Ta’ifa
Ta’ifa. Arabic word which means “group” or “faction.” The plural of the word ta’ifa is tawa’if. Following the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, Muslim Spain split into rival factions (tawa’if). The tawa’if founded independent principalities. The princes of the tawa’if are called the kings of the ta’ifa -- the muluk al-tawa’if.
The Ta'ifa is a faction or party, as applied to the followers of any of the petty kings who appeared in Muslim Spain in a period of great political fragmentation early in the 11th century after the dissolution of the central authority of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. After the dictatorship of al-Muẓaffar (r. 1002–08), civil war reduced the caliphate to a puppet institution and allowed the various taifas to establish themselves in independent and short-lived kingdoms throughout the Iberian peninsula. There were at least 23 such states between 1009 and their final conquest by the Almoravids of North Africa in 1091. Thus, the Berbers counted in their party the Afṭasids of Badajoz, the Dhū al-Nūnids of Toledo, and the Ḥammūdids of Málaga, who briefly helped the Córdoban caliphate. The Andalusians, or Hispano-Arabs, were represented by the ʿAbbādids of Sevilla (Seville), the Jahwarids of Córdoba, and the Hūdids of Zaragoza. The Ṣaqālibah (Slav mercenaries) did not form dynasties but created such kingdoms as Tortosa, Denia, and Valencia.
Wars between the various states never ceased. The states had few scruples in asking for Christian support against rival Muslim kings or in turning to the North African kingdoms for aid against Christian princes. Such lack of unity and consistency made the kingdoms of the taifas fair targets for the growing forces of Christian reconquest. Soon Badajoz, Toledo, Zaragoza, and even Sevilla were paying tribute to the Christian Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile.
Despite their political incompetence, however, the taifa kings fostered a period of brilliant Islamic cultural revival. In the manner of the caliphal courts, they entertained poets; promoted the study of philosophy, natural science, and mathematics; and produced such noted figures as the poet-king al-Muʿtamid of Sevilla and his vizier Ibn ʿAmmār, the poets Ibn Zaydūn and Wallādah of Córdoba, and Ibn Ḥazm, the poet-philosopher-scholar.
In 1085 Alfonso took Toledo. At the invitation of several party kings, the Almoravid Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn entered Spain and defeated Alfonso at the Battle of Zallāqah, near Badajoz, in 1086. When Muslim fortunes in Spain did not improve, Yūsuf returned in 1088. He dissolved the party kingdoms (1090–91) and extended the Almoravid empire into Spain.
Group see Ta’ifa.
Faction see Ta’ifa.
Ta’ifa. Arabic word which means “group” or “faction.” The plural of the word ta’ifa is tawa’if. Following the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba, Muslim Spain split into rival factions (tawa’if). The tawa’if founded independent principalities. The princes of the tawa’if are called the kings of the ta’ifa -- the muluk al-tawa’if.
The Ta'ifa is a faction or party, as applied to the followers of any of the petty kings who appeared in Muslim Spain in a period of great political fragmentation early in the 11th century after the dissolution of the central authority of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. After the dictatorship of al-Muẓaffar (r. 1002–08), civil war reduced the caliphate to a puppet institution and allowed the various taifas to establish themselves in independent and short-lived kingdoms throughout the Iberian peninsula. There were at least 23 such states between 1009 and their final conquest by the Almoravids of North Africa in 1091. Thus, the Berbers counted in their party the Afṭasids of Badajoz, the Dhū al-Nūnids of Toledo, and the Ḥammūdids of Málaga, who briefly helped the Córdoban caliphate. The Andalusians, or Hispano-Arabs, were represented by the ʿAbbādids of Sevilla (Seville), the Jahwarids of Córdoba, and the Hūdids of Zaragoza. The Ṣaqālibah (Slav mercenaries) did not form dynasties but created such kingdoms as Tortosa, Denia, and Valencia.
Wars between the various states never ceased. The states had few scruples in asking for Christian support against rival Muslim kings or in turning to the North African kingdoms for aid against Christian princes. Such lack of unity and consistency made the kingdoms of the taifas fair targets for the growing forces of Christian reconquest. Soon Badajoz, Toledo, Zaragoza, and even Sevilla were paying tribute to the Christian Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile.
