Post pictures of religious communities that fall outside of the mainstream (including fringe sects of mainstream Islam, Christianity & Judaism)

The Yazidis

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The Yazidi (also Yezidi, Kurdish: ئێزیدی or Êzidî) are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to Europe, especially to Germany.[12] Their religion, Yazidism, is a branch of Yazdânism, and is seen as a highly syncretic complex of local Kurdish beliefs and Islamic Sufi doctrine introduced to the area by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in the 12th century. The Yazidi believe in God as creator of the world, which he placed under the care of seven holy beings or angels, the chief of whom is Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel.

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Zoroastrians

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Zoroastrianism ( /ˌzɒroʊˈæstri.ənɪzəm/) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan) and was formerly among the world's largest religions.[1] It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Persia (Iran). The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority).
In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil originates from Him. Thus, in Zoroastrianism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil (druj) trying to destroy the creation of Mazda (asha), and good trying to sustain it. Mazda is not immanent in the world, and His creation is represented by the Amesha Spentas and the host of other Yazatas, through whom the works of God are evident to humanity, and through whom worship of Mazda is ultimately directed. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, of which a significant portion has been lost, and mostly only the liturgies of which have survived. The lost portions are known of only through references and brief quotations in the later works, primarily from the 9th to 11th centuries.
In some form, it served as the national- or state religion of a significant portion of the Iranian people for many centuries. The religion first dwindled when the Achaemenid Empire was invaded by Alexander III of Macedon, after which it collapsed and disintegrated[2] and it was further gradually marginalized by Islam from the 7th century onwards with the decline of the Sassanid Empire.[3] The political power of the pre-Islamic Iranian dynasties lent Zoroastrianism immense prestige in ancient times, and some of its leading doctrines were adopted by other religious systems. It has no major theological divisions (the only significant schism is based on calendar differences), but it is not uniform. Modern-era influences have a significant impact on individual and local beliefs, practices, values and vocabulary, sometimes complementing tradition and enriching it, but sometimes also displacing tradition entirely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

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The Mandaeans

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Mandaeism or Mandaeanism (Modern Mandaic: Mandaiuta‎, Arabic: مندائية‎ Mandā'iyyah, Persian: مندائیان Mandå'iyyån) is a Gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist. They are sometimes identified with the Sabian religion, particularly in an Arabian context, but actually Mandaeism and Manichaeism seem to be independent – to some degree opposing – developments out of the mainstream Sabian religious community, which is extinct today.
According to most scholars, Mandaeans migrated from Palestine to Mesopotamia in the first centuries AD and are certainly of Pre Arab and Pre Islamic origin. They are Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic. They may well be related to the Assyrians who are also Semitic, Aramaic speaking indigenous Pre Arab and Pre Islamic inhabitants of Iraq.
Mandaeans appear to have settled in northern Mesopotamia, but the religion has been practised primarily around the lower Karun, Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan Province in Iran. There are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide,[1] and until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq.[4] Many Mandaean Iraqis have since fled their country (as have many other Iraqis) because of the turmoil of the war and terrorism.[5] By 2007, the population of Mandaeans in Iraq had fallen to approximately 5,000.[4] Most Mandaean Iraqis have sought refuge in Iran with the fellow Mandaeans there. Others have moved to northern Iraq. There has been a much smaller influx into Syria and Jordan, with smaller populations in Sweden, Australia, the United States, and other Western countries.
The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private—reports of them and of their religion have come primarily from outsiders, particularly from the Orientalists J. Heinrich Petermann, Nicholas Siouffi, and Lady Drower. An Anglican vicar, Rev. Peter Owen-Jones, included a short segment on a Mandaean group in Sydney, Australia, in his BBC series "Around the World in 80 Faiths."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaeism

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The Druze

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The Druze (Arabic: درزي, derzī or durzī‎, plural دروز, durūz, Hebrew: דרוזים‎ druzim) are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid (People of Unitarianism or Monotheism) or al-Muwaḥḥidūn (Unitarians, Monotheists) – the official name of the sect is al-Muwaḥḥidūn al Dururz (The Unitarian Druze).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze

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The Samaritans

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The Samaritans (Hebrew: שומרונים‎ Shomronim, Arabic: السامريون‎ as-Sāmariyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by those returning from exile.
Ancestrally, they claim descent from a group of Israelite inhabitants from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph) as well as some descendents from the priestly tribe of Levi,[3] who have connections to ancient Samaria from the period of their entry into the land of Canaan, while some suggest that it was from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the Samaritan Kingdom of Baba Rabba. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the Hebrew term Shamerim שַמֶרִים, "Keepers [of the Law]".[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

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The Alevis

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The Alevi (in English /ælɛˈviː/, also /æˈlɛviː/ or /əˈleɪviː/) are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting about 15 million people. Alevi worship takes place in assembly houses (cemevi) rather than mosques. The ceremony (âyîn-i cem, or simply cem), features music and dance (semah) where both women and men participate. Instead of Arabic, the respective native language is predominant during rituals and praying.
Key Alevi characteristics include:[citation needed]
Humanism
Love and respect for all people (“The important thing is not religion, but being a human being.”)
Tolerance towards other religions and ethnic groups (“If you hurt another person, the ritual prayers you have done are counted as worthless.”)
Respect for working people ("The greatest act of worship is to work.”)
Equality of men and women, who pray side by side. Monogamy is practiced.
Alevism is closely related to the Bektashi-Sufi lineage, in the sense that both venerate Hajji Bektash Wali (Turkish: Hacıbektaş-ı Velî), a saint of the 13th century. Many Alevis refer to an "Alevi-Bektashi" tradition, but this identity is not universally adopted, nor is the combined name used by non-Turkish Bektashis (e.g., in the Balkans). In addition to its religious aspect, Alevism is also closely associated with Anatolian folk culture. Modern Alevi theology has been profoundly influenced by humanism, universalism and the ancient Turkic belief, tengriism.[citation needed]
The 1990s brought a new emphasis on Alevism as a cultural identity[clarification needed]. Alevi communities today generally support secularism in the form of the Kemalist model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alevi

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Samaritan video (sorry, it's in Arabic)

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Love the thread :) Thanx , very informative.

I always heard about people saying that a jewish sect. followers pray like muslims, or let's say muslims pray like them. clearly they meant The Samaritans.

very interesting.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm assuming the Samaritans sjadow gabil el muslimin.

The Mandaean language and liturgy:

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The Mandaean Crisis:

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thanks for all the info kWT!!

nd isnt alevism more like a far offspring of islam?

Good thread. :)

Thanks guys, and Soroush, I suppose the Alevis are a distant off-shoot of orthodox Islam but in the beginning of the thread I mentioned that fringe versions of mainstream religions should be included.

Fringe being the keyword.

Men and women dancing around in a mosque? That's as fringe as u can get lol

Ahl-e Haqq



The Ahl-e Haqq or Yârsân (Kurdish: ﯼاڔﮦساﻥ Yâresân,[1][2] Persian: اهل حق Ahl-e Haqq "People of Truth"), are members of a religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[3] The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000,[4] primarily found in western Iran and Iraq, mostly ethnic Kurds and Laks, though there are also smaller groups of Luri, Azeri, Persian and Arab adherents.[5] Some Yârsânî in Iraq are called Kaka'i.

The Yârsân have a distinct religious literature primarily written in Gorani and partly in Persian, although few modern Yâresânî can speak or read Gorani, as their mother tongues are Gorani and Soranî. The Sarl living near Eski Kalak are adherents, as Edmonds (1957: 195) surmised and Moosa (1988: 168) observed.

Up to the 20th century, the Yârsânî faith was strictly for Kurds who were born into it, called checkedea ("a drop of"), as opposed to individuals who married into a Yârsânî family, called chasbedea ("attached"). Adherents today are mainly found among the Kurdish tribes of the Guran, Qalkhani, Bajalani and Sanjabi, located in western Iran, forming approximately a third of the population in the religiously diverse province of Kermanshah.[6] There are some groups located around Kirkuk in Iraq. The Arabic-speaking adherents are based in the Iraqi cities of Mandali, Baquba, and Khanaqin.[7][8] According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "The chief source of information about the Ahl-e Haqq is the Firqan al-Akhbar, written in... early 20th century by Hajj Nematollah"[9]

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hmm .. Very interesting ,I never heard of Ahl al haqq ..

I never heard of Ahl al haqq[2]

There are in Middle East an great religious and ethnic diversity but out of middle east nobody know about it =/