a journal in ibadhiya

8/14/2019 A Journal in Ibadhiya

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Dialectical Anthropology, 11:1 (1986) 93-1189 1 9 86 M a r t i n u s N i j h o f f P u b l i s h e r s , D o r d r e c h t - P r i n t e d i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s 93Case StudyCULTURAL ECOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE FORMATION OF THE IBADITEDESERT CONFEDERACYMahfoud Bennoune*

B efore t he i n t roduc t i on o f t he cu l t u r a l a r eaconcep t by Mason i n h i s s t udy o f numerousconf i gu ra t i ons o f N or t h A mer i can cu l t u r e s ,t he geograph i ca l o r env i ronment a lde t e rmi n i sm approach had been p r eva l en te l sewhere for a long t ime. In fac t , an Arabgeographer , a l -Masudi , descr ib ing thenor t hw es t e rn Europeans i n t he t en t h cen t u ryw ro t e t ha t :

T h e p e o p l e s o f t h e N o r t h a r e t h o s e f o r w h o m t h e s u n i sd i s t a n t f r o m t h e z e n i t h . . . c o l d a n d d a m p p r e v a i l i n t h o s er e g i o n s , a n d s n o w a n d i c e f o l l o w o n e a n o t h e r i n e n d l e s ss u c c e s s i o n . T h e w a r m h u m o u r i s la c k i n g a m o n g t h e m ; t h e i rb o d i e s a r e l a r g e , t h e i r n a t u r e s g r o s s , t h e i r m a n n e r s h a r s h ,t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g d u l l a n d t h e i r t o n g u e s h e a v y . . . t h e i rre l i g ious be l i e fs l ack so l i d i t y . . . t hose of t hem who aref a r t h e s t t o t h e n o r t h a r e t h e m o s t s u b j e c t t o s t u p i d i t y ,g r o s s n e s s a n d b r u t i s h n e s s . [ 1 ]In resor t ing to the pos tu la t ion of a r ig id

theory tha t ascer ta ins a to ta l envi ronmenta lde terminism, a l -Masudi impl ied in the abovequo t ed pas sage , and i n numerous o t he rwri t ings, that civi l izat ion as a way of l i fecannot poss ib ly emerge , evolve and f lour i shbo t h i n t he t r op i ca l zones and t he no r t he rncolder regions , such as Scandinavia , which hedescr ibed above . He went as far to sugges ttha t even the b io logica l make-up of people i sp r ede t e rmi ned by geograph i c f ac t o r s .H ow ever , a l -Masud i ' s geo -b i o l og i ca lde t e rmi n i sm w as s t r ong l y r e j ec t ed by IbnK ha l dun . I ndeed , w i t h h i s ou t s t and i ngversa t i le mind tha t pro duc ed ins ight fu l c r it i ca land o r i g i na l t hough t , I bn K ha l dun d i smi s sed* D r . M a h f o u d B e n n o u n e , D e p a r t m e n t o f A n t h r o p o l o g y ,U n i v e r s i t y o f A l g i e rs .

a l -Masud i ' s i mp l acab l e env i ronment a lde t e rmi n i sm as an e r roneous , unprovenhypothes i s .

A l - M a s u d i u n d e r t o o k t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e r e a s o n f o r t h el e v it y , e x c it a b il i ty a n d e m o t i o n a l i s m i n N e g r o e s , a n da t t e m p t e d t o e x p l a i n i t . H o w e v e r , h e d i d n o b e t t e r t h a n t or e p o r t , o n t h e a u t h o r i t y o f G a l e n a n d . . . a l- K i n d i , th a t t h er e a s o n i s a w e a k n e s s o f t h e i r b r a i n s w h i c h r e s u l t s i n aweakness i n t he i r i n t e l l ec t . Thi s i s an i nconclus ive andu n p r o v e n s t a t e m e n t . G o d g u i d e s w h o m e v e r H e w a n t s t oguide [2] .

Ins t ead , I bn K ha l dun o f f e r ed an eco l og i ca l ,mater ia l , and cul tura l explanat ion. That i s ,g iven the technology used a t any one t ime,economic surpluses that sustain civi l ized l i fecou l d no t be de r i ved f rom t he co l de r andt ropica l zones .

Never the less , th i s ancient doct r ine ofenvi ronmenta l de terminism has pers i s tent lysurvived und er var ious fo rms in the soc ia l andbiologica l sciences . Thus , fo l lowing the v iewsexpressed by a l -Masudi and others , Bodin(1580), in h i s work o n c l imat ic and ge ographiccondi t ions , d iv ided the ear th in to three zones :tempera te , f r ig id , and tor r id .

Wh o e v e r c o n s i d e r s t h e n a t u r e o f t h e p l a n e t s w i l l f i n d , . . .t h a t t h i s p o s i t i o n a c c o r d s w i t h t h e t h r e e r e g i o n s I h a v en a m e d , g i v i n g t h e m o s t d i s t a n t p l a n e t , t h a t i s S a t u r n , t o t h es o u t h e r n r e g i o n , J u p i t e r t o t h e m i d d le o n e , a n d M a r s t o t h enor thern . . . [3 ] .

Here appears the o ld magica l and as t ro logica lbe l ie f tha t the s ta rs , p lanets and var ious o therheavenly bodies inf luence the c l imat ic zonesof t he ea r t h ' s su r f ace . H ow ever , B od i n w ascau t i ous enough t o t r y t o demons t r a t e a l so"h ow l a rge l y food , l aw s and cus t oms have t he


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94power to change nat ure " [4] . Buffo n, as anatura l is t , appeared to grasp the role played,a t leas t, by hum an labor in the t ransfo rmati onof the phys ical landscape. He wrote that :

by his intelligence the animals have been tame d, subjugat ed,broken in, and reduced to perpetual obedience. By hislabour marshes have been drained, rivers embanked andprovided with locks, fore sts cleared, moorlands cultivated... The entire face of the earth bears today the imprint ofman's power which, although subordinate to that o f nature,has often done more [5].

Though Buffon ' s man i s a doe r , thetechnolog y that ar t icula tes him with theenvi ronmen t is no t m ent ioned . One o f themost inf luent ia l theoris ts of geographicalde te rmin ism was the F rench En l igh tenmentphi losopher and sociologis t , Montesquieu. Infact, whe n he a t tempted to expla in the causalfactors underlying the various Greek socio-pol i t ica l regimes , he s ta ted blunt ly that " thesteril i ty of the soil in Attica established apopular government and the fer t i l i ty ofLacedaem, an ar is tocra t ic one" [6] .However , in the beginning of the 19thcentury, Hegel dismissed environmentaldeterm inism as a whimsical explanatoryconcept . He excla imed dogmatical ly , "wherethe G reeks once l ived the Turks now l ive; andthat is an end to the mat t er" [7] . But , th is didnot eradicate the pers is tence of en viron menta ldeterminis t explanat ions from the socia l andbiological sciences. In the twentieth centurythis doctr ine has been championed by Semple[8] , who popular ized Ratzel ' s anthropo-geography in the Engl ish-speaking countr ies .Bes ides advancing not ions such as themon oton y of a dese r t env i ronment insp ires amono theis t ic re l igion, she s ta ted that

in every problem of history there are two main factors,variously stated as heredity and environment, man and hisgeographic conditions, the internal forces of race and theexternal forces of habitat [9].

Semple concluded her sect ion on th e Stabilityof Geographic Factors in History, byemphasiz ing that

the geographic element in the long history of humandevelopment has been operating strongly and operatingpersistently ... It is a stable force. It never sleeps. Thisnatural environment, this physical basis of history, is for allintents and purposes immutable in comparison with theother fac tor in the problem - shifting, plastic, progressive,retrogressive man [10].

In this work, Semple combined both racia land environmental determinism, disguised bya flowery romantic style. In stating herdoctr ine , however , she resorted to subject ivepersonif ica t ion and glori f ica t ion of nature ,whose immutable sol idi ty is contras ted withephemeral human l i fe . This may be anesthetically satisfying lyric style, but itconveyed and expressed bad sc ience.The second proponent o f env i ronmenta ldeterminis t ic doctr ine in the twent ie th centuryis Hunt ington; he sugges ted c l imat ic changeswhich occurred in the Near Eas t and southernEuro pe resul ted in the shif tings of c ivi l iza t ionin those parts of the world. Indeed,Hu ntin gto n se t himself the task of analyzing"the role of biological inheri tance andphysical environm ent in inf luencing the courseof his to ry" [11]. H e came to the conclus ion inhis book, ent i t led Mainsprings of Civilization- Heredity, Geography, Climate, that c l imat iccondi t ions de te rmine human "soc ia la t t i tudes" [12] . He s ta ted that

temperature, rainfall, and oth er climatic conditions have asmuch effect upon social conditions as upon the human body... To take a simple illustration, a hot climate, especially ifit is humid, makes people feel disinclined to work. Thisencourages the more clever people to get a living with aslittle physical exertion as possible. Their example foster s thegrowt h of a social system in which hard work is regarded asplebian. Disinclination toward extra effort also leads to theneglect of medical care and sanitation, thus permittingdisease to play havoc, and still further reducing humanvigor. By encouraging one type of social organization anddiscouraging another, climate has great influence upon thedevelopment of civilization [13].

Even the nature of re l igion, for Hunt in gton , isde te rmined by the phys ica l env i ronment .Wi thou t get t ing involved in a cr i t ica ldiscuss ion concerning his learnedconsidera t ions purport ing to the interact ion


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be t w een gene t i c , c l i ma t i c and env i ronment a lf ac t o r s , H un t i ng t on ' s v i ew o f a cu l t u r a lsys tem appears u t te r ly super f ic ia l . As for theovera l l theory of soc iocul tura l causa t ion , i t i sbased on t he i l lu so ry a s sumpt i on t ha t m en o fgen i us a r e t he p r i me mover s o f cu l t u r a l andsoc i e t a l evo l u t i on . Th i s "b i g man t heory"ma sked behin d hi s sc ienti f ic j a rgo n, l ed h im toover look the d ia lec t ica l na ture ofsociocul tura l dynamics . Thus , h i s a t tempt toext r ica te the de terminis t fac tors under ly ingsocia l and cul tura l causa t ion fa i led because i tremained t inged wi th bas ic theore t ica lp r emi ses o f env i ronment a l de t e rmi n i sm.

