Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/747

* MOHAMMEDAN SECTS. 669 MOHAMMEDAN SECTS. Down to the sixth imam, Jal'ar al Sadik (died 7(15), there was agreeiiienl among llic Sliiites; Jafar, liowever, had two sons, ismail and Musa al-i'^asim. The former, as the ehlcr, sliouKl have been successor to tiie imaniah. The fatlicr. liow- ever, is said to have dechired in favor of Mnsa ; and on Jafar's death, a division ensued between the adherents of Ismail — the Ismailians (/.sv muUli/i!/uh) — and those of JIusa, the greater part of the iShiites following the latter. Krom this time on the question of the imamah received more and more a theological, mystical treatment. The notion of the imam, in general, was that of an ever-living, tlunigh at times hid- den, supreme guide of the people, who after a time is restored to humanity, or at least to the lielieving part of it. (.See Maiiui.) The Is- mailian doctrine was that the imam had been revealed in Ali, whereas during the jjreceding ages the imams had been concealed; that Ali himself had reappeared in every imam till the time of Ismail, and had then become invisible again ; but that he would descend some day "from the clouds' to unite all believers and to restore tlio pure faith. The real importance, however, I'f the Ismailians, who existfil unnljserved for ~(ime time, dates from Abd Allah ibn Maimun, wliose father had been executed for professing materialistic doctrines and trying to turn people away from the doctrines of Islam. Abd Allah seems to have practically carried out his father's notions. Aided by favorable circumstances, he matured a plan which, for the boldness and genius of conception and for the energy and vigor with which it was carried out. has not many parallels in history. Nothing less was eontem- ])lated than the union of the Arabic conquerors and the many races they had subjected since ilohammed's death, and the enthronement of what afterwards was called 'Pure Reason' as the sole deity'to be worshiped. The advanced should be free of all so-called religious fetters, which, as symbols and allegorical actions, should be laid all the heavier on the necks of the less advanced strata of society. The "believers' and 'con- querors' were to be made missionaries for un- belief and the implements for the destruction of their own empire. With an extraordinary knowl- edge of the human heart and luiman weakness, he ofTered devotion to the believer; liberty, if not license, to the "free in spirit'; philosophy to the 'strong-minded'; mystic hopes to the fanat- ics; miracles to the masses. The Messiah whom Abd Allah preached stood higher than Mohammed himself, and, though he did not reject the Koran, he yet contrived to allegorize and symbolize away nearly all its narratives and precepts. An elaborate secret doctrine was worked out. into which the members of the sect were initiated by degrees. Missionary schools were established, and the instruction given to the young mission- aries was artfully designed to win over not merely all the different ilohannuedan sects, both Snnnites and Shiites, but also .Tews ami Chris- tians. By the time the neophyte had completed the ninth and concluding degree of initiation, all his earlier religious beliefs had been explained away. He had learned that no miracle had ever been performed; that the prophet is merely a man distinguished by his purity and the perfec- tion of his intelligence; and that this purity of his intelligence is precisely what is called 'proph- ecy.' God throws into the prophet's mind what pleases Him, and that is what is understood by the "Word of God.' The prophet clothes this Word afterwards with llesh and bones, and comunini- cates it to the churches. He establishes by this means the systems of religious institutions which, appear to him the most advantageous for the ruling of men; but these institutions and behests are but temporary, and intended for the preser- vation of order and worldly interests. No man lio has knowledge need jiraetice any single one of them; to him his knowledge suffices. The creed of the Ismailians was gradually built up, and many changes «ere introduced intO' it at different times ; from it sprang various other sects. The most notable is that of the Karmatiiians, or Carmathians (so called from one of their leaders, surnamed Al-I':armat) . This sect sprang up in the ninth century, under the caliphate of Al-Mutamid, and by a combi- nation of extraordinary circumstances succeeded in establishing itself for a time as a political power which threatened to overturn the cali])hate itself. The practical exertions of Abd Allah ibn Maimun and their wonderful results had soon at- tracted the attention of the authorities. Obliged to flee from place to place, he sought refuge suc- cessively in Karaj, in Lspahan, in Ahwaz, in Basra, finally in Salamia, in Syria, where he died, leaving his son Ahmad his successor as chief of the Ismailians. One of Ahmad's missionaries (or, according to other accounts, a convert of a mis- sionary) was Al-Karmat. He lived in Irak, and was a fit man to carry out the plans of Abd Allah ibn Maimun. His house in Knfa became the centre whence all the missionaries were sent forth, and where all the details of a great conspiracy were directed. One of the most noted of the mission- aries, Abu Said, won over a great part of the people of Bahrein, the majority of whom were not Mohammedans and impatient of the Jloslem rule. In 900 Abu Said defeated an army of 10.000 men sent against him by the Caliph, and captured the latter's general. He then gained undisputed possession of the whole country, de- stroyed the old capital, Hajar, and made Lhasa, his own residence, the capital. At the same time two other Karmathian chieftains arose to threaten the Court of Bagdad, one near Kufa and the other in Syria. The former was de- feated, captured, and tortured to death. The latter at first defeated the Governor of Damas- cus most ignominiously, but in 907 the Caliph's general, Wasif. won a decisive victory and made an end of this branch of the Karniathians. Mean- while both Al-Karmat and Aliu Said disappear from view, and the leadership passed to Abu Said's son.. Abu Tahir. In 92.3 he seized Basra. The next .year he pillaged the Mecean caravan and iilundered Kufa. In 927 he gained a decided victory over the Caliph's troops in Irak. In 929 he appeared at Mecca at the head of his ariii.v. when the jiilgriiiiage was at its height. Attempts to buy iilm off were unavailing, and a fearful massacre, lasting several days, ensued. The hol.v places were desecrated and the Black Stone was carried off. Abu Tahir mav have thought that this act would destroy the sanctity of ilecea and the Kaaba in the eves of the faithful: but if so he was mistaken; the cara- vans still went on their usual annual pilgrimage as often as he did not restrain them by force. In 939 the emir of the pilgrimage, Abu Tahir's