The Islamic world has many religiouscurrents. Each group has its own views on the correctness of faith. Because of this, Muslims who have different understandings of the essence of their religion come into conflict. Sometimes they gain great strength and end in bloodshed.
Внутренних разногласий среди разных representatives of the Muslim world even more than with people of another religion. To understand the differences of views in Islam, it is necessary to study who the Salafis, Sunnis, Wahhabis, Shiites and Alawites are. Their characteristic features of the understanding of faith become the cause of fratricidal wars, bringing resonance to the world community.
Conflict history
To find out who the Salafis, Shiites, Sunnis, Alawites, Wahhabis and other representatives of Muslim ideology are, one has to delve into the beginning of their conflict.
In 632 AD er the prophet Muhammad died.His followers began to decide who would be the successor to their leader. Initially Salafi, Alawites and other directions did not exist yet. First came the Sunnis and Shiites. The former considered the successor to the prophet the person chosen in the caliphate. And such people were the majority. In a much smaller number in those days were representatives of another view. Shiites began to choose the successor of Mohammed among his relatives. Imam for them was a cousin of the prophet named Ali. In those days, the adherents of these views were called Shiite Ali.
Конфликт обострился в 680 году, когда сын имама Ali, whose name was Hussein, was killed by Sunnis. This has led to the fact that even today, such differences affect society, the system of legislation, families, and so on. Therefore, the Islamic world is still unstable.
Modern separation of views
Being the second largest religion of the world, Islamover time, it spawned many sects, trends, and views on the essence of religion. Salafis and Sunnis, the difference between which will be discussed further, arose in a different period of time. Sunnis were originally a fundamental direction, and Salafis appeared much later. The latter are today considered to be more extremist. Many religious scholars argue that Salafis and Wahhabis can only be called Muslims with a stretch. The emergence of such religious communities comes precisely from sectarian Islam.
В реалиях современной политической ситуации It is the extremist organizations of Muslims that are causing bloody conflicts in the East. They have significant financial resources and can carry out revolutions, establishing their rule in Islamic lands.
The difference between Sunni and Salafi is prettybig, but at first glance. With a deeper study of their principles a completely different picture emerges. To understand it, you should consider the characteristic features of each of the directions.
Sunnis and their beliefs
The most numerous (about 90% of all Muslims) in Islam is the Sunni group. They follow the path of the Prophet and recognize his great mission.
The second after the Qur'an fundamental book forthis direction of religion stands sunnah. Initially, its content was transmitted orally, and then it was issued in the form of Hadith. Adherents of this direction are very reverently refer to these two sources of their faith. If in the Qur'an and Sunna there is no answer to any question, people are allowed to make decisions according to their reasoning.
Sunnis are different from Shiites, Salafis and others.currents approach to the interpretation of Hadith. In some countries, following prescriptions based on the life example of the Prophet has reached a literal understanding of the essence of righteousness. It happened that even the length of the beard of men, the details of clothing had to exactly correspond to the instructions of the Sunnah. This is their main difference.
Sunnis, Shiites, Salafis and other areasdifferently they look at the connection with Allah. Most Muslims are inclined to believe that they do not need a mediator to perceive the word of God, so power is transferred by electoral means.
Shiites and their ideology
Unlike the Sunnis, the Shiites believe thatdivine power is transmitted to the heirs of the Prophet. Therefore, they recognize the possibility of interpreting his instructions. This can be done only by those people who have a special right to this.
The number of Shiites in the world is inferior to the Sunnidirection. Salafis in Islam are fundamentally opposed in their views on the interpretation of sources of faith comparable to Shiites. The latter recognized the right of the heirs of the Prophet, who are the leaders of their group, to be mediators between Allah and people. They are called imams.
Salafis and Sunnis believe that the Shiites allowedimagine unlawful innovations in the understanding of the Sunnah. Therefore, their views are so opposite. There are a huge number of sects and movements that have taken the basis of the Shiite understanding of religion. These include Alawites, Ismailis, Zaidis, Druze, Sheikhites and many others.
This Muslim trend is distinguished by drama.On the day of Ashura, Shiites in various countries hold mourning events. This is a difficult, emotional procession, during which participants beat themselves to the blood with chains and swords.
Representatives of both Sunni and Shiitedirections have in their composition many groups that can even be attributed to a separate religion. It is difficult to penetrate into all the nuances even with close study of the views of every Muslim movement.
Alawites
Salafis and Alawites are considered newer.religious currents. On the one hand, they have many principles similar to orthodox directions. Many theologians refer to the followers of Shiite teachings as Alawite. However, due to their special principles, they can be distinguished as a separate religion. The similarity of the Alawites with the Shiite Muslim direction is manifested in the freedom of views on the precepts of the Koran and Sunnah.
This religious group has a distinctivefeature, which is called "takiyya." It lies in the ability of the Alavit to perform rites of other beliefs, while maintaining their views in the soul. This is a closed group in which there are many directions and representations.
Sunnis, Shiites, Salafis, Alawites opposeeach other. This is manifested to a greater or lesser extent. Alawites, called polytheists, in the opinion of representatives of radical trends, are more damaging to the Muslim community than the "infidels."
This is indeed a separate faith within religion.Alawites combine elements of Islam and Christianity in their system. They believe in Ali, Muhammad and Salman al-Farsi, while celebrating Easter, Christmas, honoring Isa (Jesus) and the apostles. In worship Alawites can read the Gospel. Sunnis can live peacefully with the Alawite. Conflicts are driven by aggressive communities, such as Wahhabis.
Salafis
Sunnis have spawned many destinations within their religious group, to which various Muslims belong. Salafis are one such organization.
They formed their main views in the 9th-14th centuries. Their main principle of ideology is considered to follow the lifestyle of ancestors who led a righteous existence.
