Home›Islam›Establishment Status›EstablishedBrowse ByEstablishedThis page groups denominations by whether a state has adopted one as its official religious body. Wikipedia notes that some countries "define themselves in religious terms, such as The Islamic Republic of Iran," conditions under which a single denomination or school can carry formal state backing. Browsing by establishment status lets a visitor separate an officially established denomination from one with no such standing.FactsLearn MoreEstablishedSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe branches, legal schools and mystical traditions of Islam. The principal division follows the dispute over leadership after the death of the Prophet; the madhhabs are schools of legal interpretation rather than separate bodies; and Sufism cuts across the whole. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedContested: denomination and sect fit Islam badly. A madhhab is a school of legal reasoning whose difference from the others is recognised as legitimate within Sunni Islam, not a church standing apart from another. 3DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDenominations 1Learn MoreThe branches of Islam This group gathers the main branches and movements of Islam. The principal division, dating to disputes over leadership after the Prophet Muhammad's death, is between Sunni Islam, the majority tradition, and Shia Islam, which holds that authority passed through the Prophet's family. The browser will find the Sunni schools of law and the Shia branches (Twelver, Ismaili and others), along with Sufism, the mystical dimension found across both, and reform and revival movements of the modern period. The atlas describes each in its own terms, noting the theological and historical questions that separate them.EstablishedFilter Results3 entriesOrigin EraAll632 (2)1744 (1)Parent ReligionAllIslam (3)Originated InAllArabia (2)Iraq (1)Marriage PositionAllMarriage may licitly be polygynous (2)Liturgical LanguageAllClassical Arabic (3)The vernacular (2)Sexuality PositionAllSame-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (2)PolityAllAuthority in living jurists whom the laity choose to emulate (1)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)No central authority (1)Practice StatusAllLiving tradition, practised today (3)Ordination PracticeAllConferred by a teacher's certification of learning (1)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (3)Restricted to men (1)Parent DenominationAllSunni (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 3Shia (Twelver)EstablishedSunniEstablishedWahhabismEstablishedSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd editiontier 1P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs (eds.), Brill, 2005s.v. madhhabView the Source3. An Introduction to Islamic Lawtier 1Wael B. Hallaq, Cambridge University Press, 2009View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.