İbn Tûmert’in Mezhebî Kimliği
İbn Tûmert’in Mezhebî Kimliği

Summary/Abstract: Magreb is among the important geographies which contribute to the development of Islamic thought. One of the persons who grew up in this region, which hosts many sects and political formations based on their foundations of thought in the historical process, is Muhammad Ibn Tūmart (d. 524/1130). As a curious student, Ibn Tūmart studied Mālikī and Zāhirī fiqh in Magreb and Andalus, and then carried out a ten-year journey to the east for education. He met Ash‘ariyya and Mu‘tazila schools of theology here. After the adventure of education, Ibn Tūmart, who traveled back to Magreb and tried to narrate his thoughts to the public everywhere, benefited from a selective approach from the thoughts of different schools. He composed his own sectarian identity by combining the Mālikī and Zāhirī fiqh view, the kalām of Ash‘ariyya and Mu‘tazila, the Shī‘ī imāmate thought and Mahdī belief, and some principles of Khārijism with his own experiences. His sectarian identity emerged as the result of a selective attitude. With the sectarian identity he composed, he gained a ground for presenting both his actionist personality and his political goals.Summary: The historical adventure of Islamic cultural heritage still deserves a vast curiosity. One of the civilizations which this religion built in different geographies is located in the Maghreb region. Although there have been some researches on the Magreb’s religious history and thought world, there are some problems that are waiting to be illuminated. In this context, different evaluations are made on Muhammad Ibn Tūmart (d. 524/1130), the founder of the Almohads movement. When we look at these different types of portraits, a fundamental problem arises. Who is Ibn Tūmart and how should his thought be understood?In order to evaluate Ibn Tūmart’s thought codes and sectarian identity on a proper ground, it is necessary to mention about the historical process of the social, political and cultural structure of the Magreb in a general way. North Africa, is a remarkable area from its earliest days onwards, has been home to great civilizations. The Berbers, indigenous people of the region, lived in tribes and continued their tribal traditions in established and nomadic life. In the first century of Islam, the Magreb began to be conquered. However, the fact that the ʿAbbāsīd power did not fully dominate the territory opened space for the existence of different political formations in the Magreb. A general feature of sects emerged as a political force in the Magreb from the II /VIII. century is that they did not take place for themselves in the geography of Damascus, Iraq and Egypt. In this process various sects, especially Khārijītes and Zaydīs, established different states. Almoravids, who made Mālikiyya as an official sect, carried out an effective policy. However, in the course of time, rights and justice ceased to exist, governors and commanders neglected their duties, extreme amusement and liquor, and imitating strangers emerged. Kalām and philosophy were forbidden because of the imitative attitudes of the Mālikī faqīhs who seized power.The thought world of Ibn Tūmart was shaped by the training he received in Magreb in the early days of his life. The Magreb’s fiqh tradition was an important element in this framework. Ibn Tūmart began to read Mālikiyya fiqh from his first training. However, it is necessary to mention about his journey of education which is a turning point in the life of Ibn Tūmart. These journeys from Magreb to Andalus and then east to Egypt, Mecca and Baghdad shaped the thought of Ibn Tūmart.Despite Ibn Tūmart’s connection with the Mālikī world and his education, his views on usūl and furū do not give the impression that a single sect is followed. According to Ibn Tūmart, the shār'ī claims are the Qur’ān, sunnāh, and ijmā’. Ibn Tūmart does not include qiyās here, which is accepted by many sects as one of the claims, especially the Mālikiyya. In Ibn Tūmart’s approach on usūl, we can say that he has followed the Zāhirī line, in particular on the subject of shār'ī evidences. We can say that, in furū matters, he has followed Mālikī’s views.Ibn Tūmart went to Baghdad after Egypt in the course of education. It is known that Ibn Tūmart took courses from Ash‘arī scholars for a period of ten years in Baghdad. The common feature of these scholars is that they have a respectful position within their own sects. Along with the training he has received, Ash‘ariyya has influenced Ibn Tūmart’s ideas. However, he doesn’t follow Ash‘ariyya in all theological matters. In this framework it is noteworthy that some of the views of Ibn Tūmart are parallel to Mu‘tazila. This is even more interesting when we consider the historical controversy between Ash‘arīs and Mu‘tazilīs.Ibn Tūmart’s journey from Baghdad to Magreb is a process in which his first supporters also began to form. Ibn Tūmart built a mosque in the regions where the Berber tribes lived, gave lessons to the people, and established brotherhood among the local supporters and other supporters. In other words, these activities have constituted the religious social base of the Almohads movement, which will come out as a state afterwards.In the emergence of Ibn Tūmart as a religious-political leader, the ideas of imāmate, innocence and mahdīsm, which have arisen from the Imāmī-Shī‘ī thought, are very important. According to Ibn Tūmart, imāmate, as in Imāmī-Shī‘ī doctrine, is a very important element of religion and among the conditions of Imān. Imāms are innocent and protected from mistakes. However, he does not defend classical Shī‘ī Imāms sequence. Another issue that is highly related to imāmate thought is the issue of mahdīsm. Mahdīsm is a reflection of imāmate’s practice. Ibn Tūmart has introduced himself as a mahdī and has received allegiance from his supporters. In this process, it should be taken into consideration that Ibn Tūmart has regulated the Berber tribes, solved many issues like the feuds, and has lifted many problems, especially education. The idea of Mahdīsm, not only hasn’t been constituted with religious texts, but also has been ripened with practical applications. Therefore, Ibn Tūmart has begun to use the title of mahdī as a charismatic leader.The thought world of Ibn Tūmart is framed by the expression of both political goals and religious understanding on the same plane. The religious ground of this movement against the Almoravids is obtained by acceptances built on faith and kufr. More clearly, Ibn Tūmart denounced publicly the masses, who did not think like him and who did not accept him as imām and mahdī, and whom he regarded as distant from the tawhīd, with kufr and he saw no harm in fighting. As it is known, the idea of ​​blaming with kufr those who do not believe or do not share the same ideas and then fighting with them firstly has appeared in Khārijism in the history of Islam.Ibn Tūmart’s thought world, like his life story extending from Magreb to Andalus, from Egypt to Baghdad, also contains a plane which cannot be explained with one-sided perspectives. Ibn Tūmart has gained much knowledge, and has contributed many works in different fields such as kalām, fiqh and hadith. In this works, he has put forward his views both in the kalām and fiqh. On the other hand, he has shaped the political background of the State of the Almohads. In this context, Ibn Tūmart emerges as both a political actor and a religious figure.Ibn Tūmart has aimed to obtain a more inclusive discourse by giving up the unified approaches of the sects and by bringing together selected elements from different or even oppositional views. Because he has wanted to establish epistemological integrity within a particular system, he has attempted to unite the views from different sources. That is why Ibn Tūmart’s sectarian identity has been based on selectivity.

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