Among the various Muslim communities that were articulating their doctrinal positions in the early Islamic centuries, one in particular was known derisively as the Ghulat ("extremists"). This was owing to their specific interpretation of Islam, which included an "extreme" devotion to the Shi'i Imams and the family of the Prophet, and controversial religious ideas, such as the transmigration of souls into other human or sub-human forms. Widely active in Iraq in the 8th and 9th centuries, the Ghulat developed a complex worldview and produced a rich religious literature. Until now,...
Among the various Muslim communities that were articulating their doctrinal positions in the early Islamic centuries, one in particular was known d...
