They are followers, like most Pakistanis, of the heterodox Barelvi school of Sunni Islam.

ECONOMIST: Pakistan

Yet beneath the formal structures of ecclesiastical authority, the expression of religious feeling was increasingly laicised and its doctrinal base became progressively more heterodox.

ECONOMIST: Medieval history

Since most of today's conventional wisdom was once considered heterodox and unreliable, veggie libel laws threaten to stifle any serious debate about food safety.

ECONOMIST: Food-disparagement laws

He plays down its Middle Eastern origins and he stresses its diverse sources (Shia and Sufi as well as Sunni) as well as its heterodox innovations.

ECONOMIST: Jihadists