The belief system of the Deoband School and its position towards Salafism

Abstract

The Deoband school, which emerged in India, has become one of the topical issues recently. Groups are emerging in Kazakhstan who believe that Deobandism is correct and adhere to it. Spread of this ideology in our country was mainly due to the people who studied at the centers of this ideology, which are mainly Pakistan. Muslims in countries such as Pakistan, India and Afghanistan often follow Abu Hanifa school, Maturidi creed and are conservative in religious issues. In turn, the Kazakh people throughout the history combined religion and traditions. Therefore, the spread of Deobandi religious concepts in the Kazakh land creates certain misunderstandings. This is probably due to the fact that the religious views of the Deobandis are contrary to the Kazakh worldview. Research is needed to determine how and why these contradictions are emerging. Despite the relevance of the problem, there are almost no research on this topic in our country. The skeleton of any religious ideology is a matter of faith, therefore for this article as a research topic has been chosen Deobandi’s faith. The purpose of the article is to determine what belief system the Deoband school adhere to and how they relate to Salafism. The article contains a brief history of Deobandism, its belief system and the views of Deoband scholars on the prominent scholars of Salafism like Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah. Also, the influence of Maturidi and Ash’ari belief systems on the Deobandis and generally their views on Wahhabism  are analyzed.

Key words: Deoband, Islam, Salafism, India, Iman.