Reappraisal of the Religious Politics of the Fatimids in Maghrib

Despite the fact that the formation of the Fatimid state in Maghrip (297/909) was considered as a remarkable victory for the Ismā‘īlīs, success in the field of religious matters was not easily achievable there. As such, the religious and political ideals demanded that the Fatimids sought from the beginning to disseminate their religious beliefs among the inhabitants of the Maghrib territory. Accordingly, in addition to making the Isma’ilism a formal school, they made its promulgation as their main pivot of religious politics. The findings of this research indicate that contrary to the viewpoints of some researchers, the Fatimids were not only not negligent in dissemination of their formal sect in Maghrib, but also made great efforts in developing it, even though these efforts did not result in desirable outcomes. Education and propagation of Ismā‘īlī doctrines, prevention of performing the Sunnī religious rites of devotion, violent confrontation with the Malikite jurists of Maghrib, attempts to attract the attention of the Sunnī scholars by letting them participate in managing the current affairs as well as intellectual and cultural activities aiming at strengthening the theoretical and functional foundations of the Ismā‘īlī school of thought constituted the Fatimid’s different aspects of religious politics in Maghrib.