Ibadi studies

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Ibadism, or the Ibadi school of Islam, which has followers in Oman and elsewhere, has been the subject of much academic study. Much of the earlier writings from within the Islamic world presented Ibadism as a heresy. Western academic interest in Ibadism began in the mid-19th century, when translations of Ibadi texts and other literature began to become available. French and Italian scholars focussed mainly on Ibadism in North Africa, while John C. Wilkinson and other British scholars have studied it in Oman, where few texts were accessible until the 1970s.

Studies of Ibadism have adopted different perspectives. Some have been theologically based, locating Ibadi teachings among the different branches of Islam. Some have studied the origins of Ibadism in the context of early Islamic history. And some have set it in the context of Islamic jurisprudence. Regular conferences and publications since 2009 have helped bring Ibadism to wider attention.