Despite their political incompetence, however, the taifa kings fostered a period of brilliant Islamic cultural revival. In the manner of the caliphal courts, they entertained poets; promoted the study of philosophy, natural science, and mathematics; and produced such noted figures as the poet-king al-Muʿtamid of Sevilla and his vizier Ibn ʿAmmār, the poets Ibn Zaydūn and Wallādah of Córdoba, and Ibn Ḥazm, the poet-philosopher-scholar.
In 1085 Alfonso took Toledo. At the invitation of several party kings, the Almoravid Yūsuf ibn Tāshufīn entered Spain and defeated Alfonso at the Battle of Zallāqah, near Badajoz, in 1086. When Muslim fortunes in Spain did not improve, Yūsuf returned in 1088. He dissolved the party kingdoms (1090–91) and extended the Almoravid empire into Spain.
Group see Ta’ifa.
Faction see Ta’ifa.
Ta’i‘ li-Amr Allah, al-
Ta’i‘ li-Amr Allah, al- (929-1003). ‘Abbasid caliph (r. 974-991). His physical strength seems to have been extraordinary, but political power was in the hands of the Buyids. He was deposed in 991 by the Buyid Baha’ al-Dawla.
Ta’i‘ li-Amr Allah, al- (929-1003). ‘Abbasid caliph (r. 974-991). His physical strength seems to have been extraordinary, but political power was in the hands of the Buyids. He was deposed in 991 by the Buyid Baha’ al-Dawla.
Taj al-Din Ibrahim Ahmedi
Taj al-Din Ibrahim Ahmedi(c.1330-1413). Greatest Ottoman poet of his time. Among other works, he wrote poems on the life and deeds of Alexander the Great, on the love of Jamshid and Khurshid and on medicine. He also composed panegyrics, among others on prince Suleyman Celebi, a son of Sultan Bayezid I.
Ahmedi, Taj al-Din Ibrahim see Taj al-Din Ibrahim Ahmedi
Taj al-Din Ibrahim Ahmedi(c.1330-1413). Greatest Ottoman poet of his time. Among other works, he wrote poems on the life and deeds of Alexander the Great, on the love of Jamshid and Khurshid and on medicine. He also composed panegyrics, among others on prince Suleyman Celebi, a son of Sultan Bayezid I.
Ahmedi, Taj al-Din Ibrahim see Taj al-Din Ibrahim Ahmedi
Tajdid
Tajdid. Term which means “renewal.” The term tajdid was applied to the post-eighteenth century movement to revive the true practice of Islam based on the Qur’an and hadith.
Tajdīd is the Arabic word for renewal. In Islamic context, Tajdīd refers to the revival of Islam, in order to purify and reform society, to move it toward greater equity and justice. One who practices Tajdīd is a Mujaddid. Compare: Islah
Renewal see Tajdid.
Tajdid. Term which means “renewal.” The term tajdid was applied to the post-eighteenth century movement to revive the true practice of Islam based on the Qur’an and hadith.
Tajdīd is the Arabic word for renewal. In Islamic context, Tajdīd refers to the revival of Islam, in order to purify and reform society, to move it toward greater equity and justice. One who practices Tajdīd is a Mujaddid. Compare: Islah
Renewal see Tajdid.
Tajik
Tajik. Name of a people living in Tajikistan, Turkestan and Afghanistan. The word is derived from the Arab tribal name of Tayy, the nearest Arab tribe to the Iranians. It was originally used with the meaning “Arab,” afterwards with that of “Iranian” in contrast to “Turk.” The Muslim conquerors seem to have been known to the Iranian population of central Asia by the Pahlavi word Tacik. As, in the view then prevailing, an Iranian convert to Islam became an Arab, the word reached the Turks with the meaning “a man from the land of Islam” and as the majority of the Muslims known to the Turks were Iranians, the word Tajik came to mean Iranian in Turkic. The Tajik of Central Asia speak various dialects of the Indo-European language family. Most Tajik are Hanafi Sunni, the major Muslim sect in Central and South Asia. Imami Shi‘a do, however, exist along with sizable numbers of Ismaili Shi‘a, who live scattered from the Bamiyan area to the Wakhan Corridor, the entrance to the Pamir Mountains. Ismaili groups in eastern Badakshan and the Wakhan sometimes speak Pamiri (East Iranian) dialects. Because of the version of Islam practiced by the Ismaili, many Tajik consider them to be a separate, non-Tajik ethnic group, in spite of identical non-religious cultural patterns.