I t was such er roneous theore t ica la s sumpt i ons t ha t l ed Febvre , one o f t he mos tou t s t and i ng human geographe r s andh i s t o r i ans i n modern t i mes , t o exami ne t hehis tor ica l and magica l roots of th i s doct r ine .H e ded i ca t ed a w ho l e book , en t it l ed s i mpl y AGeographical Introduction to History, to i t[14] . Febvre wrote of the envi ronmenta lde terminis t s :

L e t t h e m b y a ll m e a n s m a k e t h e " p o w e r s o f t h e s o i l " a n dt h e " f o r c e s o f t h e c l i m a t e " a c t o n t h e " g e n i u s o f p e o p l e s "a n d t h e " h i s t o r y o f n a t i o n s " a s t h e i r f a n c y d i c t a t e s . B u tthey may adventure a lone . Thei r work seems to us s te r i le -i f n o t d a n g e r o u s . T h e y h a v e t a k e n t h e p r o b l e m o fe n v i r o n m e n t r e a d y s e t f r o m a n o l d - t i m e t r a d i t i o n . T h e yhave not t r ied to re juvena te i t s se t t ings they s t ick to tha tgeographica l in f luence , a t bo th powerfu l and obscure ,mul t i fo rm an d com plex , which i s exer ted , they te l l us , bo thon man phys ica l and mora l and on man soc ia l and pol i t i ca l- on the co lour of h i s sk in , the shape of h i s body , thes t rength of h i s o rganism, h is psychic qua l i t i es and defec ts ,h i s jud ic ia l , econom ic and re l ig ious ins t i tu t ions - even thep r o d u c t i o n o f h i s m i n d , t h e c r e a t i o n s o f a r t a n d g e n i u s .They s ta te i t as a fac t . But they do not p rove i t [15] .

Thus such g rand i ose and om ni po t en t t heo r i e s ,which indulge in expla in ing a l l soc iocul tura lcausa t ions by the geographic fac tor , fa i led toexpla in anything a t a l l . This then inducedFebvre t o r e fu t e s t r ong l y t he env i ronment a lde terminis t ic doct r ine and ins tead he t r i ed toe labora te , def ine and e luc ida te the sc ient i f ics t udy o f hu ma n i n t e r ac t i on w i t h geograph i ca lset t ings. This discipl ine is cal led in France" H u m a n G e o g r a p h y . "

95There was gradual ly es tab l i shed a rea l sc ience of there la t ions of man wi th na ture - h i s p resent re la t ions , and h isre la t ions in the pas t . . . i t has been es tab l i shed to s tudy there la t ions be tween man and h is envi ronment " [16] .

Tw o years l a ter , in 1926, Wal l i s, an A me r icanan t h ropo l og i s t , w ro t e :t h o s e w h o s u p p o r t t h e t h e s i s t h a t t h e g e o g r a p h i c a lenvi ronment i s respons ib le for cu l ture show noth ing morethan cu l ture mu s t subs is t in the envi ronment , and tha t g iventhe cu l ture and the envi ronment , a cor re la t ion be tween thetwo can be made [17] .

Having examined the genera l h i s tor ica lb a c k g r o u n d o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n dgeograph i ca l de t e rmi n i sm, l e t u s t u rn n ow t oanalyze br ief ly the work of a fewan t h ropo l og i s t s w ho have endeavored t oex t r i ca t e t he "co r r e l a t i on" be t w een humansand the i r phys ica l and cul tura l envi ronments .

Mason ' s f o rmul a t i on o f cu l t u r a l a r ea w asfu r t he r e l abora t ed by K roebe r i n t he U n i t edSta tes . He in t roduced Ratze l ' s genera lconcep t , know n as t he Oikumene ( thei nhab i t ed ) , an i dea w h i ch conno t e s va r i ousc lus ters of cul tures sca t te red over d iverseenv i ronment s . I n so do i ng , K roebe r w asdraw n t o r e fo rmul a t e t he geograph i ca ldi s t r ibut ion of cul tura l complexes (areas) . Heendeavored t o make de t a i l ed compara t i vecross-cul tura l s tudies in order to demonst ra tethe s imi lar i t i es and di f ferences of numerouscul tura l t ra i t s . But , as Wolf pointed out , "h i sul t imate order ing of cul tura l forms . . . wasa lways in te rms of s ty le , not in t e rms ofcu l t u r a l componen t s o rgan i zed t o so l ve t heon-going l i fe problems of people . " [18] ThusK roebe r and t he geograph i ca l a r ea s choo lfa i led to grasp the s igni f icance of cul tura lecology.

Cul tura l ecology as a resourceful researchs t ra tegy was devised by Steward, who def inedi t in the fo l lowing te rms:

Cul tura l eco logy i s the s tudy of the processes by which asoc ie ty adapts to i t s envi ron ment . I t s p r inc ipa l p roblem is tode te rmine whether these adapta t ions in i t ia te in te rna l soc ia lt r a n s f o r m a t i o n o r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a n g e . . . I t s m e t h o drequi res examina t ion of the in te rac t ion of soc ie t ies and


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96s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h o n e a n o t h e r a n d w i t h t h e n a t u r a le n v i r o n m e n t . . . I t d i s t i n g u i s h e s d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o fs o c i o c u l tu r a l s y s t e m s a n d i n s t i tu t i o n s , r e c o g n i z e d b o t hc o o p e r a t i o n a n d c o m p e t i t i o n a s p r o c e s s e s o f i n t e r a c t i o n ,a n d i t p o s t u l a te s t h a t e n v i r o n m e n t a l a d a p t a t i o n s d e p e n d o nt h e t e c h n o l o g y , n e e d s , a n d s t r u c t u r e o f t h e s o c i e t y a n d o nt h e n a t u r e o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . I t i n c l u d e s a n a l y s e s o fa d a p t a t i o n s t o t h e s o ci a l e n v i r o n e n m n t . . . [ 1 9] .

In other words , cul ture i s conceived as anadapt ive mechanism devised to ar t icula tepeople wi th thei r socia l and physicalenv i ronment . T he s i gn i f i cance o f S t eward ' sde f in i ti on o f cu l t u ra l eco logy r e fu t ed bo thcu l t u r a l and env i ronmenta l de t e rmin i sm. AsWolf expla ined i t :

I t d i f f e r s f r o m e i t h e r e n v i r o n m e n t a l d e t e r m i n i s m , w h i c hs t r i v e s t o e x p l a i n c u l t u r e i n t e r m s o f i t s e n v i r o n m e n t o rc u l t u r a l d e t e r m i n i s m , w h i c h e x p l a in s t h e a d a p t a t i o n t o t h ee n v i r o n m e n t p u r e l y a s a r e s u l t o f c u l t u r e , b y m a k i n g t h eq u e s t i o n o f h o w a p a r t i c u l a r t e c h n o l o g y i s u s e d i n ap a r t i c u l a r e n v i r o n m e n t a n o p e n o n e . S o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o na p p e a r s n o l o n g e r a s a c a t e g o r y l i k e m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e o ri d e o l o g y , b u t a s a c o m p l e x p r o c e s s b y w h i c h g r o u p s o fpeople wi th in soc i e t ies re la t e t hemselv es t o each o ther i n t hese t t i ng of ava i l ab l e resources [20] .

Never theless , when S teward expla ined howthe eco log i cal " i n t e r ac t i on a r eas" o r " soc i a lf ie lds" were in ter re la ted, he pos tula tede r roneous ly t ha t cu l t u r es a r e made up o fintegra ted cores , ecological ly determined byrandom d i f fus ion f rom ad j acen t a r eas , and ape r iphe ra l boundary which he r e f e r s t o a smere ly " t he r es t o f cu l t u r e , " n o t t oo i nvo lvedin the processes of cul tura l adapta t ion.S teward expla ined the concepts of core andper iphery thus :

C u l t u r a l c o r e - t h e c o n s t e l la t i o n o f f e a t u r e s w h i c h a r e m o s tc lose ly re l a t ed t o subs i s t ence ac t iv i t i es and econ omica r r a n g e m e n t s . T h e c o r e i n c l u d e s s u c h s o c i a l , p o l i t i c a l a n dre l i g ious pa t t e rns as empi r i ca l l y de t ermined to be c lose lyc o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e s e a r r a n g e m e n t s . I n n u m e r a b l e o t h e rf e a t u r e s m a y h a v e g r e a t p o t e n t i a l v a r i a b i l i t y b e c a u s e t h e yare l ess s t rongly t i ed to t he core . T hese l a t t e r , o r se cond aryf e a t u r e s , a r e d e t e r m i n e d t o a g r e a t e r e x t e n t b y p u r e l yc u l t u r a lr h i s t o ri c a l f a c t o r s - b y r a n d o m i n n o v a t i o n s o r b yd i f f u s i o n a n d t h e y g i v e t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f o u t w a r ddi s t i nc t i veness t o cu l t ures wi th s im i l a r cores [21] .

To put i t d i f ferent ly , he thou ght tha t there arepr imary f ea tu res o r componen t s o f a cu l t u r ethat cons t i tu te a cul tura l and ecological corewhich are , in tegra ted in to th e sociocul tura lf ea tu res o r componen t s which a r e d i f fused ,shaped haphaza rd ly by t he complexinteract ions of cul tures . S teward seems toimply that only cer ta in aspects of cul ture areecological ly determ ined. As a resul t, he endedup by i n t roduc ing an apparen t de t e rmin i sm,which he re jec ted in formulat ing his energysys tem, that resembles the Wit t fogel ianhydraul ic-ecological determinism. In sodo ing , S t eward underes t ima ted , on t he onehan d, the ef fec ts of external in terre la t ionshipsof cu l t u r es , and on t he o the r , he ove r lookedthe bas ic fac t tha t the funct ionalinter re la tedness of a l l socia l e lements and thei rcul tura l components are in tegra ted in to thewhole sociocul tura l sys tem. Never theless ,S t eward ' s g r ea t mer i t and mos t impor t an tcon t r i bu t i on t o cu l t u r a l an th ropo logy l ay i nthe fac t tha t he s t imula ted ecological researchand thus se t in mot ion the s tudy of cul tura lecology, not as a theory, but as a researchs t ra t egy and me tho d i n cu l t u r a l an th ropo logy .

As Sahl ins observed more accura te ly andwi th great ins ight , people have complexdialect ical relat ionships with their ecologicalse t t ings and thei r phys ica l envi ronment f romwhich they der ive thei r sources of l ive l ihood.By t r ans fo rming na tu re , t hey ushe r i nprocesses that change and t ransformsociocul tura l va lues , and vice-versa . "I t i s theenvi ronment that i s pass ive , an iner tconf igura t ion of poss ibi l i t i es and l imi t s todevelopment , the deciding forces of which l iein cul ture it se l f and in the his tory of cu l ture . "He added t ha t , " t he re i s an i dea o frec iproci ty , of a d ia logue between cul turesand thei r envi ronments . . . cul tures are humanadapta t ion s . Cul ture , as a des ign for socie ty 'scont inui ty , s t ipula tes i t s envi ronment , " andhe conc ludes ,

a c u l t u r e i s s h a p e d b y t h e s e , i ts o w n c o m m i t m e n t s : i t m o l d si t se l f t o s i gn i f i can t ex t erna l co ndi t i ons t o max imize t he l i fe


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97c h a n c e s . T h e r e i s a n i n t e r c h a n g e b e t w e e n c u l t u r e a n de n v i r o n m e n t , p e r h a p s c o n t i n u o u s d i a l e ct i c i n te r c h a n g e , i f i na d a p t i n g t h e c u l t u r e t r a n s f o r m s i t s l a n d s c a p e a n d s o m u s tr e s p o n d a n e w t o c h a n g e s t h a t i t h a d s e t i n m o t i o n [ 2 2] .

