RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIESsame way, local Christian practices of religious poverty based on trust
in God were reinforced by the Qur:'anic assertion of divine providence
and found an Islamic expression in tawakkul. The pious Khariji at-
titude of spending one's worldly goods to advance the cause of God
and to gain salvation was a combination of Qur'anic and ascetic
Christian ideas, as was the tolerant postponement of judgment for
sinners by leaving them to God on the Day of Judgment. The Islamic
solutions to the problem of resolving divine omnipotence with human
responsibility by the concepts of divine guidance and demonic mis-
guidance, divine providence which determines material existence, and
the reduction of human responsibility to the initial choice between
good and evil combined Qur'anic, Christian, and Magian objections
to the operation of a mechanistic, impersonal fate. The relationship
of prophetic claims made for the family of 'Ali to Judaic affinities in
the Qur'an may have been reinforced by the Jewish background of
some Arab tribes and by current ideas about Elijah. The concept of
the return of the hero seems to have been coordinated with expecta-
tions of a Messianic return. Conversely, since extreme forms of Man-
ichaean and Christian asceticism such as celibacy, vegetarianism, and
self-degradation did not receive such reinforcement, they were not
acceptable to most Muslims. The same may be said of gnostic ideas
about incarnation, the transmigration of souls, elitist antinomianism,
dualism, and the esoteric interpretation of scripture which came from
the local Marcionite, Manichaean, and Mandaean background.
To a certain extent, doctrines that were used to support authority
or rebellion among other groups were also used by Muslims for the
same purpose. Political and religious authority tended to be based on
appeals to divine legitimation and destiny, public observance of ritual,
communal solidarity, and conformity. Alienation and opposition tended
to be expressed in terms of private piety and asceticism, which among
Muslims were linked to armed revolt. Some claims, such as prophetic
religious authority, were made by both sides. It is also important to
realize that although almost everything that was current in other re-
ligious traditions can be found among Muslims in some form in the
century after the conquest, the Khawarij and the supporters of 'An
and his family, especially the extremists, did not constitute a majority
of the Muslims in Iraq.
The depth of continuity through transmission may be measured by
the fact that not only were many details of local religious belief and
custom adopted by Muslims, but that the arguments associated with