Salafis, Sufis, modernists, reformists, Wahhabis: whichever Muslim group, by whatever name one calls them, and in all their conceivable permutations, portray themselves as bearing the mantle of the Prophet. The Salafis claim to be the most authentic bearers of his authenticated words and deeds. The Sufis claim to be striving not just for the actions but also for the inner experience of the Prophet. Modernists talk about Ijtihad, or reinterpreting Islam according to what the Prophet would do and teach today. In short, they all claim to speak in Muhammad’s name, quoting, misquoting, and
...more

