For Muslims: Which Islamic Sect or Division is right?

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Joseph_Bilodeau

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An earlier thread in this forum (which was closed for being off topic) asked about different sects or divisions in Christianity. In this thread another participant asked a counter question about sects or divisions in Islam. As I do not think this question should be off topic for this forum, and as I would be interested in hearing why Muslims think their branch of Isalm is correct, I would like to open a discussion based on this question.

The Islamic Sects or Divisions named by the previous participant are:
  • Sunnis
  • Shi’ites
  • Sufis
  • Kahrijites
  • Wahhabis
  • Ismailis
  • Fatimids
  • Nizari
  • Alawis or Nusayris
  • Druze
  • Baha’i
If you know of any others, please do add them.

I understand some of these religions may not be considered authentic Islam by some Muslims. Please be not be offended if I leave these offshoots in this listing, just as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians are often included in lists of Christian denominations by those who do not understand Christianity, but please do explain why these religions may not be authentic Islam.

Thank you.
 
Joseph Bilodeau:
An earlier thread in this forum (which was closed for being off topic) asked about different sects or divisions in Christianity. In this thread another participant asked a counter question about sects or divisions in Islam. As I do not think this question should be off topic for this forum, and as I would be interested in hearing why Muslims think their branch of Isalm is correct, I would like to open a discussion based on this question.

The Islamic Sects or Divisions named by the previous participant are:
  • Sunnis
  • Shi’ites
  • Sufis
  • Kahrijites
  • Wahhabis
  • Ismailis
  • Fatimids
  • Nizari
  • Alawis or Nusayris
  • Druze
  • Baha’i
If you know of any others, please do add them.

I understand some of these religions may not be considered authentic Islam by some Muslims. Please be not be offended if I leave these offshoots in this listing, just as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians are often included in lists of Christian denominations by those who do not understand Christianity, but please do explain why these religions may not be authentic Islam.

Thank you.
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Can I suggest a division into:​

Sunni groups, & Shia groups ?

the Fatimids were a dynasty, like the Valois - they were not a distinct sect, like the Twelvers or Fourteeners within Shia Islam; just as the Valois were not a sect with French Catholicism.

The Wahhabis are Sunnis

If the Bahais get a mention, then so should the Ahmadiyya - I don’t think either counts are properly Muslim though, any more than ELCA counts as RC.

On Arabic philosophy and Judaism (very important for its interaction with Scholastic philosophy):

jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1688&letter=A ##
 

BTW, it is not clear that sectarianism within Islam is of the same status as sectarianism within Christianity: “sect” has almost always a bad meaning within Christianity - this is not the case with all religions: it wasn’t so within Palestinian Judaism; it may or may not be within Islam, simply because not all religions require conformity in the same ways - Catholicism, is keen on dogmatic conformity: not all religions are insistent on this, because not all are dogmatic - Israel’s religion was cult-based, not dogma-based. Roman religion before Christianisation was different again.​

 
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