BACKGROUNDER |IS THERE ONE ISLAM? A FACT BOX OF BRANCHES OF ISLAM

The notion of an “Arab world” as a synonym for all countries with a Muslim majority may lead to confusion. Islam, like other religions, has different branches. The two main branches of Islam are: Sunnism, which is followed by 70% of Muslims,^[1] the name of which is derived from Sunna (or “tradition”), and which recognises the four Righteously Guided Caliphs^[2] as legitimate successors of Muhammad; and Shiʿism,^[3] the name of which comes from a contraction of Shīʿatu ʿAlī (or “the followers of Ali”) who was the nephew and son-in-law of Muhammad and is believed to be his natural and designated successor. Saudi Arabia and Iran present themselves at the head of Sunni and Shia Islam respectively. They follow a lunar calendar, called Hijrī, that starts in 622.

It might seem obvious that Muslims are those who follow the teachings of Islam, and consider Muhammad as God’s Messenger, to whom the divine message was revealed – a message which was recorded in the Quran^[4] in Arabic. However, not all Muslims can read in Arabic and the teaching is accordingly adapted. Although Islam was born in the Arabian Peninsula, and Allah’s message is considered to have been revealed in Arabic, most Muslims do not speak Arabic as their mother tongue, and are therefore not considered as Arabs. The five countries with the largest Muslim populations are not Arab countries. The Muslim populations of Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria add up to 864 million, or approximately 48 percent of the estimated total world Muslim population of 1.8 billion.^[5]

In Sunni Islam, there are four Islamic legal schools:^[6] Mâlikî,^[7] Hanafî,^[8] Hanbalî^[9] and Shâfi‘î^[10]. The main currents of Shi’ism are the Twelvers^[11] and the Alawis^[12] (called Alevis, in Turkey). There are other branches of Islam, such as the Ahmadis,^[13] Druzes^[14] and Ibadis,^[15] as well as approaches like Sufism,^[16] which are accepted to greater or lesser degrees by mainstream Islam.

The main pan-Islamic organisations are: the Organisation of Islamic Countries,^[17] based in Jeddah and composed of 57 countries^[18]; ICESCO,^[19] composed of 54 countries and based in Rabat; the Muslim World League^[20], a pan-Islamic NGO based in Mecca; and the League of Arab States.

The “Arab World” is a term referring to countries where Arabic is the main or official language. The League of Arab States has 22 members,^[21] all of which consider themselves “Arab countries”.

Although the term Arabs^[22] described initially the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, today it tends to represent people who live in Arab countries, speak Arabic and share an Arabic culture. Although there is a very strong will for homogenisation within these countries, some linguistic, religious and cultural minorities have managed to remain in the territory. Some object to being called “Arabs”. These communities include the Berbers, Nubians, Copts, “Phoenicians”, and Kurds, all of whom claim non-Arabic linguistic, cultural and religious origins or backgrounds.

Some of the religious minorities in majority Muslim countries, mainly Christians, are indigenous. Jews have almost disappeared from these countries.^[23] Yezidis, Baha’is, or other Muslim minorities, enjoy varying levels of freedom within Muslim countries.

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