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Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.
14 group profiles operating in Middle East. All scores are BITE-derived from publicly available sources.
Broader Salafi-jihadist ideological movement encompassing al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and successor cells. Designated terrorist by virtually every government; rejected by mainstream Sunni and Shia scholarship.
Russian private military company founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin (2014). Documented mass civilian casualties. Prigozhin killed in 2023 plane crash following his June 2023 mutiny; rebranded as Africa Corps under Russian state control.
Sufi tariqa with global presence under the late Sheikh Nazim al-Haqqani lineage. Mainstream is non-coercive; specific sub-currents around current sheikhs exhibit moderate control patterns documented by ex-members.
Ancient indigenous religion of the Yazidi people, primarily in northern Iraq. Closed-membership: no conversion in or out, strict endogamy. Subject of 2014+ ISIS genocide recognised by UN and multiple national governments.
Surviving ancient Gnostic monotheist tradition centred on John the Baptist as the chief prophet. ~60–70k adherents historically rooted in southern Iraq and Khuzestan, Iran; now largely diaspora after post-2003 violence.
Esoteric Shia tradition concentrated in Syria. Religious knowledge restricted to initiated males. Substantial political power under the former Assad regime (1971–2024).
Historical 1860s split from the larger Babi/Bahá'í community following Subh-i-Azal's claim. Very small surviving community in Iran and Cyprus.
Esoteric monotheistic religion derived from Ismaili Shia Islam (11th c.). Closed-membership tradition: no conversion permitted, no inter-faith marriage. Concentrated in Lebanon, Syria, Israel.
Heterodox Bektashi-Alevi Sufi order. Suppressed in Ottoman Turkey in 1826; relocated its world headquarters to Tirana, Albania, in 1925, where it remains.
The communion of autocephalous Eastern Christian churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, etc.) is a low-CLCI mainstream tradition with rich liturgical life and broad lay autonomy outside the liturgy.
Syriac Oriental Orthodox church preserving Aramaic liturgical tradition. Voluntary mainstream tradition.
Distinct Eastern Christian tradition holding Nestorian christology. Patriarchate moved from Iraq to Erbil; HQ now in Erbil and Chicago.
Eastern Catholic Lebanese national church in full communion with Rome. Voluntary mainstream tradition.
Iranian Bahá'í community is heavily state-persecuted since 1979 Islamic Revolution. Distinct from internal Bahá'í religious organisation (which is mainstream low-control).