Taqlid

Taqlid (Arabic: تَقْليد, romanized: taqlīd) is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs taqlid is termed muqallid.^[1] The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Classical usage of the term differs between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Sunni Islamic usage designates the unjustified conformity of one person to the teaching of another, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of a mujtahid (a person who is qualified for independent reasoning). Shia Islamic usage designates general conformity to the teaching of a mujtahid, and there is no negative connotation. The discrepancy corresponds to differing views on the Shia Imamate and Sunni imams.

In contemporary usage, especially in the context of Islamic modernism, taqlid is often portrayed in a negative light and translated as "blind imitation". This refers to the perceived stagnation of independent intellectual effort (ijtihad) and uncritical imitation of traditional religious interpretation by the religious establishment in general.^[2]