However , despi te Sahl in ' s re f inedre fo rmul a t i on o f cu l t u r e ' s a r t i cu l a t i on w i t ht he env i ronment , i n t e rms o f cu l t u r e / na t u r edia lec t ics , the new ecologica l theory hasr ema i ned f l aw ed by t he unde r l y i ngas sumpt i on o f Whi t ean mechan i ca l cu l t u r a lde term inism. Indeed , Les lie Wh i te ' s ins i stenceupon a mechan i ca l cu l t u r a l de t e rmi n i sm i sne i t he r congruen t w i t h t he empi r ica l da t a no rwi th the percept ib ly observed sociocul tura lrea l i ty . Thus , he asser ted tha t :

A p a r t f r o m t h e o r ie s o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l d e t e r m i n i s m w h i c hc o n s i d e r e d m e r e l y t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n h a b i t a t a n dc u l t u r e , a l l t y p e s o f i n t e r p r e t a t io n p r i o r t o t h e e m e r g e n c e o fa n t h r o p o l o g y a s a s c i e n c e , t h o u g h t o f m a n a n d c u l t u r et o g e t h e r ; n o o n e c o n s i d e r e d c u l t u r e a p a r t f r o m i t s h u m a nc a r r i e r s . W i t h t h e a d v a n c e o f s c i e n c e , h o w e v e r , c a m e arecogni t i on of cu l t ure as a d i s t i nc t c l ass of event s , as ad i s t in c t o r d e r o f p h e n o m e n a . I t w a s s e e n t h a t c u l t u r e i s n o tmere ly a re f lex respons e t o habi t a t n or a s imple and d i rec tm a n i f e s t a t i o n o f ' h u m a n n a t u r e . ' I t c a m e t o b e r e a li z e d t h a tc u l t u r e i s a c o n t i n u u m , a s t r e a m o f e v e n t s , t h a t f l o w s f r e e lyd o w n t h r o u g h t i m e f r o m o n e g e n e r a t i o n t o a n o t h e r a n dl a t e r a l l y f r o m o n e r a c e o r h a b i t a t t o a n o t h e r . O n e c a m ee v e n t u a l l y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t t h e d e t e r m i n a n t s o f c u l t u r e l iew i t h i n t h e s t r e a m o f c u l t u r e i ts e lf ; t h a t a l a n g u a g e , c u s t o m ,b e l ie f , t o o l o r c e r e m o n y , i s t h e p r o d u c t o f a n t e c e d e n t a n dc o n c o m i t a n t c u l t u r a l e l e m e n t s a n d p r o c e s s e s . I n s h o r t , i tw a s d i s c o v e r e d t h a t c u l t u r e m a y b e c o n s i d e r e d , f r o m t h es t a n d p o i n t o f s c i e n t if i c a n a l y s i s a n d i n t e r p r e t a t io n , a s at h i n g sui generis, a s a c l a s s o f e v e n t s a n d p r o c e s s e s t h a tb e h a v e s i n t e r m s o f i t s o w n p r i n c i p l e s a n d l a w s a n d w h i c hc o n s e q u e n t l y c a n b e e x p l a i n e d o n l y i n t e r m s o f i t s o w ne l e m e n t s a n d p r o c e s s e s . C u l t u r e m a y t h u s b e c o n s i d e r e d a sa se l f -cont a ined , se l f -de t ermined process [23] .

In t h i s v i ew human popu l a t i ons a r econs i de r ed a s "he l p l e s s paw ns" o f cu l t u r e .Such a mechan i ca l i n t e rp r e t a t i on o f t hecul tura l process tha t over looks soc ia l praxis i sinadequate sc ient i f ica l ly because i t does notaccoun t f o r t he obv i ous f ac t t ha t humanbeings not only ac t col lec tive ly to shape a ndreshape the i r des t in ies , but a l so t ransform,a l te r and mo di fy the i r b iosocia l envi ron men ts .O ne p roponen t o f t h i s cu l t u r a l de t e rmi n i sm

went so far as to remove crucia l dec i s ionsf romt h e i n d i v i d u a l b y a r g u i n g t h a t s y s t e m s , o n c e s e t in m o t i o n ,a r e s e l f - r e g u l a ti n g to t h e p o i n t w h e r e t h e y d o n o t e v e nnecessar i l y a l l ow re j ec t i on or accept an ce of new t ra i t s by acul ture . . . C ul ture i s abo ut as power l ess t o d iver t t hesesys t em s as t he i nd iv idu al i s t o cha nge h i s cu l t ure [24] .

H ow ever , con t r a ry t o t h i s a s se r t i on , humangroups , who are , a f te r a l l , made up ofindividuals organized socia l ly and pol i t i ca l lyin to groups , communi t ies and socie t ies , andeconomi ca l l y i n t o p roduc t i ve un i ts o f va ry i ngs ize , can ac t together , make decis ionscol lec t ive ly , and mold and change the i rexis tent ia l and envi ronmenta l sur roundings .In o t he r w ords , an an t h ropo l og i ca l t heo ry o fthe essence and subs tance of soc iocul tura lreal i ty and i ts inherent dialect ical process ofcausa t ion w hich does not t ake in to accou nt i tst r i -d imens ional universe , brought about , kepti n mot i on and ma i n t a i ned i n cons t an tfunc t i on by t he i n t e rp l ay o f humans , cu l t u r eand nature , can expl ica te accura te ly ne i therdiachronic-hi s tor ica l changes nor s t ruc tura lt r ans fo rma t i ons and modi f i ca t i ons . Thepa rad i gm of bo t h cu l t u r a l de t e rmi n i s t s andthe new ecologica l theor i s t s over looks therespect ive ro les of the consc iousness ofhumans , t he t oo l make r s : cu l t u r e , t ha tar t i f i c ia l ly made, ext rasomat ic "adapt ivem e c h a n i s m " ; a n d n a t u r e , t h e s u m o fgeographical possibi l i t ies and l imits , f romw hi ch humans ha rnes s ene rgy r e sources t ha ta l low them to survive and perpetua te the i rk i nd .

Indeed, vulgar mater ia l i sm, mechanica lcu l t u r a l de t e rmi n i sm, and economi sm a r e a l lbased u pon s impli s ti c concepts which cons idersoc i ocu l t u r a l f o rms a s "mere ep i phenomenaof technologies and envi ronments , e i ther byd i r ec t causa t i on o r by some economi cra t ional i ty which makes ins t i tu t ions theprod uct of soc ial orga niza t i ons" [25]. Theneo- func t i ona l i sm p ropounded by t hetheor i s t s of cul tura l ecology, which i s ader iva t ive of cul tura l de terminism, i s


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98embedded in the funct ional i s t -empir ic i s tideology under lying the theore t ica lassumpt ions of Euroamer ican socia l sc ience .

[This ] new funct ional i sm is fundamenta l ly the same as theold funct ional i sm except tha t the f ie ld of appl ica t ion haschanged, the in teres t now being to show the ra t ional i ty ofins t i tu t ions wi th respec t to the i r envi ronm ents ra ther than toborro w e lements in the soc ie ty . But the concept o f funct ion ,bor row ed f rom phys io logy, remains unchang ed, and i t l eadst h e " n e w e c o l o g y " . .. i n t o a d o u b l e i mp o t e n c y :a) In i t s more mod es t form , i t d i sso lves in to puredescr ip t ion . The funct ion of the s tomach i s to d iges t food;the funct ion of r i tua l p ig s laughter i s to regula te p igpopula t io ns - i . e . , the funct ion o f x is to do w hat i t does .The word here i s to ta l ly super f luous and adds noi n f o r ma t i o n u n l es s w e a s s u me s o me me t a p h y s i c a l n o t i o n o fpurpose impl ied in the fo l lowing.b) By extens ion to the te leo logica l meaning " funct ion"become s "adapt ive f unc t ion . " H ere we are s t il l dea l ing wi thour f i r s t def in i t ion , " t he funct ion o f x i s to do wha t i td o e s , " b u t n o w t h e " w h a t i t d o e s " i s n o t a n o b s e r v e ddatum, and we are le f t wi th what i s bas ica l ly a descr ip t ionof imaginary re la t ions , where the funct ion i s assumed ra therthan demonst ra ted [26] .In a dialect ical theoret ical perspect ive

nothing i s s ta t ic , inc luding the biophysicalenvi ronment i t se l f , which changes as a resul to f bo th i nhe ren t na tu ra l p rocesses and h um anintervent ion. As for the sociocul tura lenvi ro nm ent of the cul tura l ecologis t s, s ince itref lects or represents real social processes ofactua l societ ies, which exist in t ime and space,i t i s cons t an t l y chang ing . As E dmund L eachput i t , " the demographic , ecological ,econ om ic and external pol i ti ca l s i iua t ion doesnot bui ld up into a f ixed envi ronment , buti n to a cons t an t l y chang ing env i ronment .Every real society is a process in t ime" [27].

In sum , there i s a kin d o f dia lec tica l processof i n t e r ac t i on and f eedback be tween humanbeings , the i r sociocul tura l sys tems, and theb iophys i ca l env i ronment . Due t o suchcons t an t i n t e rp l ay be tween humans , cu l t u reand na tu re , change con t inuous ly occur s in a l lthese three dia lec t ica l ly and dynamical lyi n t e r c o n n e c t e d p h e n o m e n a o r c o m p o n e n t s .As Yehudi Cohen expressed i t succinct ly ,cul ture is

ma n ' s mo s t i mp o r t a n t i n s t r u me n t o f a d a p t a t i o n - t h a t i s , a san extens ion of h is phys io logy and as an ar t i f ic ia lins t rument for main ta in ing a v iable re la t ionship wi thh u ma n h a b i t a t s. C u l t u r e i s p a r t o f ma n , a n d ma n c o u l dhave n o exis tence wi thout i t . M an crea tes i t, uses i t , and i saf fec ted by i t . Cul ture has la rge ly replaced the mechanism sof na tura l se lec t ion and genet ic muta t ion as the ins t rumentby which l i fe is main ta ined in the mi l ieus tha t man seeks toexplo i t . Moreover , cu l ture changes ; and wi th every changein a group ' s cu l ture , the people in the group undergomodif ica t ions in the i r psychologica l makeups[consc iousness] and soc ia l re la t ions in order to make use ofthe new form of cu l ture [28] .

