The following two groups exhibit ghuluww (exaggeration in religious matter) tendencies as per definition
The Druze
According to Wikipedia: "The Druze emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism and incorporated several elements of Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies."
- Locations: Reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and the west
- Est. population 750K - 2500K (approx)
- Important literature: Rasa'il al-hikmah (Epistles of Wisdom)
- Written/Spoken: Arabic, English and local languages/dialects
- Established since the year 1016 AD
- Membership: Not open to the public and extremely secretive
- Symbols: Multi-colored stars
The Alawi
According to Wikipedia:
"The origin of the Alawis is disputed. The Alawis themselves trace their origins to the followers of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al'Askari (d.873) and his pupil ibn Nusayr (d. 868)
Alawis are self-described Shi'i Muslims, and have been called Shia by other sources including the highly influential Lebanese Shia cleric Musa al-Sadr of Lebanon.
On the other hand, conservative Sunnis do not always recognize Alawi as Muslims. At least one source has compared them to Baha'is, Babis, Bektashis, Ahmadis, and similar groups that have arisen within the Muslim community, and declared that it has always been the consensus of the Muslim Ulama, both Sunni and Shi'i, that the Nusayri Alawi are kuffar unbelievers and mushrikun polytheists.
The Alawi themselves have insisted that they are Twelver Shi'ites since at least the 1920s, in spite of the French encouraging them to identify as a separate religion.
Alawis have much in common with the Ismailis in terms of overall beliefs, and they are sometimes regarded as an offshoot of this group."
- Locations: Reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey
- Est. population: 3M (approx)
- Important literature: Al-Quran and Kitab al-Majmu
- Written/Spoken: Arabic, Turkish
- Established since the year 1000 AD (approximate date)
- Membership: Not open to the public and secretive
- Symbols: Unknown
as-salaamu alaykum,
ReplyDeleteI’ve just come across another ghullat group based in Iran:
Ahl-i Haqq – People of the truth. Also known as Ali Ilahis, “deifiers of Ali.” Members of a sect centred in northwest Iran, incorporating certain Shi’i and Sufi ideas, associated with Sultan Sohak (fourteenth or fifteenth century). Believe in seven successive incarnations of God, hierarchy of angels, metempsychosis, no single primary scripture. Resemble Sufi dervishes in some practices, such as dhikr sessions, master-disciple relations, and initiation rites.
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
For further reading, 'the islamaili society' have written an article on them, scroll down to 'IV. An Ali-Ilahi Fragment, by W. Ivanow'
http://www.ismaili.net/Source/0723.html
Walaykumsalam,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I've made a post about your finding.
http://researchintoothersects.blogspot.com/2011/12/ahl-al-haq.html