Non-denominational Muslim

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Non-denominational Muslims (

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.[1][2][3][4] Such Muslims do not think of themselves as belonging to a denomination but rather as "just Muslims" or "non-denominational Muslims."[5] Muslims who do not adhere to a sect are also known as non-sectarian Muslims.[6]

While the majority of the population in the

Southeastern Europe also has a large number of Muslims who do not identify with a sect.[8] Identification as "just a Muslim" is less prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa (median of 12%) and South Asia
(median of 4%).

Sectarian controversies have a long and complex history in Islam and they have been exploited and amplified by rulers for political ends. However, the notion of Muslim unity has remained an important ideal and in modern times intellectuals have spoken against sectarian divisions. Surveys have reported that large proportions of Muslims in some parts of the world self-identify as "just Muslim" or "Muslim only", although there is little published analysis available regarding the motivations underlying this response.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Etymology

Non-sectarian Muslims

Muslims who do not adhere to a sect are also known as non-sectarian Muslims.[15]

Non-madhhabi

The description non-madhhabi may be used for example in relation to Islamic studies at educational institutions that are not limited in scope to one particular madhhab or school of jurisprudence.[16] For non-denominational Muslims, Pew uses the description of "choose not to affiliate"[17] while Russian officials use the term "Unaffiliated Muslims" for those who do not belong to any branch or denomination.[18] Unlike Sunnis, Shias, and Ibadis, non-denominational Muslims are not affiliated with any school of thought (madhhab).[19][20][21]

Ghayr Muqallid

The term ghair-muqallid, i.e., "non-blind-follower", can be used to describe the adherents of movements such as

Ahl-e-Hadith who do not necessarily follow the rulings of a particular traditional madhhab but identify as Sunni Muslims.[22][23][24][25]

History of sectarianism

Muslim_self-identification

After the death of the Islamic prophet

Imams who succeeded him gradually became the embodiment of God's continuing guidance, and they tended to stress the religious functions of the caliphate and deplore its political compromises; Sunnis were more inclined to circumscribe its religious role and more readily accepted its pragmatic dimensions.[27] As these differences became increasingly vested with religious importance, they gave rise to two distinct forms of Islam.[27]

One assumption is that Sunnis represent Islam as it existed before the divisions, and should be considered as normative, or the standard.[28] This perception is partly due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works, and also because the vast majority of the population is Sunni.[28] Both Sunnism and Shi'ism are the end products of several centuries of competition between ideologies.[28] Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and divisions.[29]

During the Umayyad period, many non-Arab converts (

Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah.[31][32]

In the

Zia regime in Pakistan, who used sectarian divisions between the Sunni and Shia to counter the growing geopolitical influence of Iran, as well as to distract from the domestic political problems.[34] Post-Zia governments in Pakistan continued to "cynically manipulate sectarian conflicts for short term political gain."[34]

Development and thought

Non-denominational Muslims defend their stance by pointing to the

Qur'an such as Al Imran verse 103, which asks Muslims to stay united and not to become divided.[35]

The seventh Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) was known for his attempts to end sectarian rivalry in Islam and to impose upon his subjects a rationalist Muslim creed.[36]

Talking about sectarianism, Persian Muslim poet Hafiz (d. 1389-1390) said, "Forgive the war of the 72 sects; since they did not see the truth they have struck out on the road to fancy". Hafiz regarded sectarian quarrels as afsana (a tale) that preoccupies those who fail to understand the diversity of faith.[37] The poems of Hafiz were known for their non-sectarian tone, and were even quoted by Debendranath Tagore.[38]

The third

caliph and that, consequently, his opinion in religious matters prevailed.[39]

Condemning the historically prevailing trend of blindly imitating religious leaders, the

pan-Islamist revolutionary Jamal al-Din al-Afghani refused to identity himself with a specific sect or imam by insisting that he was just a Muslim and a scholar.[40] A proponent of Muslim unity, he criticised Sunni and Shia extremists as well as the ideology of nationalism, insisting that Islam was doctrinally the only nationality for all Muslims and historically the only bond that effectively tied them all together.[41]

