Инквизиция аль-Мамуна: Испытание веры в эпоху Аббасидов

Period of religious persecution instituted by the 'Abbasid Caliph al Ma'mun

The Mihna (محنة خلق القرآن) (also known as the first Muslim inquisition) was a period of religious persecution instituted by the Abbasid caliph al Ma'mun in 833 CE in which religious scholars were punished, imprisoned, or even killed unless they conformed to Muʿtazila doctrine. The policy lasted for eighteen years (833–851 CE) as it continued through the reigns of al Ma'mun's immediate successors, al Mu'tasim and al Wathiq, and four years of al Mutawakkil who reversed it in 851. The abolition of Mihna is significant both as the end of the Abbasid Caliph's pretension to decide matters of religious orthodoxy, and as one of the few instances of religious persecution among fellow Muslims in Medieval Islam.

In 827, the caliph al Ma’mun issued the proclamation of the doctrine of Quranic createdness. The proclamation was followed by the institution of the Mihna six years later, approximately four months before his sudden death in 833. The Mihna continued under his successors, al Mu’tasim and al Wathiq, before al Mutawakkil abolished it between 848 and 851. This particular doctrine was well known to be embraced by the Mu'tazilite school during this period. Muʿtazilites believed that good and evil were not always determined by revealed scripture or interpretation of scripture, but they were rational categories that could be established through unaided reason. Traditional scholarship viewed the proclamation of doctrine and the Mihna where al Ma’mun tested the beliefs of his subordinates as linked events, whereby the caliph exercised his religious authority in defining orthodoxy, and enforced his views upon others through his coercive powers as ruler. Al Ma’mun's motivations for imposing his beliefs upon the members of his government (such as his judges, for the scope of the Mihna was not extended to examining the beliefs of the commoners in the manner of the European Inquisitions) were attributed to his Mu'tazilite intellectual tendencies, his sympathies towards Shia Islam, or a shrewd decision to consolidate his religious authority during a time where the ulama were starting to be seen as the true guardians of religious knowledge and the Prophet's traditions.

It is important to note that in classical Islam, it was private individuals and not the caliphate who undertook the mission of developing the various Islamic sciences including the law. That is, the law, contrary to what happens in modern nation states, was not the exclusive preserve of the state. In fact, the jurists developed it in conscious opposition to the state (e. g., Jackson, 2002). From early on, there was a religious order in classical Islam that was distinct from the political order. The semi autonomy of the scholars resulted in the interesting phenomenon of the emergence of different, and regarding some issues, diametrically opposed schools of jurisprudence—all considered Islamically valid and authentic. The Mihna, within this context, reflects the caliph's frustration with the powerful and influential juristic culture. It lasted about fifteen years, after which the domains of authority of both the political and religious orders became more well defined. This does not mean that confrontation was the hallmark of the relationship between both orders. The relationship was more nuanced and involved not only confrontation but also collaboration. Generally speaking, the religious order stood as a buffer between the political order and the common people.