BRANCHES OF ISLAM:
The death of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam in Medina provoked a major crisis among his followers: The dispute over the leadership resulted in the most important "schism" in Islam: "Sunnis" and "Shiites:
Some people consider the Prophet's preference to follow him was Ali, the husband of his daughter Fatima, and the father of his only surviving grandsons Hasan and Husayn. But, while the family was busy burying the Prophet, the leaders of Medina elected the aging Abu Bakr, the father of the Prophet's favorite wife, as the successor ("caliph"), even before the burial of the Prophet. Ali and his family were dismayed but agreed for the sake of unity, and because Ali was still young... however, after the murder of the third caliph, Ali was invited by the Muslims of Medina to accept the caliphate, with the mayor schism of Islam:
- The "Sunnis", followers of Abu, the majority, with 800 million Muslims.
- The "Shiites", followers of Ali, with 100 million Muslims (Iran, Iraq, Palestine).
Despite the differences in detail and politics, the various branches do accept the basic tenets laid down in the Koran.
1- The "Sunni": 800 million:
The followers of Abu, called "Sunni" because they accept the "sunnas", the oral traditions and interpretations of the Koran after Muhammad's death, called the "sunnas", and later the "Hadiths".
They are usually more liberal.
They belief the "caliph" ("successor" of Muhammad) should always be elected, not conferred by heredity. They claim they are the true followers of the faith, and until 1959 they refuse to recognize the Shiites as true Muslims. They believe in "predestination".
During the Ottoman Turks, the Caliphs were called "Sultans".
2- The "Shiite": 100 million:
The "Shiite ("partisans"), are the followers of Ali, more orthodox and militant, mainly in Iran, Iraq, and Palestine. In 656, Ali and Fatima's son Hussein led a fight against the Sunnis. Hussein was torture and beheaded, and today the Shiites of Iran honor the memory of Hussein's death with an annual procession in which marches in a frenzied demonstration beat and whip themselves with chains and branches.
The "Iman" and "Mahdi" (Messhiah):
Shiites created the office of the "Imam" ("leader" or "guide"), who were infallible, one for each generation, the only source of religious instruction and guidance, and all in direct descendence of Ali. There were 12 Imams since Ali; the last one, the 12th, went into hiding in 940, and he will emerge later to rule the world as "Mahdi" ("Messiah"). For this reason they are also called the "Imamites" or "Twelvers".
- The present "Ayatollahs", ("signs of God") see themselves as joint caretakers of the office of the Imam, until he returns at the end of time. The "Ayatollah Khomeini" claimed that he was a descendant of the 7th Imam, and hence the rightful ruler of the Shiites.
The "Wahhabi":
A small group founded by al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century, but it was the primary force in the creation of the state of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the country of the cities of Mecca and Medina, and from them, the Wahhabi have influenced Muslims throughout the world who go into the pilgrimage to Mecca.
They are the Puritans of the Muslims, with the most strict, severely enforced moral standard of conduct, and their call for a pure Islam regulated by a literal interpretation of the Koran.
For them, it is a polytheism to visit the graves of the saints, and they are against observance of the feast of the Birth of the Prophet... and they discourage such Western innovations as cinema and dancing.
The Wahhabis: The Fanatical Reformists of Modern Islam
The Kharijites - the Early Seceders of Islam:
The first major sect that appeared in the history of Islam was made up of the Khawarij or Kharijites as they are known to us. The word means "those who go out", that is, seceders. They appeared as a separate group after the Battle of Siffin when Ali submitted his conflict with Mu'awiyah to arbitration. Although his followers had unanimously influenced him into this course of action, a section broke away afterwards, claiming that no caliph of Allah should submit the cause of God to the discretion of man. This group thus became the nucleus of the Kharijite movement in Islam, a dogmatic and fanatical sect which plagued Iraq for many years.
This group did not last long, however, (mercifully for the peace-loving Muslim communities in Iraq) but it did provide an example which was to be followed in later centuries by other sects, in particular the Wahbabis. http://answering-islam.org.uk/Gilchrist/Vol1/9d.html
The "Ismailis":
In the eight century a group of Shiites created a division on the account of who would be the rightful seventh Imam at the death of the sixth Imam who had 2 sons: They followed the older brother, Ismail, who died as a child, and so, they are called the "Ismailis" or "Seveners".
They are in parts of India, Egypt, and the rulers of Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Bahrain.
They believe that incarnations of God in the form of new Imams will continue throughout time
There are different groups of Ismailis:
The "Ismaili Druze"
About 700,000, believe that the Fatimid leader al-Hakim of Egypt was God. They meet on Thursdays, instead of Fridays, and they have monogamous marriages. They are in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, trying to have an independent state.
The Ismaili "Hashshashin" or "Assassins", used the drug hashish to get exited, and became famous for their practice of seizing Crusader forts and assassinating Christians. Today, known as "Khojas" or "Mawlas" in Bombay, India, and parts of Iran, Syria, and Zanzibar.
I had a good experience with one of them. When I went to Egypt with my wife, Hank was our taxi-driver for a week, a great one, he brought us to incredible places. The last day he told me: "You are lucky this didn't happened 5 years ago, because at that time I was an Assassin, and my job was to kill Christians".
