Islam. 35on the tips of their lances and called for neutral Muslims to
arbitrate between the contestants in accordance with God's
word. It appeared that the arbitration went against Ali, and
many of his followers tried to persuade him to accept it. Feel-
ing thus empowered, Muawiyyah deposed Ali, sent troops
into Iraq and had himself proclaimed caliph in Jerusalem.
But some of Ali's more radical supporters refused to accept
the arbitration and were shocked by Ali's submission. In their
view, Uthman had failed to live up to the standard of the
Quran. Ali had compromised with the supporters of injustice
by failing to right the wrongs committed by Uthman and was,
therefore, no true Muslim. They withdrew from the ummah,
which they claimed had betrayed the spirit of the Quran, and
set up their own camp with an independent commander. Ali
suppressed these extremists, who became known as the kharajis
(seceders), wiping out the original rebels, but the movement
gained adherents throughout the empire. Many had been per-
turbed by the nepotism of Uthman's reign, and wanted to im-
plement the egalitarian spirit of the Quran. The Kharajites
were always a minority group, but their position was important,
since it was the first instance of an important Muslim trend,
whereby the politics that affected the morality of the ummah
led to a new theological development. The Kharajites insisted
that the ruler of the Islamic community should not be the most
powerful but the most committed Muslim; caliphs should not
be power-seekers like Muawiyyah. God had given human be-
ings free will and, since he was just, he would punish such evil-
doers as Muawiyyah, Uthman and Ali, who by betraying Islam
had become apostates. The Kharajites were extremists but they
forced Muslims to consider the question of who was and who
was not a Muslim. So important was the political leadership as
a religious idea that it led to discussions about the nature of
God, predestination and human freedom.
Ali's harsh treatment of the Kharajites cost him much sup-