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Al-Ahbash (Arabic: الأحباش‎ al-Aḥbāš; literal meaning “the Ethiopians”), also known as the Society of Islamic Philanthropic Projects (Arabic: ‏جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلام‎ Ǧamʿīya al-Mašārīʿ al-Ḫairīya al-Islām), is an Islamic sect from Lebanon. It follows the teachings of the Ethiopian-born Islamic law scholar Shaykh Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Hirari al-Shibi al-Abdari, alias al-Habashi, who was the group's spiritual leader from 1983 until his death in 2008. It is also a political party that occasionally runs for elections. Al-Ahbash is seen very controversial among several Muslim and Lebanese groups because of both its religious and political positions such as its eclectic doctrinal roots or its pro-Syrian stance.

Under the name of the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects (AICP), the group has become a transnational movement with branches throughout the Western world, particularly in Lebanese expatriate communities in North America, Australia, Western Europe, and Ukraine. It is known for its intensive use of the internet, publishes its own monthly, Manar al-Huda and possesses a radio station by the name of Nida' al-Ma'rifa.

Origins
The Lebanese Society of Islamic Philanthropic Projects has been existing since the 1930s but only gained attention in 1983 when it was taken over by Shaykh Habashi's followers. Born in the early 20th century in al-Hirara in Ethiopia, Shaykh Habashi - then Mufti in the Oromo tribal region - was expelled by Emperor Haile Selassie from his homecountry in 1947 for political reasons. After study stays in Damascus and Jerusalem, he settled in Beirut in 1950 where he was licensed as a Shaykh by Al-Azhar University's branch in Lebanon and emerged as a public intellectual with his main message being that of Islamic-Christian co-existence.

Al-Ahbash did not actively take part in the Lebanese Civil War but recruited many members from the ranks of Sunni militias. Its commitment to proselytization and social services made it rise to become one of Lebanon's most important Islamic movements by the end of the 1980s consisting of approximately 8,000 members, mainly from the middle classes. It has however somewhat declined in importance since then.

Doctrinal Aspects
Shaykh Habashi's syncretic teachings draw upon a conflation of different branches of Islamic theology, and thereby elude unambiguous classification. In an adress to his followers, Shaykh Habashi stated that "[w]e are Ash'aris and Shafi'is. The Ash'ariyya is the basis of our belief, and the Shfi'iyya is our daily code." Although not explicitly stated, Sufism plays also an important role in al-Ahbash's doctrine as demonstrated by the practice of several Sufi traditions such as the pilgrimage to holy men's tombs (Ziyarat) and the support of three Sufi Tariqas. The contention that it is a primarily Sufi movement, however, has been disputed.

Mustafa Kabla and Haggai Erlich identify "moderation" as the key word in al-Ahbash's "necessary science of religion" and instance the group's twelve-goal platform whose second item calls for "[p]reaching moderation [...] and good behavior as ways of implementing religious principles, while combating extremism and zeal." . This position is also reflected in the groups's decided opposition to the Salafist movement and radical Islamist thinkers, namely Sayyid Qutb, Muhammed ibn 'Abd-al-Wahhab, and Ibn Taymiyyah. Al-Ahbash's rather progressive views on education, the role of women, and science contradict many of the above named writers' opinions. One further critical cleavage is al-Ahbash's strict rejection of any form of anthropomorphism of God which they accuse Wahhabism of. Consequently, Shaykh Habashi holds that "it does not befit God to speak like that, and his word is not a voice or letters" and that therefore, the Qu'ran contains the word of God but could be written only after "Gabriel listened to His word, understood it, and passed it on to the prophets and the angels" - a highly controversial point of view within Islam. The arguably most important split, however, is the question of the relation between religion, politics, and the state. Departing from most Islamic writings on this topic, al-Ahbash advocates a separation of religion and state and thereby rejects the idea of an Islamic state. Consequently, the group repeatedly emphasized the need for Muslim-Christian co-existence and tolerance towards other religious groups in Lebanon.

