Takfir in the context of "Political aspects of Islam"

Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or ʿaqīdah (creed). Within Sunnī Islam, there may be differences, such as different orders (tariqa) within Sufism, different schools of theology (Atharī, Ashʿarī, Māturīdī) and jurisprudence (Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī). Groups in Islam may be numerous (Sunnīs make up 87-90% of all Muslims), or relatively small in size (Ibadis, Ismāʿīlīs, Zaydīs).

Differences between the groups may not be well known to Muslims outside of scholarly circles, or may have induced enough passion to have resulted in political and religious violence (Barelvism, Deobandism, Salafism, Wahhabism). There are informal movements driven by ideas (such as Islamic modernism and Islamism), as well as organized groups with governing bodies (such as Nation of Islam). Some of the Islamic sects and groups regard certain others as deviant or not being truly Muslim (for example, Sunnīs frequently discriminate against Ahmadiyya, Alawites, Quranists, and sometimes Shīʿas). Some Islamic sects and groups date back to the early history of Islam between the 7th and 9th centuries CE (Kharijites, Mu'tazila, Sunnīs, Shīʿas), whereas others have arisen much more recently (Islamic neo-traditionalism, liberalism and progressivism, Islamic modernism, Salafism and Wahhabism), or even in the 20th century (Nation of Islam). Still others were influential historically, but are no longer in existence (non-Ibadi Kharijites and Murji'ah).

The Amman Message (Arabic: رسالة عمان, romanized: Risālat ʿAmmān) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27 Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II of Jordan, and his advisor Sheikh Izz-Eddine Al-Tamimi. The message aims to "clarify to the modern world the true nature of Islam and the nature of true Islam," and to specify which actions do and do not represent the religion.

A three-point ruling was issued by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, focusing on issues of defining who is a Muslim, excommunication from Islam (takfir), and principles related to delivering religious opinions (fatāwa). The message received substantial support from the royal family of Jordan and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, which was set up for the purpose of its promotion. Through its website, the Amman Message is accessible in English and Arabic.

Murji'ah (Arabic: المرجئة, English: "Those Who Postpone"), also known as Murji'as or Murji'ites (singular Murji'), were an early Islamic denomination. The Murji'ah school of theology prioritized the importance of one's professed faith over the acts, deeds, or rituals they performed. They held the opinion that God alone has the right to judge whether a Muslim has become an apostate. Consequently, Muslims should practice postponement (ʾirjāʾ) of judgment on committers of major sins and not make charges of disbelief (’takfir’) or punish accordingly anyone who has professed Islam to be their faith. They also believed that good deeds or omission of them do not affect a person's faith, and a person who did no other act of obedience would not be punished in the afterlife as long as they held onto pure faith. They used to say that "disobedience does not harm faith as good deeds do not help with disbelief." This mode of thought emerged from a concern over Muslim unity as opposed to religious laxity and is often associated with Quran 9:106 ("There are others deferred until the command of God, whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them").

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujāhideen, simply known as Al-Shabaab, or by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Somalia, is a Sunni Islamist militant and political movement based in Somalia. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War as an Islamist group, regularly invoking takfir to rationalize its terrorist attacks on Somali civilians and civil servants. Allied to the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda, it is also in a more limited capacity active elsewhere in East Africa, and has forged ties with other insurgent groups like AQIM and AQAP.

Formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the wider military wing of the Islamic Courts Union, Al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the occupying Ethiopian army. In subsequent years, it gained popular support from Somalis and became a dominant force in south and central Somalia, defending large swathes of territory by fighting against the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Federal Government of Somalia, as well as the latter's transitional predecessor. Al-Shabaab gained international prominence due to its recruitment of foreign fighters, including fighters who are from Western countries. Countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates have designated it as a terrorist organization, and the United States has militarily intervened in order to fight against the group.