Sectarianism & Division

Summary

Coherence Academy videos trace the Sunni-Shia split to a 7th-century political succession dispute later exploited by states, and the Deobandi-Barelvi split to differing hadith-based rulings on religious innovation within Hanafi law, while arguing against sweeping sectarian condemnation.

What it argues

1. Succession dispute and KarbalaPolitics

   The Sunni-Shia split began as a dispute over succession: election by consultation versus divine appointment in the Prophet's family line. Ali became caliph, was assassinated; his son Hassan ceded his claim to end fighting. Muawiya's son Yazid took power by dynasty rather than election, prompting Hussein's stand and martyrdom at Karbala. A political succession dispute, not theology, created the divide, according to the videos.

2. Nation-states exploit sectarianismPolitics

   The videos accuse Iran and some Gulf governments of weaponizing sectarian identity for geopolitical gain. Cited examples: Iran backing Syria's Alawi regime despite theological distance, and Saudi clerical policy reacting to Iran's revolution. The videos call for grassroots unity rather than top-down political fixes. Sectarian hostility today is political manipulation, the videos argue, not an organic religious dispute.

3. Caliphate proposed over democracyPolitics

   One video argues democracy incentivizes politicians to exploit sectarian divisions to win votes. It argues a caliphate, with rights guaranteed by revelation and no nation-state borders, would remove that incentive. Personal and secondary religious beliefs would remain up to the individual under this model. The video proposes caliphate governance as a structural fix for politically driven sectarianism.

4. Deobandi hadith-focused rulingsLaw & rulings

   The Deobandi movement, a Hanafi offshoot tied to reformer Shah Waliullah, prioritizes hadith evidence over settled Hanafi positions. This produces stricter rulings than mainstream Hanafis on isbal, photography, Mawlid and tawassul, one video says. Deobandis partly adopt Hanbali positions on tawassul, a reason cited for the split with Barelvis. Deobandi strictness comes from a hadith-first method applied within a nominally Hanafi framework.

5. Scoring Hanafi alignmentLaw & rulings

   One video scores Barelvi practice at 10 of 15 core principles aligned with Hanafi rulings on innovation, or 70%. It scores Deobandi practice at 1 of 15, or 30%, instead finding it 80% aligned with Hanbali methodology. The video concludes Deobandis adopt Hanbali methodology on bid'ah while claiming a Hanafi identity. The scoring concludes Deobandis are Hanafi in name but Hanbali-leaning in practice on innovation.

6. Identity and against blanket takfirLaw & rulings

   One video defines Muslim identity through the Shahadatain and Qur'an 4:136; only four specific fringe claims remove someone from Islam. Those claims are not held by most Shia, especially Twelvers, the video says. Citing al-Shafi'i and Ibn Taymiyyah, it argues classical scholars opposed declaring Shia Muslims collectively non-Muslim. Classical scholarship and core-belief tests, the video argues, rule out blanket excommunication of Shia.

7. Shared faith, differing practiceSociety

   Sunni and Shia Muslims share the six articles of faith, the videos say. The prayer stone reflects a Jafari ruling on prostration surfaces, not worship of the stone itself. Karbala mourning differs by jurisprudence: Shia practice intense mourning, Sunni view favors commemorating it as inspiration. Visible practice differences reflect jurisprudence, not a difference in core faith, the videos argue.

8. Diverging worship and sacred spacesSociety

   Barelvi practice embraces collective devotions like Mawlid, dhikr and domes over sacred graves as legitimate innovation. Deobandi practice restricts worship to what the Prophet explicitly did, with exceptions like congregational Tarawih. One video notes inconsistency: accepting mosque domes and minarets while rejecting the dome over the Prophet's grave. The two movements diverge sharply on which devotional and architectural innovations count as legitimate.

Open questions

• How the numerical scores for Hanafi alignment in one video were arrived at is not explained in detail.
• How the four fringe claims said to remove someone from Islam are reconciled with tolerance urged toward ijtihad differences is unclear.
• Whether internal divisions within Sunni and Shia communities are now more significant than the original split is left open by the videos.
• Whether a caliphate model would function as described to reduce sectarian incentives is argued but not tested against counterexamples.