khaWariJ and the Shia. Both groups diverged from
what became the Sunni orthodox view of ruler-
ship. In fact, it was the divergence of these groups
that led to the military and intellectual assertion
of Sunni dominance. The first civil war produced
only temporary political unity, but it introduced
permanent religious division into the community
of Muslims. Over time, the Khawarij and the Shia
evolved into full-scale minority sects, with defin-
ing ideologies, mythic histories, and legal systems.
And within the regions that fell under their mili-
tary control, these sects had the power to create
societies that reflected their worldviews, like the
majority Sunnis.
Along with heresies rooted in political opposi-
tion, there were heresies of pure religious belief.
In fact, the number of heresies based solely on
belief multiplied exponentially as the Sunni tradi-
tion refined its views in relation to the range of
religious opinion voiced within the expanding
empire. Medieval Muslim sources list some 72
heretical sects in Islam. While exaggerated, this
number captures the diversity and richness of
intellectual engagement in early and medieval
Islam. Sunni attempts to police Muslim belief by
labeling opponents as heretical demonstrate the
extent to which religious unity was viewed as
essential to the health and welfare of the commu-
nity as a whole.
In the modern period, the idea of heresy
has largely fallen out of favor, though factional
disputes remain. When the label of heretic is
now wielded, it tends to be with the purpose of
polemic rather than prosecution, although in the
very recent period this latter, too, has emerged as
Muslims struggle to reconcile the Islamic heri-
tage with the intellectual challenges presented by
modernity. Nonetheless, what medieval thinkers
once labeled as heresies modern Muslims tend to
think of as alternative schools of thought.
See also apostasy; blasphemy; ibadiyya, kafir;
shiism; sUnnism; umma.
Jeffrey T. KenneyFurther reading: Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic
Theology and Law. Translated by Andras and Ruth
Hamori (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1981); Wilferd Madelung, Religious Schools and Sects in
Medieval Islam (London: Variorum, 1985); Muhammad
al-Sharastani, Muslim Sects and Divisions. Translated by
A. K. Kazi and J. G. Flynn (London: Kegan Paul Inter-
national, 1984).Hezbollah See hizbullah.
Hidden Imam See ghayba; imam; twelve-imam
shiism.hijab (Arabic: cover, partition, barrier)
The practice of hijab, or veiling, among Muslim
Women varies throughout the world. In modern
discussions, hijab usually refers to a veil that is
worn to cover a woman’s hair, neck, and ears but
not her face. The issue of hijab, especially as it
relates to women’s veiling, is one of great debate.
The qUran uses the word seven times, mostly with
the meaning of screen or partition (for example,
Q 19:17; 38:32; 17:45). The word is often inter-
preted, especially by Sufis, in the sense of a veil or
barrier that stands between God and the created
world. Hijab is further elaborated upon in the
hadith. However, the tradition of modest dress and
particularly of veiling women predates the rise of
Islam. Indeed, veiling was a common practice in
the pre-Islamic Near East, acting as a marker of
class, faith, ethnicity, and age in many cultures.
While the practice has varied through time
and place, hijab has become a point of debate in
the modern era. Non-Muslim imperialists often
used hijab as an example of the “inferiority” of
nations they wished to conquer, claiming it was a
discriminatory practice that should be abolished.
In the early 20th century, supporters of Western-
ization in nations such as tUrkey and iran used
the formal banning of the hijab as a symbolic wayhijab 297 J