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NOTE: While I am good with Arab and Middle Eastern history during the 20th and 21st century, my knowledge of the Islamic Golden Age is cursory at best (I'm working to change that, but it's a work in progress), so I figured I might as well try and ask this question here. :eek:

I was reading a book on Gaddafi, and came upon an interesting passage on the Colonel's religious beliefs:

Most fundamental was Qaddafi's assertion that the Qu'ran, as the revealed word of God, was the one and only basis of true Islam. As far as he was concerned, the Sunnah (the acts and sayings of the Prophet, as told by his companions), was not essential to the faith. Qaddafi viewed the Sunnah as human rather than divine, while for him only the Qu'ran represented the pure foundation of Islam. He also argued that Sharia (Islamic law) was a normative set of laws that had been made by humans. Such assertions were hugely controversial. To almost deny the Sunnah as the second source of authority of Sunni Islam was deeply offensive and sacrilegious to many Muslims. It is difficult to Express just how shocking this denial was to Sunni Muslims at the time (and indeed today). Yet for Qaddafi it was part of stripping Islam back to its basics, instilling it with a Bedouin simplicity that was pure and untainted by humanity.

There were other details about his beliefs as well, such as his belief that people were idolizing Muhammad instead of God, his decision to have the Muslim calendar be dated from the time of Muhammad's death instead of his migration from Mecca to Medina and his personal belief that man and god could have a direct relationship. Let's just say that in addition to the three branches of Islam that exist IOTL (Sunni, Shia and Ibadi), a fourth branch of Islam espousing beliefs similar to Gaddafi's (but not necessarily identical) develops sometime between 700 and 1250 AD. My basic questions are:

  • In which geographic region/regions of the Abbasid or Umayyad Caliphates is such a sort of Islam to develop and take hold?
  • What would a plausible name for this branch be?
  • Would this form of Islam be more or less liberal/open to change than OTL Sunni and Shia Islam?
  • What sort of philosophical contributions could this school of Islamic thought make?

I'm sorry if the questions are vague or hard to answer, but if you have any of your own ideas, please post them.
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