The period 1973-1982 brought great changes to Afghanistan’s ethno-linguistic patterns. The Republic of Afghanistan (July 1973-April 1978) brought hope that the Tajik would be able to participate in a broadened political base. Such plans were interrupted by the coup d’etat of the leftist Khalqi (Masses) Party, which created the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) in April 1978. The Khalqi power elite was mainly Pushtun-oriented, however. Therefore, many Tajik joined the anti-government forces in the civil war which lasted until Christmas Eve 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and placed a puppet government in power. The leftist Parcham (Banner) Party became dominant.
The Soviet invasion also sent a signal to the other Muslim countries which bordered the Soviet Union: Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The invasion indicated that the Soviet Union would not tolerate the existence of Islamic regimes which might infect its own Muslims in Soviet Central Asia, such as the Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kirghiz, and Kazakhs.
In addition, the Soviet Union was never able to completely Russify its Central Asian republics, and many Soviet Central Asian Muslims always felt culturally at home with their ethno-linguistic cousins to the south. Some have actually crossed over into Afghanistan to fight with the Mujahidin (freedom fighters). The numbers were not large, but any number would be a significant dissident indicator to the Soviet leaders.
A sizable number of Central Asian Muslim reservists were called to active duty to participate in the occupation of Afghanistan. The Soviets reasoned that “their” Muslims would be able to fraternize and propagandize freely among Afghans (including the Tajik) because the two groups had languages in common and similar cultural heritages.
The Soviet estimate proved to be correct, but it backfired. Tajik (and other Muslim troops) had been told they were going to Afghanistan not only to “help a fellow Socialist regime in trouble” but to “drive out the interventionists” -- the Americans, Chinese, Pakistanis, Iranians, British, Israelies and Egyptians. Finding only Afghans on the scene, many Soviet Muslim troops became disgruntled and they were withdrawn by the end of February 1980. Before leaving, however, they purchased all the Qur’ans they could find in the bazaars and took them home to their families.
Inside Afghanistan, the successful resistance of the Tajik of the Panjsher Valley north of Kabul continues to inspire the Afghan Mujahidin in all areas. Four major Soviet offenses have been unsuccessful in gaining control of the valley.
The Tajiks constitute almost four-fifths of the population of Tajikistan. In the early 21st century there were more than 5,200,000 Tajiks in Tajikistan and more than 1,000,000 in Uzbekistan. There were about 5,000,000 in Afghanistan, where they constituted about one-fifth of the population. Another 40,000 lived in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in China.
The name Tajik refers to the traditionally sedentary people who speak a form of Persian called Tajik in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and who speak the modern Persian language in Afghanistan.
The Tajiks were the heirs and transmitters of the Central Asian sedentary culture that diffused in prehistoric times from the Iranian plateau into an area extending roughly from the Caspian Sea to the borders of China. They built villages of flat-roofed mud or stone houses and cultivated irrigated fields of wheat, barley, and millet. Their gardens were famous for melons and a variety of fruits. Their crafts were highly developed, and their towns along the caravan routes linking Persia, China, and India were centers of trade. Turks subsequently migrated westward into the area inhabited by the Tajiks. The latter became Turkicized in their culture, though many retained their Iranian language.
Most Tajiks are Sunni Muslims, but a few in remote mountain areas are Shīʿite.