Believing in the unification of Muslims in order to go back to the "true Islam", Egyptian scholar Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905) held that the extreme fervour of sects was responsible for the divide of Muslims, and this division, alongside unsubstantiated religious practises and false religious doctrine such as the exaggerations of the Sufi order, was one of the reasons for their decline.[42]

Islam originally brought a radical egalitarianism to a fiercely tribal society, within which a person's status was based on his tribal membership.[43] The Quran set all believing individuals as equals, erasing the importance of tribal status. The primary identity of "Muslims" became simply "Muslim", rather than as a member of a tribe, ethnicity or gender. The Quranic concept of the ummah depends on this unified concept of an Islamic community, and it was appealed to again in the 19th century, as a response to colonialism by European powers.[44] One Muslim scholar leading the emphasis on Muslim unity was Muhammad Iqbal, whose views have been referred to as "ummatic".[45] Iqbal emphatically referred to sectarianism as an "idol" that needed to be "smashed forever".[46] He is quoted as having stated, "I condemn this accursed religious and social sectarianism, there are no Wahhabis, Shias or Sunnis. Fight not for interpretations of the truth when the truth itself is in danger." In his later life, Iqbal began to transcend the narrow domain of nationalist causes and began to speak to the Muslims spread all over the globe, encouraging them to unify as one community.[47]

Iqbal's influence on

Ismaili Shia family and briefly converted to Sunni Islam as a young man. Jinnah publicly described himself as neither Shia nor Sunni, and his standard answer to questions asking him to define his sect being: "was the Prophet Muhammad a Shia or a Sunni?"[48]

Other intellectuals who spoke against sectarianism during this era were Altaf Hussain Hali, who blamed sectarianism for the decline of Muslims, the Aga Khan III, who cited it as a hindrance to progress, and Muhammad Akram Khan, who said sectarianism drained the intellectual capacities of Muslim scholars.[46]

An anti-sectarian culture and anti-sectarian nationalist movements and parties emerged in Syria after 1860, especially around the Arab movement and the Arab government under

King Faisal I of Iraq (r. 1921-1933).[49] Faisal, who abhorred sectarianism,[50] was an advocate of a mild and inclusive form of Arab nationalism, around which a consensus could be built, and as a shared platform that could span the differences between the sects. Due to his anti-sectarian stance, Faisal had a displeasing relationship with Sati' al-Husri.[51]

Malaysian Muslim scholar Kassim Ahmad argued that some hadith promote ideas that conflict with science and create sectarian issues, stating the hadith are "sectarian, anti-science, anti-reason and anti-women".[52][53]

In 1947, the non-sectarian movement Jama'ah al-Taqrib bayna al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah was founded in Cairo, Egypt.

Al-Ahzar University.[55] The movement sought to bridge the gap between Sunnis and Shi'is.[56] At the end of the 1950s, the movement reached a wider public, as the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser discovered the usefulness of pan-Islamism for his foreign policy.[57]

During his reign,

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the Emirates urged solidarity and co-operation between nations, Arab and non-Arab. The ideal policy in his view was openness and a combination of modernisation and preservation of traditional values and distinct identity. He also called for protecting Islam against sectarianism and factionalism.[58] Similarly, his son Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (r. 2022-present) has advocated against sectarian conflicts amongst Arabs and Muslims.[59][60]

During his reign,

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (r. 2005-2015) acted to reduce regional sectarianism.[61] Abdullah's promotion of sectarian harmony was faced by many challenges, including the king not having the support of all members of the royal family.[62]

According to Thomas West and Sonia Alianak, Jordan and Morocco withstood the tidal wave of revolutions during the Arab Spring of 2011 because King Abdullah II of Jordan and King Muhammad VI of Morocco, both descendants of Prophet Muhammad and non-sectarian, resorted to reform instead of being toppled by making use of their religious credentials and pedigrees.[63]

In Pakistan, sectarianism is cited as a hindrance to the unification of Islamic Law: "Codification of the Islamic Laws related to family and property on the basis of the concept of Talfiq[64] should also be considered. This will require strong public opinion in favour of this unification of the Islamic Law on a non-sectarian basis, as no change can be considered permanent unless it has full support of the public."[65]

In Lithuania, non-denominational Muslims fall into the category of "non-traditional religious communities", and are formally separated by law from Sunnis.[66]

Academia

There are faith schools and graduation programs with curriculums that have been described as being oriented towards non-denominational Islam.

