Islam today :
The branches of Islam
Senegal hosts a meeting of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar on March 13-14 2008. Below is a factbox on some different branches of Islam practised within the Islamic world.
Sunni Islam
One of Islam's two main denominations, Sunnis account for roughly 85% of the world's roughly 1.5 billion Muslims. As well as the Koran, they emphasise the Sunna, the example set by the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, as recorded in the hadith, an oral history collection set down in writing many years after the events. They believe the first four caliphs were the legitimate successors of Mohammad.
Historically and with few exceptions, the most powerful Muslim governments have been Sunni, while non-Sunni groups have tended to be on the political fringes. The main exceptions were the Fatimid Caliphate 1 000 years ago and Iran from the 16th century onwards, both Shi'ite.
Within Sunni Islam there are four classical Sunni schools of jurisprudence: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. But most Muslims follow the school of their local authorities and are often not themselves aware of any affiliation. Adherents of the various schools are rarely antagonistic towards rival schools.
Often over the past 1 400 years revivalist movements have arisen within Sunni Islam, preaching strict emulation of the Prophet and the early Muslims, and the rejection of subsequent accretions to the faith. One of the most recent of these 'salafi' movements is the Wahhabi movement which arose in the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century and which is still promoted by the Saudi authorities. It contrasts with some African and Asian manifestations of Islam, which have adapted to local religious customs.
Shi'ite Islam
The Shi'ites are the second of the two main denominations of Islam, covering up to 15% of the world's Muslims, mainly in Iran, Iraq, and parts of Lebanon, Turkey and Afghanistan.
Shi'ism stemmed from a political dispute over who should govern the Muslim community on the death of the Prophet in 632 AD. The Shi'ites believe that Ali ibn Abi Taleb, Mohammad's cousin and son-in-law, was his rightful heir and should have succeeded him immediately. They consider the first three intervening caliphs, included by Sunnis among the "Rightly Guided", to be usurpers. They also believe that Ali's direct descendants, known as the imams, should have governed after him.
Over the years doctrinal and liturgical differences have arisen between Sunnis and Shi'ites. Their hadith collections differ, especially when the subject is the status of Ali and other characters in early Islamic history.
Shi'ite Islam has several branches, differing mainly over the chain of succession of imams after Ali. The largest is the Twelvers, whose adherents believe there have been 12 divinely ordained imams and who account for over three quarters of Shi'ites. Twelvers believe that their last imam, Muhammad ibn Hassan, did not die but went into "occultation" in the 9th century and will one day return as the Mahdi to save the world.
Other branches include the Ismailis, the Seveners, and the Zaidis.
Sufism
While not a denomination, Sufism focuses on the mystical elements of Islam, striving to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis can be Sunni or Shi'ite and their ceremonies can involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation.
There are many Sufi orders in West Africa and Sudan, regarded sceptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most of those in West Africa emphasise the role of a spiritual guide, or marabout, regarded as an Africanisation of Islam.
Mouridism, popular in Senegal and Gambia, counts several million adherents but has drawn criticism for its veneration of its founder Amadou Bamba, and its teaching that pilgrimage to the Senegalese city of Touba can replace the Haj to Mecca.
The Tijani are the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia. In South Asia, Barelwi Sufis have clashed with the more militant Deobandi.
Sharia law
Sharia, or "the path", is a body of religious law based mainly on the Koran and the sayings of Mohammad. Full Islamic criminal law - the code which can involve decapitation and which many non-Muslims think of when they hear the word sharia - is applied in few countries, notably Saudi Arabia.
Most states limit the use of sharia to "personal law" on issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody.
Indonesia, with more than 200 million Muslims, is the world's largest Islamic state but uses sharia only in the western province of Aceh. Egypt, the largest Muslim state in the Arab world, says sharia is the main source of its legislation but has penal and civil codes based mostly on French law.
Pakistan, the second-largest Muslim state, also has a split between civil and penal codes from the British colonial period.
Nigeria's northern states adopted a sharia penal code in 2000 but punishments have been rare. Dozens of women convicted of adultery and sentenced to stoning to death have been freed.
