| Date | 25 August 2016– 27 August 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | Grozny, Chechnya, Russia |
| Also known as | Grozny Conference Chechnya Conference The World Islamic Сonference 'Who are Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah?' |
| Organized by | Shaykh Ahmad Kadyrov Regional Charitable Fund Foundation for Chechen Islamic Culture and Education Tabah Foundation Muslim Council of Elders [1] [2] |
| Participants | Over 200 Muslim scholars-theologians and religious leaders from various Islamic schools of thought from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan [2] [3] [4] [5] |
| Previous event | Sufism: Personal Security and State Stability [6] |
| Website | Official website |
The 2016 conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny was convened to define the term "Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah", [7] i.e. who are "the people of Sunnah and majority Muslim community", [8] [Note 1] and oppose Takfiri groups. [10] The conference was held in the Chechen Republic capital of Grozny [11] from 25 to 27 August 2016, sponsored by the president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and attended by approximately 200 Muslim scholars from 30 countries, especially from Russia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Jordan, etc. at the invitation of Yemeni Sufi preacher, Ali al-Jifri. [7] [12]
The conference was dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the birth of Kadyrov's father, Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of Chechnya. [13] [14]
The conference was notable for excluding representatives of Wahhabi and Salafi movements, and for its definition of Sunni Muslims in the final communiqué of the conference that included Sufis, Ash'aris and Maturidis, but not Wahhabis or Salafis. [7] [8] It condemned Salafism and Wahhabism as "misguided" sects, along with extremist groups such as ISIS, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Muslim Brotherhood and others. [3] [15]
The conference definition stated:
“Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah are the Ash'aris and Maturidis (adherents of the theological systems of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari). In matters of belief, they are followers of any of the four schools of thought (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i or Hanbali) and are also the followers of the Sufism of Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi in doctrines, manners and [spiritual] purification." [16]
Over 200 Muslim scholars-theologians and religious leaders from various Islamic schools of thought from 30 countries all over the world, including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Qatar, Iraq, India, Indonesia, Britain, Russia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. [2] [17] [3] [15] [4] [5] [18]
Among the notable scholars and preachers in attendance were: [19] [5] [12]
The conference participants reflected their support for what in Russia is considered “traditional” Islam. [23] Some suggestions came out of the conference, including recommendations to: [17]
The conference evoked a torrent of condemnation and criticism followed from the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars—as well as from the scholars of the Salafi, Wahhabi, and Ikhwani movements—for what they perceived as Russian meddling in regional politics via religion, and the implied condemnation of Salafis as Kharijites , Karramiyya , or deviants . [24] [1] [25] Twenty-one Sunni religious institutions across the world signed a petition of support to Salafis, expressing solidarity with them and called for unity, emphasizing that the conference participants only represent themselves. [26] Syrian Sufi scholar Hasan al-Dugim condemned the conference as a sham and defended the "Salafi brothers"; arguing that they are closer to Sufis than "Putin's scholars". The conference was seen as an attempt to cause rift amongst Sunnis and furthering sectarian divide by a magnitude of Salafi, Ikhwani and Deobandi scholars, as the conference was mainly attended by scholars of Sunni Sufi or Barelvi inclination.
The International Association of Muslim Scholars, an organization led by Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamist Yusuf al-Qaradawi, reportedly criticized the conference as "a shameful attempt to sow dissent within the Muslim community." [13] The conference has also been widely criticised for toeing a Russian government line. Prominent Russian religious leaders avoided the conference in protest. [23] The chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Moscow, Ildar Alyautdinov, expressed his disillusionment with the resolution of the conference. [27]
In response to the widespread criticism received in the Islamic World, Al-Azhar publicly distanced itself from the conference and in mid-October sent a high-level delegation led by the senior Azhari scholar, Shaykh Abbas Shouman to Saudi Arabia and reconciled with the Salafi religious establishment, including the Grand Mufti Abdul Azeez Aal-Shaykh. [28]
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims, and simultaneously the largest religious denomination in the world. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad left no successor and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr as the next-in-line. This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor.
Wahhabism is a reformist Islamic religious movement within Sunni Islam, based on the teachings of 18th century Hanbali cleric Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. The term "Wahhabism" is primarily an exonym ; it was not used by Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab himself or adherents to the movement, who typically prefer to be called "Salafi". The movement's early followers referred to themselves as Muwahhidun derived from the term Tawhid. The term "Wahhabi" has also been deployed by various outsiders as a sectarian and Islamophobic slur.
The Al-Azhar University is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic learning. In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a national network of schools with approximately two million students. As of 1996, over 4,000 teaching institutes in Egypt were affiliated with the university.
The Salafi movement or Salafism is a revival movement within Sunni Islam, which was formed as a socio-religious resistance to European imperialism during the late 19th century and has remained influential in the Islamic World for over a century. The name "Salafiyya" refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors", the first three generations of Muslims, who are believed to exemplify the pure form of Islam. In practice, Salafis maintain that Muslims ought to rely on the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the Ijma (consensus) of the salaf, giving these writings precedence over later religious interpretations. The Salafi movement aimed to achieve a renewal of Muslim life and had a major influence on many Muslim thinkers and movements across the Islamic world.
