If we wish to move beyond these objections against the...

If we wish to move beyond these objections against the orthodoxy of Shī'ite Islām, we should first note that Westerners often consider Islām, in contrast to the multifarious branches of Christianity,[^11] as a conglomerate of mutually contradictory doctrines which is patently not the case. We are not claiming that real differences never existed within Islām. They did indeed exist, particularly during its initial period between the seventh and tenth centuries.

It was then that a great variety of philosophical, theological and theosophical theories started to manifest themselves in all areas of Islāmic thought.

These different ideological currents that flourished were not “sects” in the true sense of the term and are most adequately called “schools of thought.”[^12] While some of them survived to the present, most of them have disappeared, leaving us only their names.[^13] In any case, we must not overlook the process of cultural and ideological interaction which takes place when Islām comes into contact with foreign cultures.

Such contact is an important aspect of what differentiates the Islāmic tradition from others. Although there are many traditions within the tradition, Islām has always maintained its cohesion and unity, a fact that often draws the attention of outside observers. Although Islām is united, it is not uniform. The sciences studied in any traditional civilization–namely, a civilization based on divine revelation–depend on the metaphysical principles and the religious fundamentals of that revelation.

Consequently, Islāmic doctrines, regardless of their modes of expression, have always reflected and echoed the central doctrine of divine unity [ tawhīd ]. It is due to the centrality of tawhīd that Islām was capable of integrating various systems of thought into its perspective and final objective. The presence of diversity within the Islāmic tradition does not undermine its transcendence and interior unity.