Schism and dissension signal a faith’s vitality and ongoing evolution

Evidence

Goldziher was particularly interested in the part played by schismatic religious and political groupings in Islamic history (among them the Kharijites, Carmathians and Isma‘ilis), as he saw schism and dissension as indicators of the vitality and continuing evolution of the Islamic faith. Prior to Goldziher, historians of early Islam had mostly focused on the life of the Prophet, whereas Goldziher was more concerned with the revivalist movements that arose in later centuries. This concern carried over into his perception of the Muslim world in the twentieth century. He believed in the future of Islam and its ability to revive itself from within. — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 348

Categorization

• XREF: Reverses the common view that heresy and schism are signs of decay; parallels how Christianity’s history is often read through its ‘heresies’ as engines of doctrinal development. — connects to: Pied-noir associations fragmented by schism almost immediately despite unity rhetoric — Manuel Borutta and Jan C. Jansen, Vertriebene and Pieds-Noirs in Postwar…, 652