elfurqan.com – Speaking of Islamic sects describes to us the groups or factions that exist within a belief system. Islamic sects are based on their beliefs about an understanding. This paper specifically discusses sects within Islam according to their beliefs and understanding of these Islamic sects.
Introduction
This simple paper is a development of the author’s previous paper on “Religion and Belief Systems in Society.” As a development, of course, the understanding of the concept of religion and belief will become broader or possibly more focused on one or several subtopics of the main discussion.
Therefore, the author will attempt to develop the main material into discussions that the author considers to be an interesting study to be examined and researched, namely the development of certain religions or beliefs into sects and belief movements (spiritualism).
The emergence of sects and belief movements begins with movements that seek to reconstruct, purify, innovate, and so on towards the conventional and normative teachings of a particular religion or belief.
But sometimes, the efforts made often create deviations far from the original religion, so that the emerging sects eventually create teachings and even give rise to a new religion.
This paper will provide a brief explanation of beliefs and religions at a glance, supplemented by descriptions of the emergence and development of sects and belief movements present in a society or religious community, which will be the main discussion of this writing.
About Beliefs and Religion
This paper will begin with a simple question, why do humans need to have a religion? The possible correct answer is that religion is a fitrah (basic need) of humans. This is because humans are weak creatures in facing various problems in their lives, so they need a new strength.
This new strength does not arise from within them, thus arises hope that leads to belief. So, belief is the beginning of religion. Before someone practices a religion, of course, they must first believe in the religion they will embrace, only after believing and being convinced can they then practice the teachings of that religion.
Religion relates to belief in something supernatural (numinous) and sacred, so weak humans believe that something sacred can help them overcome various problems in their lives.
Rudolf Otto, in his book The Idea of the Holy (1917), believed that the feeling of something supernatural (numinous) is the basis of religion: “that feeling precedes every desire to explain the origin of the world or find the basis for ethical behavior: the supernatural power is perceived by humans in different ways.
Sometimes it inspires wild joy and intoxication, sometimes deep tranquility, sometimes people feel shrinking, admiration, and humility in the presence of the mysterious power inherent in every aspect of life”.
The consequence of human belief in something supernatural eventually leads to belief in gods and spirits. The consequence of this belief is the emergence of worship (cults) and rituals performed in various forms, in accordance with the beliefs they hold.
Here, this belief develops institutions, such as worship ceremonies, the presence of religious leaders, holy books, teachings containing commands and prohibitions, and so on.
In its development, belief eventually gives rise to religion, so religion, as explained above, can be interpreted as forms of institutionalized and organized beliefs.
DR Ibnu Hajar’s interesting opinion that belief gives birth to religion, not religion giving birth to belief. A precise statement, as explained above, that anyone who receives divine revelation to convey a religion to humanity must first believe in the revelation revealed to him. If there is no belief in the revelation, religion will not emerge and develop as it is now.
Furthermore, religion develops with its various dimensions. Speaking of religion, we will enter a quite broad area. Starting from various types of religions, diverse definitions, and layered approaches, religion also enters the realm of science and becomes culture.
The intersection of religion and science gives birth to various diverse disciplines, such as the history of religion, sociology of religion, philosophy of religion, anthropology of religion, and so on.
In the history of mankind, religion has played an important role in human civilization. For a society, religion is used as guidelines that can lead humans to high degrees.
Maulana Muhammad stated that: “religion is the force that has brought about the development of humans as it is now. An Ibrahim, a Musa, an Isa, a Krishna, a Buddha, a Muhammad, in turn and according to their respective degrees, have changed human history and raised their status from the valley of humiliation to the peak of virtue that was never dreamed of”.
Therefore, one of the goals of religion is to create humans with values that can make them noble and moral, in accordance with the teachings of the respective religions they adhere to.
However, in its journey, religions that have noble goals, not all of them can withstand the various complex dynamics, so their teachings that are considered established can be deviated by certain parties that emerge from that religion.
