatedly oppressed in a number of Arab states. With varying severity in Egypt (under Nasser, and worse after a member assassinated Anwar Sadat). Initially the Brotherhood had helped the Egyptian officers who overthrow Kind Farooq, but were betrayed and persecuted by Nasser. And also in Syria which led to the massacre at Hama. The massacre of Hama occurred after a revolt led by the Brotherhood. The Syrian military bombarded the city killing between 25,000 and 40,000 people.

Qutbist: So named after eponym Sayyid Qutb. Qutb was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and was executed by Nasser in 1966. He wrote several fundamental works:
-Ma'alim fi't Tariq "Milestones", a critique of un-Islamic governments in Muslim countries.
-Fi Zilal al-Qur'an "In the Aegis of the Qur'an", an exegesis of the Qur'an in which Qutb couched a scalding critique of Nasser's Egypt.
-Adalat al-Ijtima'iyya fi'l Islam "Social Justice in Islam", in this work Qutb laid out his vision for Islam as a social system.
Qutb began his career in S. Egypt (he was Nubian and thus black) where he worked for the ministry of education and wrote tawdry romance novels. Qutb was steeled in his Islamism after a visit to the United States in the 1950's (he studied briefly in Greely, Colorado) where he was revolted by the sexual immorality of Americans. Qutb's most important commentary was his labeling of non-Islamic Arab governments as jahili (the Jahiliyya is the period before Islam, which is best translated as "Period of Ignorance"). Qutb has been an inspiration to Osama Bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden: A Saudi of Yemeni origin, his family grew wealthy in Saudi Arabia through their construction business. Bin Laden was a reasonably moderate young man, but after a trip to Switzerland he began to eschew Western values. He went to participate in the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan. He was inspired by the writings of Sayyid Qutb, and an indirect line of filiation can be drawn as Bin Laden's closest ally (an integral founder of al-Qaeda) Abdullah Azzam had taught in Medina alongside Muhammad Qutb, brother of Sayyid Qutb. Bin Laden has adhered, loosely, to the hierarchy of disdain set out by Qutb. First were atheistic communist societies and second were Western capitalist societies, which ‘worshipped money’, and were thus idolaters. Another principle Qutb laid out (in Milestones) which bin Laden adopted was takfir ("To declare a Muslim to be non-Muslim"... literally "To make them a Kafir). Since Islam had entered a period of "Jahiliyya", any Muslim not taking part in the solution was an infidel. This practice of takfir is how bin Laden has justified the targeting of Muslims in terrorist attacks; he simply views them as Kuffar.

Jihad: Jihad is accurately translated as "Struggle", yet its historical context often causes people to render it "Holy War". Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (most famous student of Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya) best outlined what jihad is in his magnum opus, Zaad al-Ma'ad (Provisions for the Hereafter). He wrote that jihad was divided into two levels. The First al-Jihad al-Akbar (The Greater Jihad) which was comprised of the struggle for internal perfection of faith, and the second al-Jihad al-Asghar (The Lesser Jihad) often times known as Jihad bi'l-Sayf (Jihad by the Sword). The Greater Jihad means perfecting faith and the practice of Islam, eschewing negative behaviors and perfecting worship, it is know as a Fard Ayni (Individual Obligation of the Muslim). The Lesser Jihad is fighting for the spread of Islam, or the defense of its borders, it is known as a Fard Kifaya (Sufficient or Communal Obligation) this means that not everyone need participate in this jihad, but SOME from the community MUST step forward to fulfill the obligation. This is in turn divided into subcategories by al-Jawziyya:
-Jihad bi'l-Lissan "Jihad by the Tongue" which means to spread Islam by the word.
-Jihad bi'l-Qalam "Jihad by the Pen" which means to spread Islam by the written word.
-Jihad bi'l-Sayf "Jihad of the Sword" which means to spread Islam by the sword.
All of these are potential obligations, and can be simultaneous. Al-Jawziyya makes no mistake about the importance of BOTH forms of jihad writing "Jihad is the very pinnacle of Islam, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, experienced it in every facet" (my translation).

Now I am tired. I shall revisit this as it requires updating. Please contact me with any other questions or suggestions for terms requiring definition.