Senegal hosts a meeting of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar on March 13-14 2008. Below is a factbox on some different branches of Islam practised within the Islamic world.
Sunni Islam
One of Islam's two main denominations, Sunnis account for roughly 85% of the world's roughly 1.5 billion Muslims. As well as the Koran, they emphasise the Sunna, the example set by the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, as recorded in the hadith, an oral history collection set down in writing many years after the events. They believe the first four caliphs were the legitimate successors of Mohammad.
Historically and with few exceptions, the most powerful Muslim governments have been Sunni, while non-Sunni groups have tended to be on the political fringes. The main exceptions were the Fatimid Caliphate 1 000 years ago and Iran from the 16th century onwards, both Shi'ite.
Within Sunni Islam there are four classical Sunni schools of jurisprudence: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. But most Muslims follow the school of their local authorities and are often not themselves aware of any affiliation. Adherents of the various schools are rarely antagonistic towards rival schools.
Often over the past 1 400 years revivalist movements have arisen within Sunni Islam, preaching strict emulation of the Prophet and the early Muslims, and the rejection of subsequent accretions to the faith. One of the most recent of these 'salafi' movements is the Wahhabi movement which arose in the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century and which is still promoted by the Saudi authorities. It contrasts with some African and Asian manifestations of Islam, which have adapted to local religious customs.
Shi'ite Islam
The Shi'ites are the second of the two main denominations of Islam, covering up to 15% of the world's Muslims, mainly in Iran, Iraq, and parts of Lebanon, Turkey and Afghanistan.
Shi'ism stemmed from a political dispute over who should govern the Muslim community on the death of the Prophet in 632 AD. The Shi'ites believe that Ali ibn Abi Taleb, Mohammad's cousin and son-in-law, was his rightful heir and should have succeeded him immediately. They consider the first three intervening caliphs, included by Sunnis among the "Rightly Guided", to be usurpers. They also believe that Ali's direct descendants, known as the imams, should have governed after him.
Over the years doctrinal and liturgical differences have arisen between Sunnis and Shi'ites. Their hadith collections differ, especially when the subject is the status of Ali and other characters in early Islamic history.
Shi'ite Islam has several branches, differing mainly over the chain of succession of imams after Ali. The largest is the Twelvers, whose adherents believe there have been 12 divinely ordained imams and who account for over three quarters of Shi'ites. Twelvers believe that their last imam, Muhammad ibn Hassan, did not die but went into "occultation" in the 9th century and will one day return as the Mahdi to save the world.
Other branches include the Ismailis, the Seveners, and the Zaidis.
Sufism
While not a denomination, Sufism focuses on the mystical elements of Islam, striving to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis can be Sunni or Shi'ite and their ceremonies can involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation.
There are many Sufi orders in West Africa and Sudan, regarded sceptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most of those in West Africa emphasise the role of a spiritual guide, or marabout, regarded as an Africanisation of Islam.
Mouridism, popular in Senegal and Gambia, counts several million adherents but has drawn criticism for its veneration of its founder Amadou Bamba, and its teaching that pilgrimage to the Senegalese city of Touba can replace the Haj to Mecca.
The Tijani are the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia. In South Asia, Barelwi Sufis have clashed with the more militant Deobandi.
Sharia law
Sharia, or "the path", is a body of religious law based mainly on the Koran and the sayings of Mohammad. Full Islamic criminal law - the code which can involve decapitation and which many non-Muslims think of when they hear the word sharia - is applied in few countries, notably Saudi Arabia.
Most states limit the use of sharia to "personal law" on issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody.
Indonesia, with more than 200 million Muslims, is the world's largest Islamic state but uses sharia only in the western province of Aceh. Egypt, the largest Muslim state in the Arab world, says sharia is the main source of its legislation but has penal and civil codes based mostly on French law.
Pakistan, the second-largest Muslim state, also has a split between civil and penal codes from the British colonial period.
Nigeria's northern states adopted a sharia penal code in 2000 but punishments have been rare. Dozens of women convicted of adultery and sentenced to stoning to death have been freed.
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