MUSLIMS: DOCTRINESat Basra when 'Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad was governor.^33 A lower-class
Persian (Ar. 'ilj) named Muslim who settled in Basra, converted to
Islam, and joined the Khawarij is said to have been the one who shot
and killed Mas'iid ibn 'Amr in 683.^34 The three descendents of Mal).iiz
at Basra were active among the Azariqa. Naf!' ibn al-Azraq himself
is said to have been the son of a freed blacksmith of Greek origin;
after he was killed, the ascetic 'Abdullah ibn Mal).iiz led the Azariqa.^35
The Christian background or connections of some of the Khawarij
may have contributed to the way their ideas developed and were
expressed. There were Christians among the 'Abd al-Qays before they
became Muslims and local Christians sometimes joined Khariji upris-
ings or collaborated with them. Al-Khanar an-NamirI, who had been
a Christian (probably Monophysite) before becoming a Muslim, led
a Khariji uprising in Radhan in the late 690s.^36
The militant asceticism and exclusiveness of the Azariqa and other
Khawarij seem to reflect contemporary patterns among the other re-
ligious communities in Iraq. Jews used social ostracism, and Christians
practiced excommunication. The penalty of death for apostasy was of
Magian 'origin and was used against the Khawarij by the Islamic au-
thorities. Aside from their homicidal behavior, the issues raised by the
Khawarij seem rather close to those concerning the position of a monk
in a monastic community, especially among Nestorians in the early
seventh century, as reflected in the monastic canons. The Khariji def-
inition of sin in terms of polytheism has close parallels among Jews
and Christians, who could have supplied the terms for these KharijI
statements as well as the attitude that lies behind them. In the Talmud,
arrogance is made equivalent to idolatry and it is said that evil thoughts
and behavior will lead to idolatryY In a letter written to one of his
bishops in 585, the Nestorian catholicos Isho'yahbh I referred to usury
and cupidity as true idolatry.38
This impression is increased by the career and teaching of the KharijI
Salil). ibn Musarril). of the tribe of Tamim. In 695 he and his followers
were at Dara, and in Ard Mawsil, and in the J azira in the midst of
Christian monasteries, and in the part of Mesopotamia where the
33 Baladhurl, Ansiib, IVb, 90, 94.
34 Tabari, Ta'rikh, n, 461.
3S Dinawari, Akhbiir at-#wiil, pp. 279, 284; Rubinacci, "Azari~a," p. 810.
36 Baladhuri, Ansiib, fol. SIb.
37 Rodkinson, Talmud, IX, "Aboth," 19; "Derech Eretz-Rabba," 18.
38 Chabot, Synodicon, pp. 180, 439.