Humani ty , as a sum tota l of socia l praxis ,has , in order to survive and propagate thespecies , responded throughout hi s tory tocu l t u ra l and env i ronmenta l changes bydevis ing new adjus t ive socia l mechanisms.S ince sociocul tura l l i fe i s based upon andder ived f rom a mater ia l bas is , a ro un d wh ich itpr imar i ly rota tes , socia l s t ruggle and conf l ic thave played a decis ive role in the shaping ofhuman cul tures and socie t ies . Thissocioeconomic s t r i fe , which i s the dis t inct ivefea tu re o f human communi t i e s and soc i a lfo rma t ions , is gene ra t ed and ma in t a ined by adi f ferent ia l access to resources and weal th .The lus t to cont rol and harness such resourcesresul ts in intra- and intersocietal s t ruggleswhich are prone to usher in far - reachingchanges and modi f i ca t i ons bo th i n t hemater ia l inf ras t ructure and in the ideologicalsupers t ructures . The diachronic analys i s oft he fo rma t ion o f t he Ibad i t e dese r tconfederacy i l lus t ra tes the dynamic anddia lec t ica l in terplay not only between humanbeings , the i r cul ture and socie ty and thephys i ca l l andscape upon which t hey wereforced by his tor ica l c i rcumstances and thei rown ideological exigencies, but a l so by int ra-and intersocie ta l conf l ic t and s t ruggle .

THE FORMATION OF THE MOZABITEDESSERT CONFEDERACY

T he fo rmat ion o f t he Mozab i t e dese r tconfede racy mus t be r econs ide red here i n t he


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light of modern sociocultural and ecologicaltheory. The historical development of thecontemporary five cities that form theconfederation of Mzab, situated on artificaloases in the Algerian desert about 400 milessouth of Algiers, was constituted by amedieval Ibadite Moslem sect. Although theorigin of the hiving off from the MoslemUmma was justified by an ideological conflictwith orthodox Islam, the underlying causesthat induced the original Kharijite faction tofission off appears now to be undoubtedlygenerated by specific sociopolitical andeconomic grievances. The causes that inducedthe political conflict arose from the unequaldistribution of wealth, prestige, and powerwhich led to coercion and struggle.

Those with the privileged interests wish to maintain them;those without wish to share them. The main spheres ofconflict are between the sub-groups of the privileged andbetween the privileged and the masses. The political eliteusually endeavors to unite whenever their interests arechallenged by the masses.

Those without wealth and power have three courses opento them. They may seek to ent er the political elite; they mayseek to overthrow it, challenging the ideology on which itrests; they may weakly submit with little resistance. The firstcourse will be resorted to where political office is open to allmembers of the society and a high degree of mobility intothe elite is possible. In a society with a closed ruling class thesecond is the only active course for the masses. Socialmobility and class conflict are th e expressions of these twomethods of achieving political power [29].

Most scholars who have studied these"puritans of the desert" have overemphasizedthe religious doctrine of the Ibadites,considering it doubly as a monocausal factorwhich brought the confederacy into existencefrom e x n ih i lo , and as the ideological unifyingforce that maintained the social cohesion ofthese sectarians intact for so many centuries.However, I shall argue that this religiousfactor alone, which is a mere reflection of theunderlying sociopolitical and economiccauses, cannot explain adequately the origin,development, and evolution of this desertconfederacy. Therefore, in order to elucidatethe special socio-economic integrative

99mechanisms of such an apparently isolatedsociety, organized by the Beni-Mzab on therocky hills of Sheibka, I must analyze theoverall diachronic adjustments, whichresulted in the successful synchronicadaptation of these Mozabites to their socialand biophysical environments. In fact, thehistory of the present day Ibadites goes backto the political movement of the Kharijiteswhich originated in the Arab orient during thebattle of Siffin (Safar, 37 = July, 657) inwhich the forces of Muawiya were opposed bythose of Ali.The socio-political origins of the Ibaditesare rooted in the early history of Islam. Infact, when the Caliph Umar II was murderedby a Persian slave in 644, a council of sixdistinguished companions of the Prophet wascalled upon to choose a new Caliph amongthemselves. The choice narrowed down to Ali,the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law; and toUthman from the clan of Umaiya, thearistocratic Quarayshi family which came,before its conversion, to the forefront of theopposition to Mohammad and Islam inMeusa. Uthman was also married to one ofthe Prophet's daughters. Finally the fourother members of the council gave their votesto Uthman because of the cogent influenceexerted by his Quarayshi family. Ali'ssupporters "denounced the 'conspiracy' towithhold allegiance from the Prophet's ownfamily" [30].Soon history proved the partisans of Aliright. Once in the office of the caliphate,Uthman distributed all the major posts to theUmawis in exchange for their support.Henceforth, the Quarayshi lineage becameopenly involved in corrupt dealings. As for thenewly elected Caliph,

he lived more luxuriously than his predecessors and heallowed his family and the chief companions to becomeowners of vast private properties in the conquered lands. Atthe same time, he antagonized many of the companions.Disconten t grew in the camp cities, where it was felt that allspoils and revenues of the conquests should be dividedequally among the community. Ali was known to share thisview [31].


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100As a consequence of th i s cor rupt ion, the

masses rose dur ing Uthman 's e leventh year asC a l i ph t o demand h i s abd i ca t i on . Moreove r ,he re jec ted th is pop ular reques t even when thecal iphal pa lace was under s iege . Theinsurgents respond ed by ki l ling h im. A f ter th i sevent , a delegat ion of the successful rebelsheaded by t w o compan i ons , Ta l ha andZubayr went to see Al i to convince h im toaccept h i s candidacy to the of f ice of ca l iphate .

Never the less , a f te r the e lec t ion of Al i asCal iph, a fac t ion under the conservat iveleadership of Talha , Zubayr , and Aisha , theProphe t ' s w i dow , denounced h i s e l ec t i on a si ll egal, and even accused him of com pl ic i ty inthe assass ina t ion of Uthman. This conf l ic tprom pt ly resul ted in a c iv il war be twe en Al i ' sfo l lowers and the three d i ss idents and the i rpar t i sans . Dur ing the war , Al i made the newcamp tow n of Kuf a h i s capi tal ; f rom there h i sfol lowers launched a ser ies of swif t at tackswhich routed the d i ss ident t roops . At th i sc ruc ia l mo men t t he a s t u te G overnor o f Syr i a ,Muaw i ya , a cous in o f U t hma n , dec i ded t opunish the assassins. This well-calculateddecis ion of M uaw iya t r iggered an in terna l warof success ion be tween two oppos ing fac t ions .

Af ter a ser ies of inconclus ive mi l i t a rycampaigns and ski rmishes be tween thewarr ing par t ies , Muawiya , a sk i l l fu l d ip lomatand ab l e man i pu l a t o r made , du r i ng t heaforement ioned ba t t l e of Si f f in , a proposalfo r an i mmedi a t e t r uce and t he e s t ab l i shmen to f a commi t t ee o f a rb i t r a t i on . The chosenreferees would se t t l e the conf l ic t inp r o n o u n c i n g a j u d g e m e n t " a c c o r d i n g t o t h eK oran" conce rn i ng t he r i gh t fu l succes so r t othe ca l iphate . Al i and a l a rge number of h i ssuppor ters accepted th i s proposa l , e i therbecause they were t ry ing to end the deadlyconf l i c t o r because t he member s o f t he K ura(Koran readers ) fac t ion who had previous lyconduc t ed an i mpl acab l e po l i t i ca l campa i gnaga i ns t U t hman cu l mi na t i ng i n h i s murde r ,expec t ed t ha t t h i s K oran i c j udgemen t w ou l dbe in the i r favor and therefore jus t i fy the i rpas t s t ruggle agains t the cor rupt ion of Beni

U mai ya . H ow ev er , t he i r accep tance p rovokedcons t e rna t i on among some w ar r i o r s ,represent ing mainly the Ta min t r ibe . This newfac t i on empha t i ca l l y denounced t he s e t ti ng upof a t r i buna l above t he d i v i ne w ord andproc l a i med t ha t " j udgemen t be l ongs t o G oda l one (La Hu km a i lia l i Allahi . Thei r dec i s ionw as pa r adox i ca l l y based on t he K oran w hi chs ta tes tha t " I f one par ty rebels agains t theother , f ight agains t tha t which rebels . "

Af ter having s ta ted the i r s taunch o ppos i t iont o t he a rb i t r a t ion be t w een A l i and M uaw i ya ,t he fu t u r e champi ons o f K har i j i sm w i t hdrewto the v i l l age of Harura s i tua ted near Kufa inI r aq and e l ec t ed A bd A l l ah b . Wahb , amember o f t h i s f ac t i on w ho came f rom ahumbl e soc i a l background a s t he i r Imam.These f i rs t insurgents cal led themselves al-H aru r i ya . The H aru r i ya f ac t i on fo rmed t hecore o f an i nc r eas i ng l y dynami c movementt ha t p l ayed , f r om t hen on , a de t e rmi nan t r o l ein the pol i t i ca l h i s tory of I s lam both in theMaghreb and i n t he Mashreq . U nfo r t una t e l yfo r A l i and h i s pa r t y t he com mi t t ee o f t he t w ore f er ees deci ded i n f avor o f M uaw i ya and h issuppor ters on Ramadan, 37 (February 658) .As a consequence , count less par t i sans of Al i ,i nc l ud i ng t he i ndomi t ab l e member s o f t heK u r a f a c t i o n , " w e n t o u t " (kharaja) secret lyf rom K ufa t o jo i n t he a l -H aru r i ya camp u nde rt he l eade r sh i p o f I bn Wahb . Thence fo r t h a l lmember s o f t he a l -H aru r i ya movement w erer e f e r r ed t o by t he o r t hodox Mos l ems a s t heKhar i j i t es , tha t i s , those who went out of thecommuni t y o f t he f a i t h fu l . A s fo r t heKhar i j i t es , they refer red to themselves as the"Shura t " ( t he vendor s ) , i . e . , t hose w ho havesold the i r souls for the cause of God, whichimplies pol i t ical equal i ty and social just ice fora l l the t rue fo l lowers of the Prophet .

As soon as the Khar i j i t es jo ined the a l -H aru r i ya f ac t i on , w hose member s had a l r eadyes tabl i shed the i r opera t ional headquar ters int he D j u rkha coun t ry s i t ua ted on t he l e f t bankof the Tigr i s , a s t ra tegic loca t ion which putthem in cont rol of a l l the exi t routes f romFar s , t he i r po l it ica l demands w ere announce d :


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nullification of Ali's legitimacy to the officeof the caliphate, denunciation of Uthman'spast corruption and justification of hisexecution, and proclamation of their strongopposition to the mounting danger of BeniUmaiya. The subsequent events molded andcrystallized the Kharijite dialectics of the unityof theory and practice. Their political theoryand religious dogma emerged from the socialcontradictions of their time; they wereconceptualized, elaborated, and immediatelytranslated into concrete political action thataimed primarily at the abolition ofexploitation and the institutionalization of a"Kingdom of God upon the Earth," wheresocial justice, equality and fraternity could bemaintained among all true followers of theProphet without distinction of birth andstanding.

