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Taqlid
Imitation. Conformity to legal precedent, traditional behavior, and doctrines. Often juxtaposed by reformers with ijtihad, independent reasoning based on revelation. Traditionally, legal precedent is considered binding in Islamic law, but taqlid has acquired a negative connotation among modern reformers, who use the term to refer to cultural and intellectual stagnation and unwillingness to experiment with new ideas. Reformist criticism has taken both fundamentalist and modernist directions.
