Takfir among Shiite Scholars: Truth or Accusation?

The phenomenon of takfir (excommunication) began right in the early decades after the advent of Islam. The Kharijites were the first organized movement that excommunicated their opponents. Despite this phenomenon's long life in the history, the Shia religion has, on rare occasions, been portrayed as a takfiri religion i.e. a religion that excommunicates others. However, in the recent century, many have tried to depict Shia as a takfiri sect one of which is Abdul Maleki al-Shafi'ei who in his Al-Fikr al-Takfiri 'Enda al-Shi'ah: Haqiqatun am Iftiraa has described many Shiite scholars as being takfiri. This research aims to abort this accusation and its destructive role in destroying the unity of the Muslim Ummah. In this study, which has been carried out using analytical – descriptive method, it has been demonstrated that all Shiite scholars consider Ahl-e Sunnah to be Muslims. Shiite scholars consider only the Nasibis and the antagonists to be out of the pale of Islam, and if they have used the term 'kufr' to refer to any groups other than these two, it has been a usage of the term 'kufr' against faith (iman).