Ibn Tumart


Ibn Tumart

(ĭ`bən to͞omärt`), c.1080–1130, Berber Muslim religious leader, founder of the AlmohadsAlmohads
, Berber Muslim dynasty that ruled Morocco and Spain in the 12th and 13th cent. It had its origins in the puritanical sect founded by Ibn Tumart, who stirred up (c.1120) the tribes of the Atlas Mts. area to purify Islam and oust the Almoravids.
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. He went to the East in his youth and returned convinced that he was the MahdiMahdi
[Arab.,=he who is divinely guided], in Sunni Islam, the restorer of the faith. He will appear at the end of time to restore justice on earth and establish universal Islam. The Mahdi will be preceded by al-Dajjal, a Muslim antichrist, who will be slain by Jesus.
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 and that he was destined to reform Islam. He was a rigorist and purist in doctrine and morality. Believing in a mystical concept of the oneness of God, Ibn Tumart fought violently the anthropomorphism then current. He became increasingly fanatical, until he finally preached a holy war against Muslims who disagreed with him. He was esteemed as a man of compelling personality and of great sagacity.