The question that then arises is, how can religions give birth to sects or new movements from that religion, so often these movements or sects develop into new religions whose teachings can be so different from the values of the original religion? The following will discuss a little about sects and belief movements within religions with their various dynamics.
Sects and Belief Movements
Because they arise from a belief or religion, religious sects or movements cannot be separated from the study of religion and studies in the social sciences, because they involve individuals and groups who are active within them. Some experts in this field try to classify these movements.
Soemarno W.S. along with other researchers classify them into three types, namely: Individual belief groups, consisting of one or two people who believe for personal interests without any effort to spread to others.
Group of belief schools, which accept students and propagate their teachings. Shamanism group, where indigenous shamanism and original healing practices are practiced for the community in need.
From the classification above, it is known that sects, belief movements, mystical movements, and others, fall into the first and second types, but it does not mean that the third type is exempt from classification. The third type may have the potential to create teachings that can create new belief movements. The description below will discuss these sects and belief movements.
The word “sect” comes from the Latin word “secta” which means “a group that follows” (sequi) and in English terms is called sects. Originally, sects were used for philosophical, religious, or political movements with specific doctrines or customs that deviated from the majority group.
Members of sects usually choose certain aspects of a doctrine and reject others from the entire religious doctrine. In the history of the world’s major religions, certain sects or movements are not new.
In Islam, between 1090 and 1275, there was an organization called The Assassins (Hashashin/Nizari) led by Hasan al-Sabbagh which lasted for about two centuries.
This sect was a splinter movement of Ismaili Shi’ism based in Iran. The hallmark of this sect is that they consume a certain plant that can eliminate the consciousness of the user, so they dare to carry out kidnappings and killings.
Similarly, in Christianity, false priests who applied teachings deviating from church doctrine have been found since the first century. The same goes for other religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on, each of which has religious groups that deviate from the teachings of the original religion.
The sociological concept of sects and belief movements usually refers to religious groups, large or small, with simple or complex organizational forms, which are considered deviations in their relationship within the wider context of doctrine and culture.
This deviation has negative connotations for non-followers but positive connotations for its followers. Thus, this deviation is a characteristic that is maintained by each follower of a doctrine.
There are two reasons why sects have been studied more often than belief movements. First, for certain purposes, it turns out that it is not important to distinguish between the two, and social scientists usually use the term “sect” to refer to these movements.
Second, although sects have long been known as a derogatory term (Christians have long used this term to denote apostasy from official doctrine), 20th-century sociologists have used the term without implying any judgment.
This orientation arises from the view of scholars that some sect movements have had a very important influence on the development of Western conceptions of individualism, volunteer organizations, and democracy—especially Protestant sects in the 17th century.
Conversely, belief movements (cults) do not have an innovative influence on society. Belief movements do not want to be isolated groups. They provide concrete and specific benefits to their followers, so they do not offer a comprehensive view of salvation as religious sects usually do.
The effort to distinguish between sects and belief movements became more complicated in the early 1970s, with the increasing number of controversial “new religious movements.” Journalists and movement leaders then dubbed them belief movements aimed at pushing for legal control over their various activities, especially techniques and conversion methods in maintaining prospective followers. However, many of these new movements are more accurately called sects from a sociological perspective.
Modern studies of deviant religious groups first emerged in Germany in the early 20th century by Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. As sociologists, Weber was interested in the contribution of Christian sects to modern rationality concepts and individual economics.
Troeltsch, as a theologian who understood sociology, was particularly interested in Christian history where there was a mutual influence between church orthodoxy and sectarian heterodoxy (breaks from official doctrine). After Weber and Troeltsch, scholars of religious movements since the mid-20th century have been interested in many issues.
One of them is an American researcher named Jessica Stern in her book Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill (2003) tries to examine how the characters of the individuals who become religious leaders and their followers, who in reality commit various atrocities such as terrorism, murder, etc., so they can become more evil than the evils they supposedly want to eradicate.