Yet, this tolerant stance in Al-Ahbash's public rhetoric is doubted by some Muslim groups, orthodox Sunni in particular. They accuse the group of an excessive use of Takfir - the act of declaring another Muslim an unbeliever - and thereby of the provocation of inner-islamic tensions. The most prominent critic of this form of "doctrinal exclusivism" is Fathi Yakan, leader of the Jihadist movement Al-Jamaa Islamiya.

Political Positions
Al-Ahbash's doctrinal emphasis on interreligious co-existence entails several important political implications. By acknowledging the separation of religion, politics, and the state, it can be clearly demarcated from many other Islamic currents, namely Wahhabism and, more generally, political Islam. Consequently, its followers advocate secular Arabism rather than religious identity and conceive of Lebanon as a "fully legitimate, indeed an ideal, territorial nation-state" with peaceful Islamic-Christian co-existence being one of its constitutive characteristics. Because it sees Syria as the protector of an independent Lebanon, many critics of Al-Ahbash have brought accusations of collaboration with Syrian intelligence forces against the movement. After the end of the Syrian occupation in 2005, some even called for a treason trial. Moreover, al-Ahbash does not openly condemn the state of Israel - their sparse statements on the Arab-Israeli conflict disapprove of the use of force against Israel "unless it is necessary" and display a principal willingness to make peace with Lebanon's southern neighbor. This conciliatory stance made Al-Ahbash subject to accusations that it served Zionism.

Its moderate positions and propagation of openness towards Western education and technology attracts mainly urban middle class members and thereby makes Al-Ahbash a direct rival for many Islamist movements in the competition over followers. Many of its adherents are Sunni and intellectuals, professionals, or businessmen. When al-Ahbash ran for the 1992 Lebanese parliamentary elections, this constituency enabled its candidate, Adnan Trabulsi, to win a seat in a Beirut district that he lost in the subsequent 1996 elections though. This unprecedented step at the height of its power confirmed al-Ahbash's aspirations to be a political actor. Since then, however, no Habashi has been member of the Parliament.

Rivalry with other Groups
al-Ahbash has been subject to and participant in controversial debates on its religious and political positions occasionally leading to violent clashes with rival Muslim groups. It took part in the so-called "war of the mosques" in the early 1990s when the movement took over several places of worship throughout Lebanon and was accused of using violence and assassinations. Subsequently, the movement's followers campaigned for their president Nizar al-Halabi to become elected mufti of the Lebanese republic - a campaign that was brought to an abrupt end when al-Halabi was assassinated on August 31, 1995 by the Salafi-Jihadi organization Osbat al-Ansar. The Salafi movement has been harshly criticized by al-Ahbash for its extremist stance while the struggle against al-Ahbash was a critical element in the Salafists' mobilization making them confirm their status as "defenders of the faith" against the perceived heresy by sects such as al-Ahbash. Al-Ahbash's pro-Syrian stance that made the group identified with the occupying forces played a pivotal role in the clashes with other groups, too. Accusations of being sponsored by the Syrian intelligence agency resurfaced after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005 in which the group may have played a role.

Al-Ahbash shows also decided opposition to Wahhabism that is rooted in doctrinal differences (see Al-Ahbash_. Shaykh Habashi issued several polemics against Ibn Tamiyya, the spiritual father of Wahhabism, and its actual founder, Abd al-Wahhab. In his 1994 book The Sublime Sayings in Exposing the Wrongs of Ibn Taymiyya, he attacked them on theological grounds, for example for their condemnation of Ziyarat, a pillar of Sufi Islam, or their doctrinal innovations that derive from the founding generations' teachings according to Shaykh Habashi. The Wahhab reponse was not long in coming: in 1995, an Australian leader of the Wahhabis, Abu Suhayb Abd al-Aziz al-Maliki, published a book entitled, The Sublime Sayings in Exposing the Wrongs of the Ahbash Group, that - besides the recurring theme of the separation of politics and religion - essentially accused al-Ahbash of cooperating with non-Muslims and igniting inner-Islamic conflict. Although the persisting conflict mainly remains a verbal clash, Kabha and Erlich hold that the "confrontation between the Ahbash and the Wahhabiyya is arguably harsher than the clash between the Muslims and non-Muslims".

Violent clashes with Hezbollah members have also been reported, although their reasons could not have been eventually clarified.