All over the world, including in Russia,There are about 50 million Salafis. They do not accept any innovations regarding the interpretation of faith. This direction is also called fundamental. Salafis believe in one God, criticize other Muslim movements that allow themselves to interpret the Quran and Sunnah. In their opinion, if any places in these shrines are incomprehensible to a person, they should be accepted in the form in which the text is presented.
In our country, Muslims of this directionthere are about 20 million people. Of course, Salafis in Russia also live in small communities. Their greater rejection is not caused by Christians, but by “infidel” Shiites and currents derived from them.
Wahhabis
One of the new radical trends inIslamic religion advocate Wahhabis. At first glance, they look like Salafis. Wahhabis deny innovations in the faith, fighting for the concept of monotheism. They do not accept anything that was not in the original Islam. However, a distinctive feature of the Wahhabis is their aggressive attitude and their understanding of the basic principles of the Muslim faith.
Such a course arose in the 18th century.This pioneer movement originates from the preacher Najad Muhammad Abdel Wahhab. He wanted to “cleanse” Islam from innovations. Under this slogan, they organized an uprising, which resulted in the capture of the neighboring lands of the Al-Qatif oasis.
In the 19th century, the Wahhabi movement wasdefeated by the Ottoman Empire. After 150 years, Al Saud Abdelaziis was able to revive the ideology. He defeated his opponents in Central Arabia. In 1932 he created the state of Saudi Arabia. When developing oil fields, the American currency flowed into the Wahhabi clan.
In the 70s of the last century, during the warin Afghanistan, Salafi schools were established. They wore a radical type of Wahhabi ideology. The fighters trained by these centers were called Mujahideen. This movement is often associated with terrorism.
The difference between Wahhabism-Salafitism and Sunni principles
To clarify who the Salafis and Wahhabis are,should consider their main ideological principles. Researchers claim that these two religious communities are identical in meaning. However, it is necessary to distinguish the Salafi direction from Takfir.
Today, the reality is that Salafis are notAccept new interpretations of ancient religious principles. Acquiring a radical direction of development, they lose their fundamental concepts. Even call them Muslims can be a stretch. They are connected with Islam only by the recognition of the Koran as the main source of the word of Allah. Otherwise, the Wahhabis are completely different from Sunni Salafis. It all depends on who they mean by the common name. True Salafis are representatives of a large group of Sunni Muslims. Do not confuse them with radical sects. Salafis and Wahhabis, the difference between which is cardinal, have different views on religion.
Now these are two opposite in naturegroups are mistakenly synonymous. The Wahhabi-Salafists voluntarily accepted the features completely alien to Islam by the fundamental principles of their faith. They reject the entire volume of knowledge (nakl) transmitted by Muslims from the most ancient times. Salafis and Sunnis, the difference of which exists only in some views on religion, are opposite to Wahhabis. From the latter, they differ in views on jurisprudence.
In fact, the Wahhabis replaced all the ancient Islamicnew principles, creating your own sharikhad (territory under religion). They do not respect the monuments, the ancient graves, and the Prophet is considered to be just an intermediary between Allah and people, without being in awe of all Muslims in awe. According to Islamic principles, jihad cannot be declared arbitrarily.
Wahhabism allows for unrighteous lifebut after accepting the “righteous death” (blasting yourself to destroy the “infidels”), a person is guaranteed a place in paradise. Islam, on the other hand, considers suicide a terrible sin that cannot be forgiven.
The essence of radical views
Салафитов ошибочно соотносят с ваххабитами.Although their ideology still corresponds to the Sunnis. But in the realities of the modern world, under the Salafis it is customary to mean the Wahhabi Takfirites. If you take such groupings in a crippled sense, you can select a number of differences.
Salafis, abandoning their true nature,sharing radical views, consider all other people as apostates worthy of punishment. Sunni Salafis, on the contrary, even Christians and Jews are called "people of Scripture" who profess early beliefs. They can coexist peacefully with representatives of other views.
To understand who the Salafists are in Islam, one should pay attention to one truth that distinguishes real fundamentalists from self-proclaimed sects (which, in fact, are Wahhabis).
Сунниты-салафиты не приемлют новых трактовок ancient sources of the will of Allah. And the new radical groups reject them, replacing the true ideology with beneficial principles. It is simply a means of controlling people for their own selfish ends in order to achieve even greater power.
This is not Islam at all.After all, all its main principles, values and relics were swept aside, trampled and declared false. Instead of them, concepts and behavioral patterns advantageous to the ruling elite were artificially laid in people's minds. This is a destructive force that recognizes the killing of women, children and the elderly as a good deed.
Overcoming hostility
Going deeper into the question of who areSalafis, it can be concluded that the use of the ideology of religious movements for the selfish purposes of the ruling elite instigates wars and bloody conflicts. At this time there is a change of power. However, people's faith should not be the cause of fratricidal hostility.
As the experience of many states of the East shows,coexist peacefully can representatives of both orthodox movements in Islam. This is possible with the appropriate position of the authorities in relation to the religious ideology of each community. Anyone should have the opportunity to profess the faith that he considers correct, not claiming that dissenters are enemies.
Примером мирного сосуществования приверженцев different beliefs in the Muslim community advocate the family of Syrian President Bashad al-Assad. He professes the Alawite trend, and his wife is a Sunnite. He celebrates both the Muslim Sunni Eid al-Adh and the Christian Easter.
Delving into the Muslim religious ideology,You can figure out in general terms who the Salafis are. Although it is customary to identify them with the Wahhabis, the true essence of this faith is far from similar views on Islam. A crude replacement of the basic principles of the religion of the East by favorable ruling elite with principles leads to the aggravation of conflicts between representatives of various religious communities and bloodshed.