In this book, it is explained how these sects successfully indoctrinate their members so that they have a strong understanding of the teachings they receive. For example, adherents of a particular sect in the United States are indoctrinated with the belief that black people (Negroes) are descendants of monkeys swinging from tree to tree by their tails.
But what kind of people can be indoctrinated like that? According to Stern, they are ambivalent people, confused about their future, and don’t know which path to choose.
They can consist of people who are socio-economically lacking prospects for the future, but they can also be young people, including educated ones, who feel marginalized from their families, or dissatisfied with the government, and so on.
In line with that, the reasons people are interested in a sect are mentioned, among others: the need to express emotions in worship and warm relationships within a relatively small community or congregation. In some sects, their members feel fully accepted, participate in their administration, can contribute to their worship, and so on.
The term “sect” often implies a negative meaning, and the term “belief movement” is especially related to the controversial nature of various practices of these movements. Some of them are accused of attempting to “brainwash” their followers or being involved in deviant sexual behavior.
These movements sometimes fall into tragic physical violence cases, famous cases that occurred in the Western world show suicides, or mass murders by more than 900 members of the People’s Temple in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978; the deaths of 78 Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas in 1993; and the deaths of around 50 members of the Solar Temple in Chiery, Switzerland in 1993.
The strategy used by sect leaders or deviant religious groups to elevate their image to be respected and feared by their members, among others, by teaching about judgment day and final judgment which causes anxiety on one hand and offers protection that can be provided by the religious sect on the other hand.
Members are also required to protect their fellow group members from external influences. Those who fail to do this will be reprimanded and humiliated in front of other members, and to assert their exclusivity, they usually choose a place that is also exclusive and isolated.
For example, in 1985, in a suburban area in the state of Arkansas, about 200 members of the US government forces besieged a settlement isolated from the crowd, inhabited by followers of a Christian sect called CSA (Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord) led by pastor James Ellison.
This sect group had anticipated attacks from outside enemies by laying landmines around their settlement and providing enough food supplies for the settlement residents for five years.
How could James Ellison gather his fanatical followers who were willing to do anything he commanded? One way is by creating his own attractive doctrine, offering clear and decisive solutions.
This self-created doctrine is also created by combining various teachings into one. Shoko Ashara, the leader of the Aum Shinrikyo
sect, for example, combined his doctrine based on a mixture of Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian teachings. To maintain the legitimacy of his authority, he asked for full loyalty from his members.
In these self-created teachings, doctrines were developed that teach that sect leaders are extraordinary humans who cannot make mistakes (in Islamic terms they are called ma’sum) like Jesus and prophets.
Therefore, he is allowed to do deviant things without being blamed, such as having sexual relations with any partner he likes, asking his members to surrender all their wealth to him, and so on. The surrender of wealth also occurs in the End of Days sect, led by Mangapin Sibuea in Bandung.
What about Indonesia, not much different either, even sects and belief movements are developing rapidly. For example: Lia Aminuddin sect, End Times sect led by Mangapin Sibuea, Madi sect in Sulawesi, Parmalim sect in North Sumatra, and so on.
In 1965, there were recorded more than 300 sects or belief movements in Indonesia, if added with the movements that have developed recently, then the number is certainly even more.
According to Mustofa, a criminologist at the University of Indonesia, the emergence of deviant or “eccentric” teachings in a religion can stem from dissatisfaction with the status quo. The stability of certain teachings or schools of thought can be extremely boring for some people.
So they try to find a new form that is more appropriate—at least for themselves. Moreover, religion is like art, the satisfaction of each individual differs when worshiping. Moreover, individualism is increasingly inevitable nowadays.
Conclusion
In essence, religion provides services to humans to lead a good life and salvation in this world and the hereafter. However, in practice, humans often interpret these religious teachings into many versions, so a group of people emerges from a religion who deviates from the official teachings of that religion.
Then sects, belief movements, spiritual movements, and so on emerge. However, behind the emergence of these sects, it can be a valuable lesson and an interesting aspect of study, especially in the social science study of religion.
