New Religious Movements in Islam (Elements in New Religious Movements)

New Religious Movements (NRMs) have emerged periodically from the formative period of Islam to the present day. This Element considers a representative sample, organized by chronological period and then by type. In earlier periods, particular features of Islam either encouraged or discouraged the emergence of NRMs. Modernity brought new conditions that led to new types of NRM, the focus of this Element. Initially, NRMs arose in resistance to modernity or in support of it. Then came NRMs adjusted to the age of mass modernity. The Element also examines Western NRMs of Islamic origin or coloring. All these NRMs are understood in terms of their relationship with the dominant religious community, the host society, and political authority, as well as the novelty of their beliefs and practice.