The Muslim Primer

Here is today's list to be read and understood:

Wahhabi Muslim
Sufi Muslim
Salafi Muslim
Kurdish Sunni
Pakistani Sunni
Saudi Muslim (Sunni)
Secular Sunni
Daesh Sunni
Iranian Shiite
Iraqi Shiite
Secular Shiite
Ahmadiyya
Yazidi
Bahai

Two of the above are not considered muslim, and one considers itself muslim although not by other muslims.

Answers:

Yazidis are not Muslim

Bahai are not Muslims either, although they were derived from the Shiite denomination.

Secular Shiites and secular Sunnis are pretty much like secular people of other religions in that they view their religion largely in cultural terms rather in in theological terms.  However, it should be noted that the Shiites in Iran speak farsi.  The Shiites in Iraq speak Arabic.

The Kurds are Sunni  The are muslims that speak a Turkic language.  Also, culturally their relationship with women is more Western than Islamic.

Daesh is a fanatical Sunni movement that aspires to conquer the world in behalf of Islam.  Their first goal is an Islamic State.  Their movement is referred to by English speaking people as ISIS.

The Ahmadiyya are a variation of Sunni.  They consider themselves Muslim but are not accepted as muslims by other muslims.

Sufis are a peaceful people who stem from the Shiite religion.  From the sufis come the whirling dervishes.

Salafi muslims favor an extreme form of the Sunni religion.  They strive live as Mohammed lived.

Wahhabism is an extreme form of the Sunni religion that is salafist in nature.  It was fostered by a a Saudi Arabian cleric whose name was affixed to this extreme form of Islam.

The Sunnis and the Shiites differ primarily in who they believe should be viewed as the true inheritor of the prophet Mohammed's teachings.  Today, it's come down to a struggle for dominance between the Saudis and the Iranians.


That's it for today.  Study hard.  And, here's a question for next time:

Is America allowed by law to draw a distinction between those groups we choose to admit to America and those we do not?  Can we favor Ahmadiyya and Sufis and Kurdish muslims over the muslims who subscribe to Daesh and a Salafist way of life?  And, can we make a special allowance for Yazidis and middle eastern Christians who are generally abused in muslim countries --  and, in the case of Yazidis, nearly wiped out?