Tajik. Name of a people living in Tajikistan, Turkestan and Afghanistan. The word is derived from the Arab tribal name of Tayy, the nearest Arab tribe to the Iranians. It was originally used with the meaning “Arab,” afterwards with that of “Iranian” in contrast to “Turk.” The Muslim conquerors seem to have been known to the Iranian population of central Asia by the Pahlavi word Tacik. As, in the view then prevailing, an Iranian convert to Islam became an Arab, the word reached the Turks with the meaning “a man from the land of Islam” and as the majority of the Muslims known to the Turks were Iranians, the word Tajik came to mean Iranian in Turkic. The Tajik of Central Asia speak various dialects of the Indo-European language family. Most Tajik are Hanafi Sunni, the major Muslim sect in Central and South Asia. Imami Shi‘a do, however, exist along with sizable numbers of Ismaili Shi‘a, who live scattered from the Bamiyan area to the Wakhan Corridor, the entrance to the Pamir Mountains. Ismaili groups in eastern Badakshan and the Wakhan sometimes speak Pamiri (East Iranian) dialects. Because of the version of Islam practiced by the Ismaili, many Tajik consider them to be a separate, non-Tajik ethnic group, in spite of identical non-religious cultural patterns.
The period 1973-1982 brought great changes to Afghanistan’s ethno-linguistic patterns. The Republic of Afghanistan (July 1973-April 1978) brought hope that the Tajik would be able to participate in a broadened political base. Such plans were interrupted by the coup d’etat of the leftist Khalqi (Masses) Party, which created the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) in April 1978. The Khalqi power elite was mainly Pushtun-oriented, however. Therefore, many Tajik joined the anti-government forces in the civil war which lasted until Christmas Eve 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and placed a puppet government in power. The leftist Parcham (Banner) Party became dominant.
The Soviet invasion also sent a signal to the other Muslim countries which bordered the Soviet Union: Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The invasion indicated that the Soviet Union would not tolerate the existence of Islamic regimes which might infect its own Muslims in Soviet Central Asia, such as the Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kirghiz, and Kazakhs.
In addition, the Soviet Union was never able to completely Russify its Central Asian republics, and many Soviet Central Asian Muslims always felt culturally at home with their ethno-linguistic cousins to the south. Some have actually crossed over into Afghanistan to fight with the Mujahidin (freedom fighters). The numbers were not large, but any number would be a significant dissident indicator to the Soviet leaders.
A sizable number of Central Asian Muslim reservists were called to active duty to participate in the occupation of Afghanistan. The Soviets reasoned that “their” Muslims would be able to fraternize and propagandize freely among Afghans (including the Tajik) because the two groups had languages in common and similar cultural heritages.
The Soviet estimate proved to be correct, but it backfired. Tajik (and other Muslim troops) had been told they were going to Afghanistan not only to “help a fellow Socialist regime in trouble” but to “drive out the interventionists” -- the Americans, Chinese, Pakistanis, Iranians, British, Israelies and Egyptians. Finding only Afghans on the scene, many Soviet Muslim troops became disgruntled and they were withdrawn by the end of February 1980. Before leaving, however, they purchased all the Qur’ans they could find in the bazaars and took them home to their families.
Inside Afghanistan, the successful resistance of the Tajik of the Panjsher Valley north of Kabul continues to inspire the Afghan Mujahidin in all areas. Four major Soviet offenses have been unsuccessful in gaining control of the valley.
The Tajiks constitute almost four-fifths of the population of Tajikistan. In the early 21st century there were more than 5,200,000 Tajiks in Tajikistan and more than 1,000,000 in Uzbekistan. There were about 5,000,000 in Afghanistan, where they constituted about one-fifth of the population. Another 40,000 lived in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in China.
The name Tajik refers to the traditionally sedentary people who speak a form of Persian called Tajik in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and who speak the modern Persian language in Afghanistan.
The Tajiks were the heirs and transmitters of the Central Asian sedentary culture that diffused in prehistoric times from the Iranian plateau into an area extending roughly from the Caspian Sea to the borders of China. They built villages of flat-roofed mud or stone houses and cultivated irrigated fields of wheat, barley, and millet. Their gardens were famous for melons and a variety of fruits. Their crafts were highly developed, and their towns along the caravan routes linking Persia, China, and India were centers of trade. Turks subsequently migrated westward into the area inhabited by the Tajiks. The latter became Turkicized in their culture, though many retained their Iranian language.
