Zandaqa: Difference between revisions

Zindīq (زنديق) or Zandik (𐭦𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭪) was initially used to negatively denote the followers of the [[Manichaeism]] religion in the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zandaqa In The Early Abbasid Period With Special Reference To Poetry|last=Taheri-Iraqi|first=Ahmad|location=University of Edinburgh|pages=3|quote=[...] the word zindiq/zandik was initially applied in the Sassanid Empire to the Manichaeans as a pejorative epithet [...]}}</ref> By the time of the 8theighth-century [[Abbasid|Abbasid Caliphate]] however, the meaning of the word zindīq and the adjectival ''zandaqa'' had broadened and could loosely denote many things: [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] Dualists as well as followers of Manichaeism, [[Agnosticism|agnostics]], and [[Atheism|atheists]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zandaqa In The Early Abbasid Period With Special Reference To Poetry|last=Taheri-Iraqi|first=Ahmad|location=University of Edinburgh|pages=3|quote=Allthough the word zindīq/zandik was initially, in the Sassanid Empire, applied to Manichaeans as a pejorative epithet, by the time of the Islamic Epoch its usage had broadened and was loosely applied to Gnostic Dualists, agnostics, atheists, and even free-thinkers and libertines. Eventually in the later period, even up to the present time, 'zindīq' came to be synonymous with 'irreligious'.}}</ref><ref name="Zaman1997">{{citation|last=Zaman|first=Muhammad Qasim|title=Religion and Politics Under the Early 'Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0xkpdl6UVOwC&pg=PA64|year=1997|publisher=Brill|pages=63–65|isbn=9004106782}}.</ref> However, many of those persecuted for ''zandaqa'' under the Abbasids claimed to be Muslims, and when applied to Muslims, the accusation was that the accused secretly harbored Manichaean beliefs.<ref name="Zaman1997" /> "The proof for such an accusation was sought, if at all, in an indication of some kind of dualism, or if that individual openly flouted Islamic beliefs or practices."<ref name="Zaman1997" /> As such, certain Muslim poets of early Abbasid times could thus also be accused of ''zandaqa'' as much as an actual Manichaean might.<ref name="Zaman1997" />

The reason for these persecutions are not easy to determine.<ref name="Zaman1997" /> ''Zandaqa'' was viewed as a threat to Islam, to Muslim society, and to the state.<ref name="Zaman1997" /> In the 8theighth century, Islamic norms were still under development and had not yet crystallized, and Muslims were still a small minority in the vast territories ruled by the caliphate, and even those who had converted were perceived to have been only "imperfectly" Islamized. Many of these converts had previously been Manichaeans, and Manichaeaism with its well developed missionary ideals had undergone a slight resurgence during early caliphate rule. As such, the Manichaeans were perceived as a threat to the security of the Muslim religious elite and to the Abbasid state. The threat was perceived to be especially evident in the quasi-scientific manner in which the Manichaeans posed unsettling questions, their skill at creating a favourable impression in public debate, and their ability in defending their own intellectually-appealing world-view.<ref name="Zaman1997" />

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