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Denouncing the Damned Zindīq! Struggle and Interaction Between Monotheism and Dualism

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Denouncing the Damned Zindīq! Struggle and Interaction Between Monotheism and Dualism Chapter 3 Denouncing the Damned Zindīq! Struggle and Interaction between Monotheism and Dualism István T. Kristó-Nagy 1 Introduction The goal of this paper is to examine three interrelated questions: (1) Why were the Manichaeans excluded from the category of the “people of the book” in spite of the fact that the scriptural authenticity of Manichaeism was the strong­ est possible? (2) Why were the zanādiqa persecuted? (3) What was the influ ence of dualist critique on Islam? Focusing on the reasons for the first inquisition and persecution in Islam, I also aim to provide insight into the broad problematic of the social, psychological, logical, and biological patterns that manifest them­ selves in dualism and in monotheism. 2 The Meaning of the Term zandaqa The first inquisition and persecution in Islam was against the zanādiqa. It was conducted by the recently established ʿAbbāsid dynasty in the second part of the second/eighth century, especially between 163/779 and 170/786.1 The zindīq (pl. zanādiqa) is one who practices zandaqa. The Arabic term zindīq is bor­ rowed from the Pahlavi, but its origin is probably Aramaic. Zaddīḳ in Aramaic means “right eous,” and was used by the Manichaeans as a term for their “elect,” who were distinguished from the “auditors,” that is, the common members of * This title echoes al­Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm’s Refutation against the Damned Zindīq Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (al-Radd ʿalā l-zindīq al-laʿīn Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ). See Guidi, La lotta. ** I would like to thank Dr. David Bennett as well as Charlotte Fryer, Emily Martha Silkaitis, and Katie Orchard for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper, which is a revised and extended version of my “Quelles étaient les raisons de la première inquisition en Islam?” 1 See Vajda, “Les zindîqs”; Chokr, Zandaqa, pp. 23–25, 61–64, 69–89, and passim; and François C. de Blois, “Zindīḳ,” The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, vol. 11, pp. 510–513. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004307834_005 Denouncing the Damned Zindīq! 57 their community.2 Just as the term “Manichaean” was used in the Christian world for nearly two millennia to describe an incredible variety of beliefs, such is also the case for the term zindīq in Islam. Initially used to refer to the follow­ ers of the religion founded by Mani, the term was extended to vilify a multi­ tude of ideas and behaviors by those who saw them as opposed to Islam and accordingly disapproved of them. 3 The State of Research on the Subject In spite of the importance of the zanādiqa’s criticism of Islam, both their persecution by Muslims and their influence on Islam remain remarkably understudied. There are, however, some detailed studies of the subject that are of paramount significance for the history of religion, culture, and soci­ ety. We should first mention the pioneering work of Georges Vajda3 and Francesco Gabrieli.4 Sarah and Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa produced an impor­ tant article comparing the reactions to Manichaeism by pagan Neo­Platonist philosophers, Christian theologians, and their Muslim peers, pointing out the influence of Manichaeism on them.5 Whereas their study is focused on intellectual history, Roberto Giorgi, whose monograph has a similar compar­ ative approach, links intellectual to social history.6 Although his terminol­ ogy occasionally seems inadequate and his social theories a bit forced,7 he nevertheless presents a profound analysis of the essence and importance of zindīq thought. It is precisely the understanding of this essence and this importance that is lacking in perhaps the most detailed monograph on the topic of zan- daqa, by Melhem Chokr.8 The many merits of this study are marred by the author’s approach, which seems to be that of a late­20th­century mutakallim, using scholarship primarily to defend Islam. He comes close to glorifying the 2 See de Blois, ibid., section 1. “The Word,” pp. 510f., and Chokr, Zandaqa, p. 45. 3 Vajda, “Les zindîqs,” pp. 173–229, and idem, “Le témoignage.” 4 Gabrieli, “La « zandaqa ».” 5 Stroumsa/Stroumsa, “Aspects.” 6 Giorgi, Pour une histoire. 7 For instance, he consistently translates the term zindīq as “athée,” see Giorgi, Pour une his- toire, pp. 17, 37, 44, 55, 57, 70, 71, 75, 77, 103, 104, 106, and passim. 8 See above, n. 3..
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