Ibn Tumart
Founder and spiritual leader of the Almohad movement
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via Wikipedia: Ibn Tumart · see source
Ibn Tumart was a North African Muslim leader who founded the Almohad movement in North Africa.[1] He was born around 1080 in a Masmuda Berber tribe of the Atlas Mountains in the southern Sous region of modern-day Morocco.[1] Tumart led a Berber tribesmen’s organization to end Almoravid rule in North Africa and instated a strict Muslim caliphate.[1]
Life and work
Ibn Tumart was given the nickname “Asafu” as a child, which translates to “firebrand” or “lover of light”.[1] He and his followers claimed that he was a descendant of Idriss I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in Northern Morocco and a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson.[1] After studying at a religious school in Baghdad, Tumart became more and more passionate about strict adherence to the teachings of Muhammed and the Qur’an.[1] Around 1117 Tumart traveled across North Africa to preach in towns about the populations’ impurities.[1]
Tumart publicly shamed those he deemed impure in Islam’s eyes, such as wine sellers and women not wearing veils in public.[1] Tumart believed in strict Zahiri Islamic and heavily criticized the Almoravids for putting too much of the dynasty’s law in secular courts’ hands.[1] After being banished from Marrakesh and the other cities of the region, Tumart traveled back with his followers to his birthplace in the Atlas Mountains.[1] Tumart proclaimed himself to be the Mahdi, an Islamic leader who would restore righteousness and a perfected Islamic society to Earth.[1]
He named his followers the Almohads or al-Muwaḥḥidūn, which translates to “those who affirm the unity of God”.[1] In 1122 Abu Hafs Umar ibn Yahya al-Hintati, a prominent Hintata chieftain, visited Tumart and offered to help shelter him from the Almoravid government.[1]
What the cited sources add
The Joe account states that many scholars believe “Tumart” was given to him as a nickname by his followers, meaning “good fortune,” “delight,” or “happiness” in the Berber language.[1] The same source notes that “Tumart” can be used interchangeably with the word “Saad,” a common Arabic name for males.[1] Joe reports that Tumart was present when Al-Ghazali heard his newest work was banned by the Almoravid government, and Al-Ghazali reportedly implored him to help overthrow the Almoravid government, though scholars haven’t confirmed this encounter.[1] The Joe account describes that upon entering Fez, Tumart assaulted the sister of Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf for not wearing a veil in public.[1]
Joe writes that Tumart was renowned for his charisma, extensive knowledge of Islam, and gift for public speaking.[1]
References
- Joe, "Ibn Tumart: Charismatic Religious Leader", 11 January 2022. facts only, no text reused. timelessmyths.com
- Wikipedia, "Ibn Tumart" (CC BY-SA 4.0): the article whose references led to the sources above en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ibn Tumart (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ibn Tumart (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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