Most Tajiks are Sunni Muslims, but a few in remote mountain areas are Shīʿite.
Takdir Alisjahbana, Sutan
Takdir Alisjahbana, Sutan (Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana) (February 11, 1908-July 17, 1994). Indonesian essayist, poet, moralist, grammarian, novelist, sociologist, politician and patron of literature. Takdir always had an intense desire to raise Indonesia in all respects to the level of the advanced nations, and his contribution has been mainly in language and literature.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was the chief driving force behind the cultural journal Pudjangga Baru until its closure at the time of the Japanese invasion in 1942. His many essays of this period, concise and simple in style, preached a “dynamism” intended to vitalize the calm world of pre-war Indonesia.
Takdir Alisjahbana considered that ideas of “art for art’s sake” should be subordinated to this aim and he had much controversy with the traditionalists. Since the Japanese invasion his career has embraced the secretaryship of the Indonesian language commission; the preparation of a two volume dictionary of technical terms, Kamus Istilah; the editorship of a monthly magazine called Pembangunan, of a language journal and of a scientific monthly; a professorship of the Indonesian language and, later, a professorship of philosophy.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was born in Natal, North Sumatra. His family came from Minangkabau in 19th century. He was a founder and editor of Pujangga Baru. He became one of Indonesian literature's guiding lights in its formative years, particularly in the time around independence. Sutan Takdir believed that Indonesia could learn from the values of western civilization and remained a great exponent of modernism throughout his life. A renaissance man himself - the author of tens of books on a range of subjects - he was working on a novel at the time of his death in 1994. The famous novel, Layar Terkembang, showed him as a progressive author. He died in Jakarta on July 17, 1994.
The works of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana include:
* Tak Putus Dirundung Malang (novel, 1929)
* Dian Tak Kunjung Padam (novel, 1932)
* Tebaran Mega (collection of poetize, 1935)
* Tatabahasa Baru Bahasa Indonesia (1936)
* Layar Terkembang (novel, 1936)
* Anak Perawan di Sarang Penyamun (novel, 1940)
* Puisi Lama (potpourri, 1941)
* Puisi Baru (potpourri, 1946)
* Pelangi (potpourri, 1946)
* Pembimbing ke Filsafat (1946)
* Dari Perjuangan dan Pertumbuhan Bahasa Indonesia (1957)
* The Indonesian language and literature (1962)
* Revolusi Masyarakat dan Kebudayaan di Indonesia (1966)
* Kebangkitan Puisi Baru Indonesia (collection of essay, 1969)
* Grotta Azzura (novel three volumes, 1970 & 1971)
* Values as integrating vorces in personality, society and culture (1974)
* The failure of modern linguistics (1976)
* Perjuangan dan Tanggung Jawab dalam Kesusastraan (collection of essay, 1977)
* Dari Perjuangan dan Pertumbuhan Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Malaysia sebagai Bahasa Modern (collection of essay, 1977)
* Perkembangan Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia Dilihat dari Segi Nilai-Nilai (1977)
* Lagu Pemacu Ombak (collection of poetize, 1978)
* Amir Hamzah Penyair Besar antara Dua Zaman dan Uraian Nyanyian Sunyi (1978)
* Kalah dan Menang (novel, 1978)
* Menuju Seni Lukis Lebih Berisi dan Bertanggung Jawab (1982)
* Kelakuan Manusia di Tengah-Tengah Alam Semesta (1982)
* Sociocultural creativity in the converging and restructuring process of the emerging world (1983)
* Kebangkitan: Suatu Drama Mitos tentang Bangkitnya Dunia Baru (poetize drama, 1984)
* Perempuan di Persimpangan Zaman (collection of poetize, 1985)
* Seni dan Sastra di Tengah-Tengah Pergolakan Masyarakat dan Kebudayaan (1985)
* Sajak-Sajak dan Renungan (1987).