Sunni-inclined.[68] In other jurisdictions, some officials have applied a mandatory religious instruction that purportedly gives students a non-denominational outlook in an attempt to appear pluralistic, but in practice, does no such thing.[69]

Dispersions

Western-born Muslims are more likely to be non-affiliated than immigrant Muslims,

Deobandi movement.[75]

Although some non-denominational Muslims came to their position influenced by their parents, others have come to this position irrespective and in spite of their parents.[3] Some laymen non-denominational Muslims exhibit hostility towards the notion that Islam is divided into the binary subdivisions of Sunnism and Shiaism, thereby erasing space for the unaffiliated non-denominational Muslims.[14]

Non-denominational Islam has been described as a generic or a broad run-of-the-mill approach to the faith.

Islamic clergy.[76]

Setting

In 2017, there were 144 non-denominational prayer rooms and other places of worship in the

Salafists,[80] active members of the Muslim Brotherhood,[81] those who criticise the traditional Muslim view on homosexuality,[82] or the quintessential all-embracing Ansar-ud-Din college, described as a "non-denominational Muslim institution" in Ota Ogun State, Nigeria wherein in the 1950s, all its Islam-related shelves were stocked with books solely affiliated with Ahmadiyya or from western orientalists,[83] even though Ahmadiyya is considered heretical in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Indonesia.[84]

Polls

According to a 2012

Southeastern Europe also has a large number of Muslims who do not identify with a sect.[8]

Commentary

It has been described as a phenomenon that gained momentum in the 20th century which can overlap with orthodox Sunni tenets despite adherents not adhering to any specific

states:

The people who began to trade on the names of the prophets cut off that unity and made sects; and each sect rejoices in its own narrow doctrine, instead of taking the universal teaching of unity from Allah. But this sectarian confusion is of man's making. It will last for a time, but the rays of truth and unity will finally dissipate it. Worldly wealth, power and influence may be but trials. Let not their possessors think that they are in themselves things that will necessarily bring them happiness.[89]

Organizations

Notable individuals

Notable Muslim figures who have espoused an anti-sectarian stance include:

See also

Other religions:

References

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  2. ^ a b c Longton, Gary Gurr (2014). "Isis Jihadist group made me wonder about non-denominational Muslims". The Sentinel. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2015. 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.
  3. ^ a b Kirkham, Bri (2015). "Indiana Blood Center cancels 'Muslims for Life' blood drive". Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Ball State Student Sadie Sial identifies as a non-denominational Muslim, and her parents belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. She has participated in multiple blood drives through the Indiana Blood Center.
  4. ^ . 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
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  9. . 40 per cent called themselves "just a Muslim" according to the Council of American-Islamic relations
  10. . of Muslims identified themselves as Sunni, 12 per cent as Shi'a, 3 per cent as Ahmadiyya but 44 per cent as 'just Muslim' (Pew Forum, 2010)
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  13. . Nineteen said that they are Sunni Muslims, six said they are just Muslim without specifying a sect, two said they are Ahmadi and two said their families are Alevi
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  16. . This is due to the historical, sociological, cultural, rational and non-denominational (non-madhhabi) approaches to Islam employed at IAINs, STAINs, and UINs, as opposed to the theological, normative and denominational approaches that were common in Islamic educational institutions in the past
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  29. . Each of these sectarian movements... used the other to define itself more clearly and in the process to articulate its doctrinal contents and rituals.
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  68. . ... the Ahmadiyya (3%), the 'something else' (2%), the 'Just a Muslim' (42%), and the 'Don't Know' (4%) (Pew 2010, 21). Most of the 'Just a Muslim' are also likely to be Sunni-inclined
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