Al-Ahbash

Association of Islamic Charitable Projects

جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلامية
*Jamʿīyah al-Mashārīʿ al-Khayrīyah al-ʾIslāmīyah*
Association of Islamic Charitable Projects جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلامية; Jamʿīyah al-Mashārīʿ al-Khayrīyah al-ʾIslāmīyah
Leader	Shaykh Hussam Qaraqira
Founded	1930s (as the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects); 1983 (as Al-Ahbash)
Headquarters	Various
Ideology	Pragmatism; Religious pluralism; Anti-Salafi
Religion	Sunni neo-traditionalism (Ash'ari, Rifaʽi, Sufi)
National affiliation	March 8 Alliance
Parliament of Lebanon	2 / 128
Website
	www.aicp.org (English); projectsassociation.org (Arabic)

Al-Ahbash (Arabic: الأحباش, al-aḥbāsh, English: "The Ethiopians"), also known as the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects (Arabic: جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلامية, Jamʿīyah al-Mashārīʿ al-Khayrīyah al-ʾIslāmīyah, AICP)^[1] is a neo-traditionalist Sufi religious movement and, in Lebanon, political party, which was founded in the mid-1980s.^[2] The group follow the teachings of Ethiopian scholar Abdullah al-Harari.^[2] Due to the group's origins and activity in Lebanon, the Ahbash have been described as the "activist expression of Lebanese Sufism."^[3]

The Ahbash have been noted for their ardent criticism of conservative strains of Islam, including the Salafi movement and Wahhabism.^[4]^[1] The movement has been described as one of the "most controversial Muslim associations" among modern Islamic groups^[3] and, within Sunni Islam, opponents of the Ahbash have frequently referred to the movement as unorthodox and deviant.^[4]^[5]

^ ^a ^b Kabha, Mustafa; Erlich, Haggai (2006). "Al-Ahbash and Wahhabiyya: Interpretations of Islam". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 38 (4). United States: Cambridge University Press: 519–538. doi:10.1017/s0020743806412459. JSTOR 4129146. S2CID 55520804.
^ ^a ^b Seddon, David (2004). A political and economic dictionary of the Middle East (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1857432121.
^ ^a ^b Hamzeh, A. Nizar; Dekmejian, R. Hrair (1996). "A Sufi Response to Political Islamism: Al-Ahbash of Lebanon". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 28. Beirut: American University of Beirut: 217–229. doi:10.1017/S0020743800063145. S2CID 154765577. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
^ ^a ^b Maasho, Aaron (11 May 2012). "Ethiopian Muslims protest government 'interference'". Reuters Africa. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.
^ Abbink, Jon (3 July 2014). "Religious freedom and the political order: the Ethiopian 'secular state' and the containment of Muslim identity politics". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 8 (3): 346–365. doi:10.1080/17531055.2014.917855. hdl:1887/27585. ISSN 1753-1055. S2CID 33389563.

[Kabha-1] Kabha, Mustafa; Erlich, Haggai (2006). "Al-Ahbash and Wahhabiyya: Interpretations of Islam". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 38 (4). United States: Cambridge University Press: 519–538. doi:10.1017/s0020743806412459. JSTOR 4129146. S2CID 55520804.

[Seddon-2] Seddon, David (2004). A political and economic dictionary of the Middle East (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1857432121.

[SufiResponse-3] Hamzeh, A. Nizar; Dekmejian, R. Hrair (1996). "A Sufi Response to Political Islamism: Al-Ahbash of Lebanon". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 28. Beirut: American University of Beirut: 217–229. doi:10.1017/S0020743800063145. S2CID 154765577. Retrieved 10 April 2009.

[Maasho-4] Maasho, Aaron (11 May 2012). "Ethiopian Muslims protest government 'interference'". Reuters Africa. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012.

[Abbink-5] Abbink, Jon (3 July 2014). "Religious freedom and the political order: the Ethiopian 'secular state' and the containment of Muslim identity politics". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 8 (3): 346–365. doi:10.1080/17531055.2014.917855. hdl:1887/27585. ISSN 1753-1055. S2CID 33389563.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]