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana see Takdir Alisjahbana, Sutan
Takdir Alisjahbana, Sutan (Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana) (February 11, 1908-July 17, 1994). Indonesian essayist, poet, moralist, grammarian, novelist, sociologist, politician and patron of literature. Takdir always had an intense desire to raise Indonesia in all respects to the level of the advanced nations, and his contribution has been mainly in language and literature.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was the chief driving force behind the cultural journal Pudjangga Baru until its closure at the time of the Japanese invasion in 1942. His many essays of this period, concise and simple in style, preached a “dynamism” intended to vitalize the calm world of pre-war Indonesia.
Takdir Alisjahbana considered that ideas of “art for art’s sake” should be subordinated to this aim and he had much controversy with the traditionalists. Since the Japanese invasion his career has embraced the secretaryship of the Indonesian language commission; the preparation of a two volume dictionary of technical terms, Kamus Istilah; the editorship of a monthly magazine called Pembangunan, of a language journal and of a scientific monthly; a professorship of the Indonesian language and, later, a professorship of philosophy.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was born in Natal, North Sumatra. His family came from Minangkabau in 19th century. He was a founder and editor of Pujangga Baru. He became one of Indonesian literature's guiding lights in its formative years, particularly in the time around independence. Sutan Takdir believed that Indonesia could learn from the values of western civilization and remained a great exponent of modernism throughout his life. A renaissance man himself - the author of tens of books on a range of subjects - he was working on a novel at the time of his death in 1994. The famous novel, Layar Terkembang, showed him as a progressive author. He died in Jakarta on July 17, 1994.
The works of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana include:
* Tak Putus Dirundung Malang (novel, 1929)
* Dian Tak Kunjung Padam (novel, 1932)
* Tebaran Mega (collection of poetize, 1935)
* Tatabahasa Baru Bahasa Indonesia (1936)
* Layar Terkembang (novel, 1936)
* Anak Perawan di Sarang Penyamun (novel, 1940)
* Puisi Lama (potpourri, 1941)
* Puisi Baru (potpourri, 1946)
* Pelangi (potpourri, 1946)
* Pembimbing ke Filsafat (1946)
* Dari Perjuangan dan Pertumbuhan Bahasa Indonesia (1957)
* The Indonesian language and literature (1962)
* Revolusi Masyarakat dan Kebudayaan di Indonesia (1966)
* Kebangkitan Puisi Baru Indonesia (collection of essay, 1969)
* Grotta Azzura (novel three volumes, 1970 & 1971)
* Values as integrating vorces in personality, society and culture (1974)
* The failure of modern linguistics (1976)
* Perjuangan dan Tanggung Jawab dalam Kesusastraan (collection of essay, 1977)
* Dari Perjuangan dan Pertumbuhan Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Malaysia sebagai Bahasa Modern (collection of essay, 1977)
* Perkembangan Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia Dilihat dari Segi Nilai-Nilai (1977)
* Lagu Pemacu Ombak (collection of poetize, 1978)
* Amir Hamzah Penyair Besar antara Dua Zaman dan Uraian Nyanyian Sunyi (1978)
* Kalah dan Menang (novel, 1978)
* Menuju Seni Lukis Lebih Berisi dan Bertanggung Jawab (1982)
* Kelakuan Manusia di Tengah-Tengah Alam Semesta (1982)
* Sociocultural creativity in the converging and restructuring process of the emerging world (1983)
* Kebangkitan: Suatu Drama Mitos tentang Bangkitnya Dunia Baru (poetize drama, 1984)
* Perempuan di Persimpangan Zaman (collection of poetize, 1985)
* Seni dan Sastra di Tengah-Tengah Pergolakan Masyarakat dan Kebudayaan (1985)
* Sajak-Sajak dan Renungan (1987).
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana see Takdir Alisjahbana, Sutan
Takfir (Jama'at al-Takfir wa al-Hijrah). After a group of radical Muslims in Cairo abducted and assassinated Shaykh Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi, a former Eyptian minister of awqaf and Azhar affairs, in July 1977, the Egyptian media referred to this group as Jama‘at al-Takfir wa al-Hijrah. The term defies simple definition, but the meaning is clear: the society “which accuses [nominal Muslims] of unbelief” (takfir) urges [true Muslims] to “emigrate” (hijrah) from the paganism of modern Egypt.
