Theological views of Muhammad Ibn Tumart

Muhammad Ibn Tumart is a person who influenced the religious thought and politics of the Maghreb in the 12th century. He went to Andalusia from the Maghreb to learn science at a young age and took lessons in Cordoba for a while. When he could not find what he was looking for here, he went on a journey to the east and learned hadith, fiqh, logic and kalam by attending the classes of Muslim scholars in cities such as Alexandria, Mecca, Medina and Baghdad. When he returned to the lands of his birth with his rich knowledge, Mâlikî jurists' refusal to interpret the mutashabih issues and the wrong practices of the Murabid administration made him a political identity. Although the administrators were disturbed by the direct intervention of Islam in practices that did not comply with the principles of faith, practice and morality in the cities he visited in North Africa until he left the east and came to the lands of Merakeş, he gained a serious following among the people. Carrying out his activities with the principle of Emir bi'l-ma'rûf nehiy ani'l-munkar, Ibn Tûmert aimed to reform the corrupted parts of religious life in the society in line with this principle. In his lectures, he taught the subjects of reforming the society and the principles of Islam in the form of creed. However, his attitude resembling Kharijites from time to time caused him to be perceived as a threat to state administrators. In order to strengthen his struggle with the state administrators and to create a more systematic opposition structure, he settled in Tinmelel, where his tribe was, and established the Almohad Movement. Here he declared his Mahdi and made the first serious attempt against the Almoravid State. Thus, he took his place in history as a religious and political figure. In this way, our thesis aims to evaluate Ibn Tûmert's thoughts that fall into the field of theology in order to contribute to the solution of the relationship between theology and politics.