Ahl-i-Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan. It is an offshoot of the 19th-century Indian Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya movement tied to the 18th-century traditions of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and the Wahhabi movement. The adherents of the movement described themselves variously as "Muwahideen" and as "Ahl e-Hadith."
Al-Ahbash, also known as the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects is a neo-traditionalist Sufi religious movement and, in Lebanon, political party, which was founded in the mid-1980s. The group follow the teachings of Ethiopian scholar Abdullah al-Harari. Due to the group's origins and activity in Lebanon, the Ahbash have been described as the "activist expression of Lebanese Sufism."
Ali Gomaa is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, jurist, and public figure who has taken a number of controversial political stances. He specializes in Islamic Legal Theory. He follows the Shafi`i school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Ash'ari school of tenets of faith. Gomaa is a Sufi. Gomaa is also a supporter of the 2013 Military Coup.
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is His last Messenger.
In the context of political aspects of the religion of Islam, political quietism has been used to refer to the religiously-motivated withdrawal from political affairs or skepticism that mere mortals can establish a true Islamic government. It is the opposite of political Islam, which holds that the Islamic religion and politics are inseparable, and Muslims should be fighting to establish true Islamic government.
Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb is an Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Al-Azhar Al Sharif and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appointed by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, following the death of Mohamed Sayed Tantawy in 2010. He is from Kurna, Luxor Governorate in Upper Egypt, and he belongs to a Sunni Muslim family.
Madkhalism is a strain of quietist thought within the larger Salafi movement based on the writings of Sheikh Rabee al-Madkhali, characterised by monarchism and loyalty to governments in the Arab world.
Since the classical era, two major scholarly movements have been influential within Islamic societies: Sufi-Ash'arism represented by Ghazzali (1058-1111) and Salafism represented by Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328). The dispute between these two schools of thought dominated the Sunni world, splitting their influence across religious communities and cultures, with each school competing for scholarly authority via official and unofficial religious institutions. The relationship between Salafism and Sufism – two movements of Islam with different interpretations of Islam – is historically diverse and reflects some of the changes and conflicts in the Muslim world today.
Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam is the 19th and current Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, succeeding Ali Gomaa.
Muhammad 'Ilish, more commonly referred to in Muslim works simply as 'Ilish or Sheikh 'Ilish, was a 19th-century CE Egyptian Muslim jurist of Tripolitanian origin. 'Illish was an important late scholar of the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). He is perhaps the last of a line of widely read and respected sources of traditional fatwas of the late Maliki school from an Azharite scholar. 'Ilish was an extremely popular teacher at Al-Azhar. His lectures were regularly attended by audiences of over 200 students. In July 1854, 'Ilish was appointed the Maliki Mufti of Al-Azhar. By the time of his death in 1882, 'Ilish was one of the premier leaders of Egyptian scholarly society. His Manh al-Jalil as well as his Fatawa are widely used today among traditional Malikis for fatwa positions of the school.
Starting in the mid-1970s and 1980s, Salafism and Wahhabism — along with other Sunni interpretations of Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies — achieved a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam."
Following the embargo by Arab oil exporters during the Israeli-Arab October 1973 War and the vast increase in petroleum export revenue that followed, the international propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism within Sunni Islam favored by the conservative oil-exporting Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies achieved a "preeminent position of strength in the global expression of Islam." The Saudi interpretation of Islam not only includes Salafiyya but also Islamist/revivalist Islam, and a "hybrid" of the two interpretations.
Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i was the Grand Mufti of Egypt, judge in the Shari'a Courts, rector of al-Azhar, and one of the leading Hanafi-Maturidi scholars of his time. He was educated at al-Azhar and was teaching in this university for several years. In 1914 he was appointed mufti, a title he held for seven years. He was known as the bitterest foe of the Islamic Reform movement led by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad 'Abduh. He was also known as a devout scholar who chose to lose his position as mufti rather than bow to government pressure to issue a particular fatwa.
Dr. Ahmad Mahmoud Karima, professor of Islamic law and comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, is best known for his religious moderation and condemnations of radicalism, and for his intense criticism of the Salafi-Wahhabi movement, and the Muslim Brotherhood group.
The 2020 International Maturidi Conference was an international scientific-practical conference, sponsored by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held over three days, from 3 to 5 March 2020, in the city of Samarkand under the title of "Imam Abu Mansur Maturidi and the Teachings of Maturidiyya: The Past and the Present".
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif is an Islamic scientific body and the largest religious institution in Egypt. Its headquarters is located in the building of the Sheikhdom of Al-Azhar in the center of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The history of the establishment of the Al-Azhar Mosque dates back to the year 970 by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Muizz Li-Din Allah. It is considered the third oldest university in the world after Al-Zaytoonah and Al-Qarawiyyin universities.