The political movement founded by theKharijites formed the earliest dissident sect ofIslam. Its followers continually arose in armedresistance against the prerogative conferringupon the Quarayshi to appoint a Caliph fromamongst their number, which allowed them tomonopolize the economic plunder derivedfrom the taxation of the newly conqueredcountries [32]. Paradoxically, it was Ali whocrushed in blood the first partisans ofKharijism. He attacked them by surprise onSafar, 9 (July 28, 658) in their camp andinflicted a terrible defeat on them in which IbnWahb and a large number of his companionswere slain. But Ali achieved only a pyrrhicvictory over the Kharijites whose resistancewas prolonged in a long series of uprisings,specifically in 39 (669) and 40 (670). Finally,Ali himself perished by the dagger of theKhariji militant, abd al-Rahman. The death ofAli consecrated the rise to hegemony of theclan of Beni Umayia under the energeticleadership of Muawiya, who established thefirst hereditary dynasty in the history ofIslam.However, the struggle waged by theKharijites was not suppressed even byMuawiya, whose twenty years of reign 40-60

101(660-680) were marked by several risings thatbroke out both in Kufa and Basra,strongholds of Kharijism. Soon the Kharijitesrealized that the only alternative lay in theorganization of a protracted guerilla war.Thus, they withdrew to the marshy country ofthe Batniht on the left bank of the Tigris,where they organized themselves militarilyaccording to revolutionary warfare tactics thatallowed them to carry out surprise attacks andambushes. This hit-and-run strategy proveditself successful because when the militarypressures of the imperial army increased toomuch, the Kharijite partisans could gainswiftly the mountains o f the Iranian plateaus.This warfare rendered the life of the Umayadgovernors miserable, right down to the end ofthis dynasty's reign.However, this protracted revolutionarywarfare carried out by the Kharijites from thehinterland and various fringes of the Umayadempire brought about the division of theirmovement. In fact, by the death of Yazid, theKhawarij became divided into three distinctfactions: Azarika, Sufriyia, and Ibadyia. Onlythe latter is of concern here because of itsspread and maintenance in North Africa.Although the Kharijite movement attracteda large number of the Arab masses,specifically Yemenis and Radrumawtis, itappealed much more to the non-Arab ethnicgroups or Mawali. Originally the term Mawalimeant in Arabic "kinfolk," then"protection" in the Koran; after theestablishment of the caliphate outside Arabiait signified the clients of the Arab Moslems.These Mawali were attracted by the egalitarianpolitical doctrine of the Kharijites whichproclaimed unambiguously the principle ofequality of all the ethnic groups whoembraced the Islamic faith. In fact, thoughthe islamized populations incorporated intothe caliphate were given by virtue of theirconversion full citizenship rights, theinstitutionalization of patronage, whichforced the Mawali to seek the sponsorship ofArabian tribesmen, was strongly resented.


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102This pract ice of c l ientship enta i led the legalno t i on o f i nhe ren t d i f f e r en t i a l powerre l a t i onsh ips be tween t he Arab and t he non-Arab popu la t i ons o f t he expand ing empi re .

T here fore , t he sp read and popu la r i t y o f t hesoc iopo l i t i ca l ph i l osophy p ropounded by t heKhar i j i t es was due to the exis t ing object ivecondi t ions prevalent wi thin the r i s ing mul t i -e thnic empire . This phi losophy was of coursebased on a fundamenta l i n t e rp re t a t i on o f t heKoran , which was made i n t he l i gh t o f t he i rimmediate theore t ica l requis i tes of theongoing pol i t i ca l and mi l i tary s t ruggle . Themi l i tancy and de t e rmina t i on o f t h is mo veme ntbrought i t s fol lowers to the foref ront of thesuccess ive revol t s put up by the oppressedmasses agains t the increas ing, arbi t rary rule ofthe Arab rul ing c lasses. Thus , f rom th e outse t ,Khar i j i sm as a doc tr i ne emerged f rom po pula rsocial s t r i fe, enriched by the dai ly historicalexper iences of the ac t ive members of apol i t i ca l movement which e laborated i t in theheat of subsequent bat t les and in the funct ionof i ts object ives.

The inf luence of the ideas of the Khar i j i t eson the Moslem inte l lec tuals of the t ime waspervas ive . According to the Ronar t s ,

a considerable number of revolutionary poets, orators, andmen o f law, [were] inspired by the pious zeal extolled by theKharijite ideal as a means of combatting the laxity of moralsand t he irreligious spirit which dominated the court and theleading society of the towns, and this Kharijite literature hasproduced works of lasting value [33].To i l lus t ra te the fervent a nd color ful l i fe of

individual Khar i j i t es and thei r arduouss t ruggles , i t would be appropr ia te to quotetwo poems. The f i r s t was wr i t ten by anunk now n pr isone r and t he second by Qa ta r i b .a l -Fujaa , one of the most in t repid Khar i j i t el eade r s , "who rou t ed a rmy a f t e r a rmy sen tagains t h im by Haj ja j ; he sang a lmost as wel las he fought" [34] .

'Tis time, O ye Sellers, for one who hath sold himselfTo God, that he should arise and saddle amain.Fools! in the land of miscreants will ye abide,To be hunted down, every man of you, and to be slain?O would that I were among you, armed in mail,

On the back of my stout-ribbed galloping war-horse again!And would that I were among you, fighting your foes,That me, first of all, they might give Death's beaker todrain[It grieves me sore that ye are startled and chasedLike beasts, while 1 cannot draw on the wretches profaneMy sword, nor see them scattered by noble knightsWho never yield an inch o f the ground they gain,But where the struggle is hottest, with keen blades hewTheir strenuous way and deem 'twere base to refrain,Ay, it grieves me sore that ye are oppressed and wronged,While I must drag in anguish a captive's chain.I say to my soul dismayed -Courage! Thou canst not achieve,With praying, an hour of lifeBeyond the appointed term.Then courage on death's dark field,Courage! Impossible 'tisTo life forever and aye.Life is no hero's robeOf honour: the dastard vileAlso doffs it at last.

THE SPREAD OF AL IBAD YA TO THEMAGHREB

The Ibadi te doct r ine , which or iginated inthe Mashreq , was i n t roduced t o t he Maghreba round t he midd l e o f t he e igh th cen tu ry bysome fo l l ower s o f Abd Al l ah b . Ibad , whoescaped pe r secu t i on f rom the Midd le E as t .This Ibadi te moderate and wel l -pol i t i c izedfac t i on b ranched o f f f rom the ma in Khar i j i t emov emen t dur ing t he pe r iod o f i ts p ro t r ac t edguerr i l l a war that was organized agains t theru l e r s o f t he Umawyad dynas ty . T he f i r s tsuccessful revol t of the Ibadi tes occurred inthe c los ing yea r s o f t he r e ign o f Marwan I Iunder t he l eade r sh ip o f Abd Al l ah b . YahyaT a l ib a l -Hakk and Abu Hamza (129 = 747) .W h e n t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f H a d r a m u t e m b r a c e dthei r cause , the Ibadi tes were able to f reeS na ' a , f rom which Abd Al l ah and AbuHamza l aunched two swi f t exped i t i ons t ha tresul ted in the tota l l ibera t ion of both Meccaand Medina f rom the sway of t he imper i a la r m y .O n c e i n M e d i n a , A b u H a m z a m a d e h i shistoric Ku t b a ( sermon) , wh ich revealed to us


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the views of the Ibadites concerning thehistory of Islam since the death of theprophet.

I counsel you ... to put to death the injustice the tyrantshave brought to life, and to revivify the just laws they havelet die ... we call you to the Book of God and the Sunna ofhis prophet, and to equal sharing, and to justice for thesubject peoples.

He then denounced the degeneration of theimperial aristocracy into "slaves of greed andal l ies of af f l ict ion ." And Abu Hamzaconcluded,

The Moslems entrusted Abu Bakr with the matters of thelower world, since God's messenger had entrusted him withthe matter of his religion. He fought the people of apostasy,and acted in accord with the Book and the Sunna, and hepassed his way; God have mercy on him!

Then ruled 'Umar ibn aI-Khattab, God's mercy on him,and he went in the way of his friend and acted in accordwith the Book and the Sunna. He collected the tribute anddistributed the shares and ... gave eighty lashes for drinkingwine, and passed his way. God have mercy on him!

Then came 'Ut hman ibn ' Aff an. For six years he walkedin the path of his two friends, but he was less than they. A ndin his last six years he rendered to no avail wha t he had do nein the first six, and then he passed his way.Then 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ruled, and he did not attain thegoal in truth, and no beacon was given him for guidance,and he passed his way.

Then ruled Mu'awiya son of Abu Sufyan, accursed ofGod's messenger, and son of one accursed. He madefarmers of G od's servants and possessions of G od'sproperty, and a briarpatch of God's religion, so curse himwith God's curse!

Then came Yazid the son of Mu'awiya-Yazid of the wine,Yazid of the apes and the hunting panthers! Yazid of thelustful belly and the ef feminate arse - and God and Hisangels curse him!

There came Yazid ibn 'Abd al-Malik, a libertine inreligion and unmanly in behavior, in whom was neverperceived right guidance. God has said about the wealth oforphans: "If you perceive in them right guidance, deliverthem their property " (4:6), and the matter of Muhamm ad'sCommunity was more than any property! He would eatforbidden food, and drink wine, and wear a robe worth athousand dinars, through which you could see his flesh sothat the veil of modesty was rent; an unpard onable dis-robe.And Hababa the singing-girl on his right, and Salama thesinging-girl on his left, bot h singing - if you had taken drinkaway from him, he would have rent his garments! And hewould turn to one of them and say, "Shall I fly? Shall I

103fly?" And, he flew. To God's damnation, and the burningFire, and a painful torment!

The sons of Umayya are a party of error, and theirstrength is the strength of tyrants. They take conjecture fortheir guide, and judge as they please, and put men to dea thin anger, and govern by mediation, and take the law out ofcontext, and distribute the public moneys to those notentitled to them - for God has revealed those who areentitled, and they are eight classes of men, for He says:"The freewill offerings are for the poor and the needy,those who work to collect them, those whose hearts are tobe reconciled, and slaves and debtors, and those in the ' Wayof G od,' and travellers" (9:60). They make themselves theninth, and take it all! Such are those who rule by what Godhas not sent down [35].

