Sufism
Sufism is a Mystic school of Islamic thought that includes philosophers and muslims.
Sufism refers to a very diverse range of schools of Islam. Although many schools or tekkes/ tariquas can be classified as Shi’a or Sunni or even both, there are some forms of Sufism that are clearly not either Shiah or Sunni and so constitute a separate sphere of Islamic faith.
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Shia
Shia Islam, spelled as Syiah in Bahasa Indonesia, is the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. Shi’a Muslims, though a minority in the Muslim world, constitute the majority of the populations in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Iraq, as well as a plurality in Lebanon.
The Shi’a attribute themselves to the Qur’an and teachings of the final Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and in contrast to other Muslims, believe that his family, the Ahl al-Bayt (the People of the House), including his descendants known as Imams, have special spiritual and political rule over the community. Unlike Sunni Muslims, the Shi’a believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin and husband of his daughter, Fatimah, was the true successor to Muhammad who was appointed by God as his prophet, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs.[1]
Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones.[2]
Shia and Shiite
Shiite (noun): a Muslim of the Shia branch of Islam.
- Shiite adjective
Shia (noun)
1: the Muslims of the branch of Islam comprising sects believing in Ali and the Imams as the only rightful successors of Muhammad and in the concealment and the messianic return of the last recognized Imam.
2: Shiite
3: the branch of Islam formed by the Shia [3]
Shiite (also Shi’ite)
? noun an adherent of the Shia branch of Islam.
? adjective relating to Shia.
Shia (also Shi’a)
? noun (plural same or Shias) one of the two main branches of Islam, regarding Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad’s first true successor. Compare with Sunni. ?a Muslim who adheres to this branch of Islam. [4]
Shia Branches
1. Ithna Ashary (the Twelve Imams or the Twelver)
The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna Ashariya branch of Shia Islam.[18] According to the theology of Twelvers, the successor of Muhammad is an infallible human individual who not only rules over the community with justice, but also is able to keep and interpret the Divine Law and its esoteric meaning.
2. Ismaili
The Ism?‘?l? (Arabic: ????????????? al-Ism???liyy?n; Urdu: ???????? Ism???l?, Persian: ?????????? Esm??iliy?n) branch of Islam is the second largest part of the Sh?‘ah community after the Twelvers. The Ism?‘?l? get their name from their acceptance of Ism?‘?l ibn Ja‘far as the divinely-appointed spiritual successor (Im?m) to Ja‘far a?-??diq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept M?sà al-K?zim, younger brother of Ism?‘?l, as the true Im?m
3. Zaidi The Zaidi are a branch of Shi’a Islam named after the Im?m Zayd ibn ?Al?. Followers of the Zaidi fiqh are called Zaidis (or occasionally, Fivers by Sunnis). However, there is also a group called the Zaidi Was?t?s who are Twelvers.[5]
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[1] Wikipedia
[2] About.com
[3] Merriam Webster’s Dictionary
[4] Oxford English Dictionary
[5] Wikipedia
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson
Category: Prominent Converts
In a starling Interview, Jermaine Jackson, brother of world-famous star Michael Jackson, tells how he embraced Islam.
Islam is a religion, which transcends all petty prejudices of color, race and territorial boundaries. That is why the followers of other religions, with a nearsighted vision, have a sense of overflowing pride and relief when they embrace Islam. Deserting the religion of one?s forefathers is one of the most difficult decisions, but the golden principles and the virtues of broadmindedness of Islam have persuaded mankind to adopt it as a way of life.
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The Appeal Sides of Islam to the West
THE GROWING RELIGION
“I have always held the religion of Mohammed in high esteem because of its wonderful vitality. To me it seems the only faith able to adapt to life under different conditions in a way which makes it attractive to every people and every age.”
- Bernard Shaw
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Alexander Russel Webb
Prominent convert USA: Alexander Russel Webb (1846 – 1916)
Former US Consul, Writer and Journalist
“Unless one feels his mental independence and determines to exercise it firmly; unless he divests himself completely of the prejudices acquired from those with whom he has been in constant intercourse all his life, and which cling to him more closely than the barnacles to the ship’s bottom, his investigation will be of little real value to him….”
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Steven Barboza
My abandonment of Roman Catholicism was spawned by a premature death, my mother’s at age 49, on the day before my 22nd birthday. I prayed like crazy for God to spare her, and when He did not, I established a new line of communication. I called God Allah and prayed with my palms cupped (to catch blessings) and my eyes wide open (to keep Allah’s creation in sight). Given the irony and absurdity of events in racially torn Boston, where I lived, Islam was a godsend. A few months after my mother’s death, whites assaulted a black man in front of Boston City Hall, using as one weapon a flagpole with an American flag attached. With that attack and my mother’s death, a lifetime of frustrations reached the breaking point.
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Basketball Player
Acknowledged by many players as the greatest basketball player of all time, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most visible Muslims in the American public arena.
The 7? 2? native upper Harlem, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, starred for UCLA before entering the National Basketball Association with the Milwaukee Bucks in
1969. Alcindor later went to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was so dominant in college basketball that “dunking,” at which he excelled, was formally banned from the intercollegiate sport.
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