This, however, was not a name that the group had chosen for itself. Created for it by the Egyptian authorities, the name drew attention to the two tenets of the group that were bound to be the least attractive to the Egyptian public: true Muslims must emigrate to Muslim controlled political communities, away from the day-to-day unbelief of secular Egypt; and people who do not live according to the Qur’an are not Muslims, but unbelievers.
The self-appellation of the group appears to have been Jama‘at al-Muslimin, the Society of Muslims. This name suggest a certain zeal for religious exclusiveness. The group, so it appears, regarded itself as the real and only community of Muslims. Whoever refused to become a member of the group or wanted to leave it, declared himself to be an enemy of God and was to be treated accordingly. One of the group’s surviving ex-members reports that members who considered leaving the group were threatened with death, the traditional punishment for apostasy and desertion from Islam. Such would be defectors came to fear their fellow-members and so became easy prey for agents of the Egyptian secret services. It follows that in this way the group became the center of a complicated game of information and disinformation that cannot be unraveled by the uninitiated. Every crime supposedly perpetrated by members of the group may have been committed by, or at the instigation of, government provocateurs.
The group was led by Shukri Ahmad Mustafa (b. 1942), who was executed on March 29, 1978, together with the actual perpetrators of the murder of Shaykh al-Dhahabi. Shukri taught that all present societies are un-Islamic; that only members of his group are true Muslims; and that the classical system of Islamic law must be rejected because it is not the word of God but only the work of men: “We do not accept the words ascribed to the Prophet’s contemporaries, or the opinions of those versed in Islamic Law, the fuqaha’. We do not accept the opinions of the early jurists, or their consensus (ijma’), or the other idols (asnam) like analogy (qiyas). How can words of mere humans be a source of divine guidance?”
Such statements imply an almost complete rejection of fiqh (jurisprudence) and hadith, hence a rejection of Islam as we know it, with the exception of the Qur’an. With regard even to the Qur’an, Shukri admitted, under questioning in court, that he was not certain about the infallibility of its transmission. What is known of Islamic history Shukri regarded as “stories of dubious authenticity.” The difference from the teachings of modern Muslim mainstream fundamentalists, who want to implement traditional Islamic law in its entirety, both in public and in private life, could not be greater. Indeed, this movement differed markedly from the other, more conventional, Islamic fundamentalist movements in the 1970s and 1980s. Whereas mainstream Islamic radicalism wanted to apply Islamic Law in its totality at whatever cost, the Shukri movement wanted to do away with Islamic law in its traditional form.
It is ironic that, nevertheless, it was the Shukri movement that was used by the Egyptian authorities to organize the general suppression of the Islamic fundamentalist revival in Egypt in the late 1970s. In the summer of 1977, the Egyptian authorities were convinced that they had no alternative but to curb the Islamic movement in its entirety. No matter how poorly organized this movement was, by insisting on the application of Islamic law, it challenged the authority of the government, propagated revolution, and demanded the establishment of a non-secular Islamic state. Shukri’s group could be used by the secret services precisely because its inflexible condemnation of apostates drove into the arms of the authorities those members who contemplated renouncing its ideas. These men concluded that as long as they had to remain in the group, service as government informers or agents provocateurs could be profitable. This, one has to conclude, is the larger significance of the Takfir wa al-Hijrah, a movement that has not lasted.
Like Shukri’s movement, Islamic fundamentalism is a natural response to the secularization of the ruling elites in the Muslim world. Islamic fundamentalists, like Shukri and his followers, want to put the power of the omnipotent modern state into the hands of the best possible Muslims. It is this obsession with the power of the state that makes them so dangerous in the eyes of the authorities. Yet it is clear in retrospect that Shukri Mustafa never attracted a mass following and that Takfir wa al-Hijrah represented a case of cult formation rather than a true revivalist movement.
Jama'at al-Takfir wa al-Hijrah see Takfir
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