In 130 (= 748), however, Marwa n sent Abdal-Malik Ibn Atiya against the Ibadites. Thepartisans of Abu Ha mz a were put to f l ight inthe battle of Wadi al-Kura and withdrew toMecca. The army of Abd al-Malik pursuedthem there and after a vigorous battle Ibaditesresistance was finally broken when their twoenergetic leaders fell.

Moreov er, a seco nd insurrection wasorganized again in 134 (= 751) in Oman underthe leadership of al-Julanda. But, since thissecond m ajor rebell ion lacked a well thoughtout political and military strategy, it was easilyput down by the Abbasid General Khazim b.Khuzaima. In the meantim e the Ibaditemovement spread to the Maghreb where itsegalitarian polit ical philosophy found afavorable terrain. As Williams put it, "it wasNorth Africa which became the Scotland ofthese Puritans of Islam. Here the warlikeBerbers proved willing to accept Islam, butnot the domina nce or the taxation of the ArabCaliphs" [36].Thus, despite the overwhelming victoryachieved by the Abbasid imperial army overthe fol lowers of Ibn Ibad, their movementremains to this very day predominant inOman. From there it was extended toZanzibar. These various Ibadite comm unitieshave managed, despite great odds againstthem , to survive and protect their political andreligious independence. Throughout theirhistory, they maintained close contact with


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104one another . The in te l lec tua l l eadershipappea r s t o be a s sumed by t he Mozab i t e dese r tconfede ra t i on because o f ce r t a i n pa r t i cu l a rhistor ical features.

When the Ibadi tes were more or l essc rushed i n t he Mashreq by t he A bbas i di mper i a l a rmy , t hey p roc l a i med t he " s t a t e o fsec r ecy" and some o f t hem mi gra t ed t o t heMaghreb , unde r t he l eade r shi p o f t he Pe r s i an ,Ibn Rus tem, in search of a favorable land fort he e s t ab l i shmen t o f a "K i ngdom of G od onEar th , " whele Ibadi te idea l s of soc ia l jus t ice ,human b ro t he rhood , and po l i t i ca l equa l i t ywou ld prevai l . Up on ar r iv ing in Nor th A fr ica ,fo l lowers of the Ibadi doct r ine found th i s tobe favorable te r ra in for the appl ica t ion ofthe i r " l iber tar ian" pr inc iples . Thesepr inc iples were qui te appeal ing to somemarg i na l B e rbe r g roups w ho had a l ongt radi t ion of t r iba l and vi l l age "anarchicd e m o c r a c y , " k n o w n a s jama'a gove rnmen t .Char les Jul ien noted tha t

the Islamized Berbers had grounded their opposition to theincreasing taxation and bureaucratic rule of the Arabcaliphs on Islam, which permitted them to present theirsocial demands under the for m of a religious ideal.Kharijism became, in the Maghreb, a sort of an episode ofclass struggle. Nowhere else are the ascetic and egalitariansentiments, which are inseparable from the hatred of theconquerors, so deeply rooted among the masses [37].Fro m the swi f t mi l i t a ry and pol i t ica l success

of the Ibadi tes in the eas tern Maghreb, i tappea r s t ha t K har i j i sm had p r eceded t hear r iva l of the Mid dle Eas tern fo l lowers of IbnIbad. In fac t , f rom the foco o f M a g h r e bKhar i j i t es , which was set up in Jebel Ne fussa ,the Ibadi te par t i sans led by Abu a l -Khat tablaunched the i r a t t ack tha t resul ted in these izure of Kai rawan, the imper ia l provincia lcap i t a l o f N or t h A f r i ca . I bn R us t em w ase l ec t ed G overnor . K a i r aw an r ema i ned unde rthe cont rol of the Ibadi tes for four years unt i l141 (= 761) w hen Mo ha mm ad b . a l -A sha thwas sent a t the head of a s t rong imper ia l a rm yfrom Cai ro to recapture i t [38] . Af ter the fa l lof th i s c i ty , the Ibadi tes wi thdrew . Fro m therethey t rekked for abou t 700 mi les , on the i r way

towards cent ra l Alger ia , unt i l they f ina l lyarr ived at a secure locat ion, s i tuated at 300fee t , by a pass l eading f rom the h ighlands ofthe Tel l At las down to the fer t i l e agr icul tura lcoas ta l p la ins . This s i t e was a former Romancamp. I n t h i s s ecu re moun t a i n , t he new l yadhered and the Ibadi te p i lgr ims erec ted thec i ty of Tahere t or Tiare t in 761 A.D. whichbecame the capi ta l of the pecul iar theocra t icrepubl ic tha t l as ted , according to the IbnK ha l dun , a cen t u ry and a ha l f .

THE SOCIOPOLITICAL AND RELIGIOUSDOCTRINE OF THE NORTH AFRICANIBADITES

The sociopol i t i ca l and re l ig ious doct r inetha t go verned the theocra t ic republ ic of Tiare tcan be summar ized as fo l lows:

1 ) F rom t he fundament a l be l i e f t ha tasser ted the equal i ty of a l l Moslems regardlessof b i r th a nd socia l s tanding, the Ibadi tes basethe i r pr inc iple of an e lec t ive ima ma te orcal iphate;

2) Since a l l Moslems are equal , luxur iousl iv ing and os tenta t ion are condemned;

3) Therefore , no man who i s not dulye l ec t ed can command;

4) Any bel iever who i s jus t , v i r tuous andpious and who acqui res the necessaryknowledge and exper ience can of f ic ia te asImam, or she ikh a l - I s lam, or ca l iph , "even i fhe i s an Abyss in ian s lave";

5) The people have the r ight and obl iga t ionto procla im i l legi t imate and ipso facto deposeany ca l i ph o r i mam, w ho has gone o f f t her ight pa th ;6) This enta i l s the re l ig ious corol la ry tha tabsolute ly re jec ts the pr inc iple of jus t i f i ca t ionby fa i th wi thout cease less works ; f rom th i sprinciple resul ts the st r ictness of Ibadi tee th ica l code which requi res pur i ty ofconscience as a prerequis i te condi t ion for theval ida t ion of ac t s of worship and re l igouspiety;7) God pardons only venia l s ins ; gr ievous


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105

s ins cann ot be forgiven unless they are b lo t tedou t by r epen t ance ;8 ) R ecompenses and pun i shmen t s i n t heaf ter l i fe a re both ever las ting , because he l l andparadise are e terna l ;9) Wor k i s as s igni f icant as p ie ty and fa i th ;ea r t h l y conduc t i n t h i s w or l d p r ede t e rmi nesone 's pos i t ion in the o ther ;10) Al l be l ievers have the duty and moralob l i ga t i on t o denounce i n j us t i ce and r ep rovethe evi l doers as far as they are able;11 ) A l l member s o f t he communi t y a r es t r ic t ly requi red to fos ter and acknowledgethei r so l idar i ty which they express by wordand ac t ion , b ut the individu al wh o viola tes it slaws loses ci t izenship r ights and therefore ist rea ted as a publ ic enemy unt i l the ac t ofr epen t ance i s pe r fo rmed ;

12) Fina l ly , s ince the Koran i s the word ofG od c r ea t ed by H i m, and t he Sunna i s t hepol i t ica l t radi t ion of the Pro ph et and hi s c losec o m p a n i o n s , A b u B a k r a n d O m a r , t h e K o r a nand t he Sunna a r e t he bas i c f r ame o f r e f e r enceof t he l aw s and ru l e s gove rn i ng a l -U mma a l -I s lamya; th i s fac t requi res the thorough s tudyo f t h e H o l y b o o k , t h e H a d i t h , a n d t h enumerous Ibad i t e I t i f aqa t ( p l a t fo rms o rcons t i tu t ions) .The fou nde r o f t he doc tr i ne , I bn Ibad , w howas persecuted , oppressed and f ina l lymar t y r ed , t augh t t ha t t he r e a r e f ou r w ays o rs ta tes in which pious Moslems could achievegrace: 1) the s ta te o f defense in protec t ingthei r pol i t i ca l and re l ig ious independence; 2)the s ta te o f dev ot ion in i t s prac t ice ; 3) the s ta teof g lory in i t s v ic tory; and 4) the s ta te ofc landes t in i ty when i t becomes imposs ib le toma i n t a i n i t .

The pos i t i on occup i ed by t he Imam w aselec t ive . Every success ive Imam was bothchecked and ass i s ted by the publ ic spi r i t edulama (no t ab l e s , l ea rned men) w ho w ereorganized in a consul ta t ive , l egi s la t ive bodythat in terpre ted laws and reviewedfunda men t a l dec i s ions t aken by t he execu ti veof f ice of the s ta te . Nev er the less , accord ing toMarca i s ,

The succession of imams was in theory regulated by the vo teof the Ibadi community. The imam regarded as the mostworthy, most honourable and best educated man, thetemporal and spiritual chief of the state, whose prestigeextended to the communities in the East, was in realityunder the control o f the religious caste (clerks): Shurat,Mashaikh, Talba, the guardians of the strict observance ofthe laws of the sect [39].

Marcais fa i led , however , to d i s t inguish thefunc t i ona l s epa ra t i on o f pow er be t w een t heexecu t i ve o f f i ce o f t he Imamat e and t helegis la t ive- judic iary bod y represented by th i sShura t counc i l made up o f t he d i s t i ngu i shedIbadi te scholars . I t i s inappropr ia te todescr ibe these learned Talba as a "re l ig iouscas te , " because the i r s ta tus i s achieved andnever ascr ibed to them because of the i r b i r thor soc ia l s tanding. Thei r ro le i s not only toin terpre t these laws , but a l so to see to i t tha tt hey a r e equ i t ab l y app l i ed by t he Imam.

The t heoc ra t i c -democra t i c r epub l i c o f t heIbadi tes was procla imed in Taher t in 160 (=776), that is , about f i f teen years af ter theirexpu l s i on f rom K a i r aw an . The ch rono l ogy o ft he r e igns o f va ri ous Imam s ma y be a r r angedas fol lows:1) Ab d a l -R ahm an b . Rus tem: 160-168(776-784);

2 ) A bd a l -Whhab b . A bd a l -R ahman:168-208 (784-823);

3) Abu Said a l -Af lah: 208-258 (823-871) ;4) Abu Bakr, deposed 258? (871);5) Ab u a l -Yak zan Mo ha m ma d 7 - 281 (7 -

894);6) Ab u H at im Yusuf , d eposed, 281 - ? (894- 7 )

7) Yakub deposed . . . 7 ;8) Abu Hat im Yusuf ree lec ted . . . 7 ;9 ) Yakub ree lec ted , 294-296 (906-908) .The p r i mary func t i on o f t he Imam w as t o

conduct the genera l a f fa i r s of the s ta te and toadmi n i s t e r t he Ibad i t e commonw ea l t h . H einterpre ted and re inforced publ ic l aws andmai n t a i ned o rde r and peace . For t h i s pu rpose ,he appo i n t ed Qadis ( judges) and pol ice chiefs .H e supe rv i sed t he func t i on i ng o f t he cour t s .Eve ry Fr i day and on o t he r spec ia l occas i ons,he off iciates the rel igious service (Salat al-


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106Jama o r A id a l F i t r and A id Addtha ) . T heoff ice of the Ima mite received cer ta in specif ict axes , (Z aka t a nd A shr ) , some o f which weredis t r ibuted to the poor and the res t a l locatedto specia l services and publ ic works . How ever ,t he power o f t he Imam was cons t an t l ychecked, the i r decis ions reviewed and of tencensured and ve toed by t he counc i l o f t heclerks and var ious notables who representedthe i n te r es t s o f t he m a jo r i t y o f t he popu la t i on .