The Sufi ("mystic", "woolen robes"):
It is a mystic group responsible for large scale conversion of Hindus and Africans into Islam.
One founder was Ahmad al-Qadiana, who lived in Cairo in the eighth century and claimed to be an incarnation of Allah.
The "Whirling Derisshes":
The greatest of the Sufi poets is "Meluana Celadin Rumi" (1207-73), from Turkey, whose work, "Masvani", is considered second only to the Koran, and it was Rumi who advocated and influenced the development of the "whirling dervishes", twirl dancing around the master, as a means of achieving oneness with God... it requires 1,001 hours to master the dance, once secret, now performed openly.
They used to retreat to the desert where they live as wandering ascetics, abstaining from all worldly pleasures and dressing in woolen robes, "sufis"... and there are several "orders", like the Christian monastic orders.
Their "primary goal", is to rid the souls of self-love and replace it with God-love. The "ego" aspect of human nature must be eradicated if the path of salvation is to be achieved.
The "Sufi Way", has 7 stages: Repentance, abstinence from worldly pleasures, detachment or isolation from the world, solitude, poverty, patience, and self-surrender to God. The 7-path program is completed when "ego" leaves and "divine love" enters the human soul.
The "Sufi Meditation", prescribes for concentration to touch 5 centers of the body: The heart; then the spirit center found in the heart; then the secret center between the heart and the spirit center; then the forehead, seat of the mysteries; and finally the brain, the deeply hidden source of mystery.
"Worship practices" are meditating, praying with songs and dances, gyrating movements of the body... "a master" will lead the devout to mystical trances... illumination comes in the form of ecstatic dancing, as may be practiced by the "whirling dervishes". The wild dancing represents the movements of the planets... and when the dancer collapses in a trance, enters into God.
Eventually the dervish becomes a "perfect man" who can teach others God's truth.
Among the Sufis, the most holy men become saints and their tombs become shrines to which pilgrims go to receive divine blessings.
The modern "work" of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, to know "thyself", is mostly based in Sufi Mysticism, even with the "Whirling dervish-type dances".
Baha'ism:
A religion founded by "Baha' U'llah" ("Mirza Husayn Ali") in 1863 in Iran, with the desire "to unite mankind into one religion kingdom".
Baha' claimed to be the "Madhi" ("Messiah") expected by Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists... There are today 5 million Baha'is in 205 countries; 100,000 in he USA, with the main temple and headquarters in Wilmette, Illinois.
In more than 100 books, Baha' proclaims that "the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens", and the "oneness of humanity, oneness of religion, oneness of God"... with "12 principles", including the independent search for truth, the unity of all religions, a universal language, a world confederacy of nations, a world court, work as worship, abolition of welth and poverty, establishment of world peace...
In 1863 Baha' already proclaimed that "mankind is headed toward a social and economic cataclysm... and out of this tragedy a "golden age" will dawn, and Baha'is will be the only ones prepared to rule this new world order"...
... His imminent prophecies, and his noble and altruistic goals have not been fulfilled in 1997.
Most leaders of the major religions reject Baha'is teaching, doctrines, and practices: Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims, who consider Baha' an heretic.
In Iran, the country of Baha, members of the Baha'i faith are severely persecuted and often sentenced to death for "heresy", and they destroyed the "House of Bab" in Shiraz, the Baha'is holiest shrine.
The "practices", are mostly Muslim: To pray at certain times during the day, and encourage to make at least one pilgrimage to their own Mecca: The temple in the city of "Ak'ka", near Haifa, Israel, where Baha' died and was buried, and is the actual world headquarters of the Baha'is.
"Number 9", is their symbol of unity and stands for the 9 manifestations of God to Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Hare Krishna, Bab, and Baha'... Bab was the precursor of Baha', like another John the Baptist. Their temples have 9 sides, 9 pillars, 9 gates, 9 fountains.
- For the Muslims, it is a heresy to have another prophet after Muhammad...
- For the Christians, it is a heresy to rob Christ of his incarnate deity, and to reject his atonement on the Cross.
In the USA: "Black Muslims":
In many nations there are groups of Muslims to fight for the specific problems of that nation, making the number of Muslim Denominations larger than those of Christianity.
In the USA, one of these is the "Nation of Islam" or "Black Muslims", started by Timothy Drew in 1913, and founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad, who established a mosque in Detroit in 1931, and claimed to be Allah incarnated.
The chief developer of the movement was "Elijah Muhammad", assistant of Fard. "Black men" were enjoined to give up Christianity, because they were seen as destined by Allah to assume cultural and political leadership of the Earth. The white race was conceived of as a race of devils whose time of reign was coming to an end. They bought thousands of acres, to promote self-help enterprises. Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are Black Muslims.
His most prominent disciple was "Malcolm X", who broke with the group because of its separatists views, before his assassination in 1965, forming the "American Muslim Mission".
A splinter group under "Louis Farrakhan", based in New York, retains the name "Nation of Islam".
2006-10-31 13:55:21
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answer #1
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answered by aboosait 4
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