The goal was to create a “pure” Islam. Muhammad is considered to be the Holy Prophet of Islam and the last prophet to be sent by Allah to mankind. Islam is a religion founded in the early seventh century by the Prophet Muhammad. The 18th Century saw the emergence of a new puritanical Islamic ideology and movement on the Arab peninsula that would later give birth to violent extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and IS. Sufism originated after the death of Mohammed in 632, but it did not develop into orders until the 12th Century. Mohammed lived from 570 CE to 632 CE. The term didn’t just include people of Arab descent, but anyone who lived in the region who was a Muslim. The term “Moors” is often used to refer to the Muslims from North Africa who conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Much of Spain at the time had come under the control of various bands of Muslims. Two powerful Islamic groups from north Africa, the Almoravids and the Almohads, took control of much of the region during the 11th and 12th centuries.

The Umayyads had conquered much of northern Africa and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to Spain in 711 AD. Muslims arrived in Spain during the conquests of the Umayyad Caliphate. After conquering the Iberian Peninsula, the Muslims turned their attention to the rest of Europe. Muslims first arrived in 711 AD and ruled portions of the region until 1492. They had a significant impact on the culture and lives of the people in the region and brought many advancements to Europe. The city of Cordoba became one of the greatest cities in Europe. By 926, the Umayyads had regained control of Al-Andalus and named themselves the Caliphate of Cordoba. The border between Al-Andalus and the Christian regions to the north was constantly changing. Muslims referred to the Islamic land of Spain as “Al-Andalus.” At its peak, Al-Andalus encompassed almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. For a significant part of the Middle Ages the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Spain and Portugal) was ruled by the Islamic Empire. However, one Umayyad leader escaped and he set up a new kingdom in Cordoba, Spain.

Prior to the Islamic invasion, the Visigoth kingdom ruled over the Iberian Peninsula. From this point forward, Islamic control was mostly limited to the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees Mountains. By 714, the Islamic army had taken control of the majority of the Iberian Peninsula. They began to advance into France until they were met near the city of Tours by the Frankish army. The Franks, under the leadership of Charles Martel, defeated the Islamic army and forced them back south. Under the leadership of the Umayyads, the region flourished. Scholars from around the Mediterranean traveled to Cordoba to visit the library and to study subjects such as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and art. If it’s your first time in a church or if you are wanting to visit Gateway Church, you will be more than welcome. The Great Mosque of Cordoba was turned into a Catholic church in 1236 when the Christians took the city. Unlike the dark and dirty cities of most of Europe, Cordoba had wide paved streets, hospitals, running water, and public bath houses.

The concordats and agreements also regulate public school catechisms and military chaplains. But IS that has taken the jihadist violent ideology further. There are dozens of Sufi orders and offshoots. Sufi orders were sometimes close to the ruling powers such as the Ottoman Empire, helping their spread and influence. Sufism spread throughout the Muslim world, becoming a central component of many peoples’ religious practice from Indonesia and South Asia to Africa and the Balkans. Wahhabism sought to purge Sunni Islam of accretions and innovations such as the widespread Sufi practice of venerating saints and visiting tombs and shrines. The orders were formed around spiritual founders, who gained saint status and shrines built in their names. Al-Qaeda linked militants in 2012 destroyed ancient Sufi shrines in Timbuktu, Mali, drawing international condemnation. Sheikh Esref Efendi, the spiritual head of the Germany-based Sufi Center Rabbaniya, which is part of the Naqshbandi Order, described Sufism for DW. Dhikr practices vary among Sufi orders.