The socia l and ec ono mic l ife of the Ibadi tesin T aher t i s know n to us on ly t h rough a f ewdeta il s in two chronic les . Th e f i rs t was wr i t tenby an o r thodox Mos l em, Ibn S agh i r , whol ived in Taher t dur ing the re ign of the las tImams . T he second one was au thored by anIbad i t e s cho l a r f rom Ourg l a , by t he name o fAbu Z akar iya , a t t he end o f t he XI th cen tu ryA.D. [40] .

S ince the capi ta l c i ty of th i s theocra t icrepublic was located in a strategic t rading si tethat served per fect ly wel l as a com merc ia l linkbetween the pas tora l i s t sheep herders of thes teppes and the nor thern Alger ian agr icul tura lcom mun i t ies of the coas ta l p la ins , the Ibadi teswere bound to develop and fos ter very specia lsymbiot ic re la t ions between these twocomplementa ry eco log i ca l zones . E ven t hep u r e S a h a r a n n o m a d s f r o m a f a r w e r e d r a w nto t he f l our i sh ing marke t s o f T aher t . T heybrough t t he i r ca r avans t he re , l oaded wi thcer ta in products to be exchanged wi th cerealand other TeUian goods such as oi l and dryf rui t s . Upon thei r ar r ival in Taher t , the headsof t hese t r ans -S aharan ca ravans were r equ i r edto go f i r s t to see the Ibadi urban notables inorde r t o make known the i r p r esence . T hen ,t hey r e tu rned t o t he i r camps where t heyremained unt i l the i r depar ture . The pol i t i ca ls tabi li ty , econom ic prosper i ty , and in te l lec tualdeve lopment o f t he Ibad i t e cap i t a l becamevery we ll know n. T aher t a t t r ac ted m any o the rb re th ren o f t he sec t. T hey came f ro m as f a r a sI r aq , P e r s i a , Oman , Mefussa , andT r ipo l i tan i a t o t r ade , s t udy and l ea rn f rom thesuccessful ins t i tu t ional exper ience of thedem ocrat ic- theo cra t ic republ ic . A large

number of these vis i tors s tayed there . IbnSaghi r wrote thatthere was not a single stranger who stopped in the city thatdid not stay among them. Seduced by their economicaffluence, by the exemplary conduct of their Imam, by hissense of justice vis-A-vis his people, and by the securityenjoyed by all for their persons and their property, he builta house among their number and settled. Soon one did notsee a house in the city without heating the inhabitantssaying: this one belongs to a person f rom Koufa, this otherone to one from Kairawan; here is the mosque of the peopleof Kairawan and their market; here is the mosque and themarket of the Basrians, that one belongs to the people ofKoufa [41].

T hus , T aher t became one o f t he bus i e s t andmos t cosmopol i t an marke t cen t e r s i n t heI s lamic wor ld o f t ha t t ime .

Dur ing the ear ly per iod of the Ibadi tetheoc ra t i c r epub l i c t he economy wasorganized a long dis t r ibut ive l ines . At themo me nt o f ha rves t , the Imam ate appropr i a t edan am ount o f su rp lus f rom eve ry p roduce r n o tonly of cereals but a l so of sheep, ca t t le , andcamel s . Upon the comple t i on o f t h i scol lec t ion, the gra ins were dis t r ibuted amongthe indigent households ; then thefunc t i ona ri e s o f t he Im ama te p roceeded t o sel lthese sheep, ca t t le , goats , and camels in themarke t s . A pa r t o f t he money r ece ived f romsuch sa le was sent by the Imam to thegovernors as the i r adminis t ra t ive budget . Theremain ing sum was conver t ed i n to wool andoi l , which then was propor t ional ly di s t r ibutedto every house hold. This d i s t r ibut ion favoredthe Ibadi te indigent fami l ies .

T he pub l i c expend i tu r es o f t he Imamatewere der ived f rom the po l l tax , Khara j , f r omhabous l ands , and var ious other sources . Theexcess of s ta te revenues was a l located topub l i c works t ha t were o f v i t a l impor t anceand ut i l i ty to the inhabi tants . Thus , theIbad i t e t heoc ra t i c r epub l i c o f T aher t wascharacter ized by a di s t r ibut ive economicsys t em tha t t ook i n to accoun t t he we l f a r e o fthe people .

Never the l e s s , T aher t became one o f t hebus ie s t and m os t cosmop ol i t an marke t cen te r s


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i n t he I s l ami c w or l d . The accumul a t i on o fw ea l t h w as so keen t ha t i t a tt r ac t ed o r t h odoxMos l em, C hr i s t i an , and J ew i sh merchan t sf rom a l l ove r t he w or l d . They came andprospe red wi th in the theocra t ic republ ic of theIbadi tes . As a consequence , a genuine c lasss t ruggle appeared wi th th i s prosper i ty whichgene ra t ed an i n t e rna l soc i oeconomi cdi f ferent ia t ion . This c lass conf l ic t was ushere di n a f t e r t he dea t h o f t he fou r t h Imam. Thesocia l s t r i fe centered a lways around thedes ignat ion ancL e lec t ion of a new Ima m. Inmost cases , i t took the form andcharac ter i s t i cs of fac t ional i sm. Each fac t iont r ied t o i m pose i ts cand i da t e f o r t he Imam at e .The mos t p r e dom i nan t f ac t i on w as t ha t o f t hemercha n t c l as s. A l t hou gh i t w as composed o fdiverse e thnic e lements , i t a lways suppor tedthe rul ing el i te .

No less than the religious prestige of the Imams, theresources of the region and the activity of its commerceattracted to Tahert foreigners from Persia, or differentparts of ... Ifrikiya, Nafusa, Tripolitania, and Christians.The Zenata nomads of Ifrikiya and the central Maghribfrequented its markets and grew rich in them. Among theseheterogenous groups, some ... showed themselves regularlythe supporters o f the established authority [42].W hen i n 911 t he Sh i it e a rmy o f t he Fa t i mi ds

a t tacked and se ized the capi ta l of thetheocra t ic repu bl ic , i t a l lowed the sec tar ians tor eal ize fo r a ti me t he i r g r and " s t a t e o f g l o ry" ;the Ibadi tes l e f t Taher t wi th the i r l as t Imam,Y ako ub , an d w i t hd rew t o O uarg l a . A ccord i ngt o A b u Z a k a r i y a t h e y " a r r i v e d t h e re w i t h o u tany obs t ac l e " [ 43 ] . The Imam "w as r ece i vedwi th fu l l honor ; he was g iven a magni f icentr ecep t i on" by t he i nhab i t an t s w ho w ereprobably Ibadi tes . Marcais a t t r ibuted the fa l lt o t he f ac t t ha t s eve ra l o f t he Imams w erescholars ,

caring less for their tasks as rulers than for theologicalspeculation, not to mention profane studies like astronomy.Their surprising tolerance of foreigners, even those hostileto the sect, encouraged the entrance of dissident elementsinto the administration and prepared the way for thecollapse of Tahert and the annexation of the kingdom bythe Shiis [44].

107The survivors , wi th the i r Imam, again

emi gra t ed f rom Ti a r e t , sou t h - eas t w ard i n t othe Sahara . They crossed about 400 mi les ofs teppe and deser t in the i r search for anotheri sola ted and protec t ib le haven, unt i l theyar r ived a t Ouargla , a wide oas i s in southernTougg our t , w he re an Ibad i co l ony had s e t tl edear l ie r . There the refugees f rom Tiare t beganbui ld ing the c i ty of Sedra ta . Onc e the new c i tyw as compl e t ed , the Im am w ho l ed t hem t he r er enounced h i s l eade r sh i p and r e t u rned t opr iva te l i fe . Hencefor th , the re l ig ious andsecular author i ty of the ent i re Ibadi tecommuni t y f e l l t o t he con t ro l o f t he c l e rks .The las t ac t of the res igning Imam was top roc l a i m " t he s t a t e o f s ec r ecy by w hi ch t heIbadi tes separa ted themselves f rom theheterodox wor ld and decided to l ive ent i re lyon t he i r ow n , i n s t ead o f i n mi xedcommuni t i e s " [ 45 ] .

However , the newly bui l t c i ty of Sedra tawas no t very secure mi l i t a ri ly . I t was exposedt o an open dese r t su r rounded by l a rge oasesinhabi ted by war l ike nomads . Bes ides , therew ere pow er fu l b l ack k i ngdom s s i t ua ted i n t hesouth . Never the less , Sedra ta was loca ted in avery favorable and s t ra tegic t rading area . Agrea t dea l o f t r ans -Saha ran t r ade w as d i r ec t edt h rough i t . The c i t y "g r ew and p rospe red ,t hanks t o t he i ndus t ry and app l i ca t i on o f i t sc i t i zens and i t s pos i t ion on a main caravanrou t e f rom t he sou t hw es t t o t he no r t heas t "[46] . The c i ty republ ic of Sedra ta served as arefugee center by a t t rac t ing Ibadi tes w ho wereanxious to escape persecut ion f rom a l l over a l -M a g h r e b .

B u t i n t he l ong run , dange r o f a t t ack w asant ic ipate d by this exclusive sect , so a s t rategicwi thdrawal was organized. In fac t , theIbad i te s w i t hd rew g radua l l y i n t o t he a r i d andi nhosp i t ab l e l i mes t one h i gh l and o f t heSheibka , a safer p lace only 120 mi les to thesouthwes t , about 400 mi les south of Algiers .Th i s r eg i on w as avo ided , even by t he nom ads ,because i t possessed no w ater resource and nograz ing grounds ; in a word, i t was a bar renand l i feless zone.


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108Thus in 1011 A.D . , a l Ateuf , the f i rs t c i ty of

Mzab w as founded by t he Ibad i i mmi gran t sf rom Sedra ta ; about three decades la ter , Bou-N oura and Mel i ka w ere bu i l t , f o l l ow ed byBeni - I squen and a t l as t the cons t ruc t ion ofG ha rdaya began i n 1053 A . D . H i s t o ry p rovedt ha t t he i r dec i s i on t o abandon Sedra t a w as awise ly c la i rvoyant one; i t was des t royed in1075 A.D . by a war l ike noma dic Berber t r ibe .A s t he R ona r t s w ro t e :

There, in the Wadi Mzab - whence the name under whichthey are currently referred to - in centuries of hard workthey created palm-groves of nearly 300,000 date treesirrigated by a dense network of channels under themonotomous grating sound of the pulley and cords, the"Son g of the Wadi Mzab ," which, kept in ceaseless motionby donkeys and camels, take up in leather buckets the waterof some 3,000 wells over 200 feet deep. These plantationsrequiring an enormous investment of work and energy arenot to be regarded, however, from the point of view ofeconomic returns; in fact, their maintenance is madepossible only by the gains of the Mozabite merchantsestablished in the towns all over Algeria. It is a deep- rootedreligious particularism which makes their upkeep,commercially considered, a luxury, a sacred duty of theMozabite community [47].The above passage i s h ighly charac ter is t i c of

var ious s tudies devoted to the confederacy ofMzab . Few au t hor s pa i d a t t en t i on t odiachronic soc iocul tura l evolut ion of theMozabi tes . The major i ty of s tudies wereconsecra ted to the fasc ina t ing synchronicdescr ip t ion of the Beni -Mzabs ' uniquelyr e l i g i ous "pa r t i cu l a r i sm" i n N or t h A f r i ca .

Since the reasons tha t mot iva t ied anddeterm inated the h i s tor ica l orig ins and grow thof the f ive c i t i es tha t made up theconfede ra t i on o f Mzab a r e t hus ou t l i ned , Iwi l l turn now to the analys is of the fur th erdeve l opment and evo l u t i on o f t he Ibad i t e s 'cul ture and socie ty . However , a shor tgeographica l descr ip t ion of the so-ca l ledShe i bka r eg i on is i n o rde r. T he w ord She i bkameans "a ne t " i n A rab i c . Th i s r eg i on i ss i tua ted , in a rocky l imes tone area in themiddle of the Sahara . The bes t descr ip t ion ofMzab i s provided again by Alpor t :

The ground of bare stone has eroded into a criss-crossnetwork or maze of short ravines and clefts. In the centerof this barren wilderness, the bed of the river Mzab for msa valley between low, yellowish hills. In the lower part ofthis valley lie the five cities perched on the slopes or onhigher ground in the river bed. They are built fairly closetogether so that fr om each it is easy to see one or two of theothers ... They are all surrounded by stout walls and eachis crowned by the Minaret of its mosque, shaped like anobelisk and lacking any kind of decoration [48].

Thus the se t t l ement pa t te rns of the newlyconceived and cons t ruc ted c i t i es appear to bebased on a wel l - thought -out a prior i , strategicplan tha t expected eventual ons laughts to berepulsed. In fac t , the i r long hi s tory as are l ig ious minor i ty taught them how the i r c i t iesshould be p lanned in such a way as to bedefens ib le agains t eventual mi l i t a ry a t tacks .

The r iver Mzab does not f low f requent ly , i tonly r ises once every 12 or 13 years . But thera in fa l l s f rom t ime to t ime. However , inorder to i r r iga te the numerous ar t i f i c ia l lymade-ou t -o f -no t h i ng pa l mgroves desc r i bedabove, a very comp lex i r riga t ion sys tem had tobe dev i sed . Wat e r w as d r aw n f rom abou t3 ,000 wel ls tha t vary in depth f rom 10 to 200fee t . Thus desp i t e H un t i ng t on ' s con t en t i onthat the hot c l imate of a tor r id zone makespeople lazy, the Mozabi tes , wi th anext raordinary ef for t and a cons tant lysus ta ined hard labor , p lanted , mainta ined,and cared for da te-palms and var ious f ru i tt rees cont inual ly in the mids t of the Saharadeser t . A long t ime before the invent ion andu t i l i za t i on o f modern t echno l ogy t ha trevolut ionized hum an abi li ty to exploi t d iverseecologica l zones , the sec tar ians succeeded inmak i ng t he dese rt t r u l y "b l o om " on the i r ow nand w i t hou t any he l p f rom t he ou t s i de . A l lt hese ach i evemen t s w ere b rough t abou t by anarduous perseverence sus ta ined by the i rgenuinely cohes ive and highly in tegra t ivesociocul tura l sys tem. Never the less , theforceful ly imposed technologica l innovat ionst ha t made succes sfu l t he econo mi c adap t a t i onof the Mozabi tes to an or ig ina l ly bar renenvi ronment , could nour i sh only a cer ta innumber of people . The ecologica l se t t ings of


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109She i bka w ere no t f avorab l e t o t r ad i ngact iv i t i es in which the Ibadi tes have beenspecia l ized s ince Tiare t . Mzab was qui tei sola ted; here the Mozabi tes t raded wi th onlya few oases which were inhabi ted byseden t a r i zed nomads . I t shou l d be no t ed a tth i s point tha t the Ibadi tes were the onlyurban i zed i s l and su r rounded by a s ea o f deser tnomads . The p r e s su re o f an i nc r eas i ngpopu l a t i on t ha t w as appa ren t l y gene ra t ed byt he new l y c r ea ted pa l m-grove p l an t a t i ons a ndvar ious o ther f ru i t t rees tha t were breedablyadap t ab l e t o t he a r t i f i ca l l y made Saha ranoases , induced the Mozabi tes to expand toother exploi table oases . These inc ludedBerr iane , s i tua ted 47 ki lometers to the nor th ;Guer rera , 99 k i lometers to the nor th-eas t andnot far f rom the i r met ropol i s ; Met l i l i oas i s ,w h i ch became w i de l y ow ned by Ibad i g roupsbut remained se t t l ed by some sedentar izedA r a b n o m a d s .

A fu r t he r deve l opment and expans i on o fthese h ighly innovat ive deser t p lanta t ions ofdate and f ru i t - t ree gardens was nonethelessecologica l ly l imi ted; so the "Pa ss iveenv i ronment " t hw ar t ed , i n t he l ong run , a l lgenu i ne e f fo r t made by t he Mozab i t e s t ocont inue increas ing fur ther sources of energyw hi ch w ou l d have kep t pace w i t h a popu l a t i ongrow t h t ha t had been magn i f i ed by t hecons tant a r r iva l of Ibadi te immigrants f romot he r pa r ts o f t he Maghreb and t he Mashreq .The b i ophys i ca l env i ronment o f a ba r r endeser t l imi ted the fur ther coloniza t ion andspread o f t he Mozab i t e popu l a t i on ove r t heSahara . His tor ica l ly , the Mozabi tes in i t i a tedand deve l oped an u rban cu l t u r e t ha t more o rless ru led out any resor t to nomadiza t ionwhich i s cons idered as the bes t adapta t ion toa deser t envi ronment . The ca tegor ica l re fusa lon t he pa r t o f t he Mozab i t e s t o becomenomads r e fu t e s t he c l a i ms o f t heenv i ronment a l de t e rmi n i s t s . Faced w i t h suchbas i c demograph i c and economi c p rob l emsnecess i ta t ing a sound and viable solut ion , thesons and daughters of the exclus iveconfede ra t i on r equ i r ed an e f f ec t i ve new

econom i c and dem ograph i c adap t i ve r ad i a ti ont o con t i nue t o p ropaga t e and pe rpe t ua t e t hei rk ind. This new adapt ive radia t ion , in i t i a tedaf ter the 14th century , cons i s ted of out -migra t ion to the Tel l by t raders who excel ledin lucra t ive mercant i l e ac t iv i t i es of var ioussor ts ( the pa t te rn of th i s migra t io n wi l l beanalyzed be low) . As a resul t of th is co mm erce ,the Mozabi tes have been successful lysa t i s fy ing the i r mater ia l needs up to thepresen t day w i t hou t any ha rdsh i p .

In fact , as ear ly as 1849, three years beforet he i mpos i t i on o f t he F rench p ro t ec t o r a t eupon t he dese r t confede ra t i on , a F r enchvis i tor descr ibed Mzab as fo l lows:

The oasis of Oued-Mzab appears covered by near-bare andarid mountains. The rocky asperities ... are separated byvalleys covered by a stou t thick layer of sand ; there are eightsmall cities erected in the middle of palm-groves inhabitedby the most active and most mercantile population ofAlgeria. There is not a single town in our establishments,either on the coast or inland where the traders of Oued-Mzab do not possess numerous stores. The eight cities of theoases count altogether 36,000 souls; they have no less than3,036 established in different areas under our occupation inthe Tell. All the natives agree on the commercial importanceof Ghardaya, capital of the oases. Numerous caravans, verywell loaded, arrive daily to Ghardaya; and in less than a fewhours their merchandise is sold and they depart again. OnlyGhardaya city is inhabited by 12,000 souls [49].

In 1852, a f te r the f ie rce ba t t l e of Laghouati n w h i ch t he F rench co l on i a l a rmy opposedthe Alger ian res i s tance , resul t ing in theeradica t ion of th i s c i ty , and " the ignobleb l oody massac re o f i ts popu l a t i on w hi ch w asnot far f rom there" [50] , the Mozabi tesrea l ized the danger and imposs ib i l i ty ofsuccessful ly resis t ing the invasion of theirt e r r i t o ry by t he a rmy o f t he " i n f i de l s . " Theyf ina l ly dec ided to negot ia te wi th the FrenchG enera l R an don a p ro t ec t o r a t e f o r t he spec if icpurpose o f avo i d i ng t he f a t e o f t he Z i bans, apopu l a t i on t ha t w as ex t e rmi na t ed by t heco l on i a l a rmy ea r l i e r . G ene ra l R andon , Whoconduc t ed t hese nego t i at i ons on beh a l f o f t heFrenc h, dec lared tha t a t th is t ime i t would notbe " opp or t u ne po l it i ca l ly t o ex t end at ightening, d i rec t adminis t ra t ion over the


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111core of these l ineage counci l s was cons t i tu tedby t he l eade r s w ho w ere chosen on t he bas is o fexper ience and learning. They somet imes he ldres t r ic ted meet ings in the presence of one oft h e m e m b e r s o f t h e halqa (circle) ; the counci lo f t h e halqa i s made up o f 12 member s w hoare e lec ted by the notables of the l ineages togovern every c ity . This coun ci l of the c lerks ispres ided over by a she ikh. There was ,apparent ly , no s ingle head of theconfede ra t i on . When t he r e w ere i mpor t an tdecis ions tha t concerned a l l of the c i t i es , a l lthe c lerks of she ikhs of Mza b m et in a genera lassembly for specia l de l ibera t ions . Themeasures t aken r equ i r ed t he back i ng o f agenera l consensus . These segmentarysociopol i t i ca l organiza t ion s were cond ucive tofac t ional i sm and a

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