Ibrahimiyya (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: الإبراهيمية; Turkish: İbrahimiyye) was a

Ghulat The () were a branch of history of Shia Islam, early Shi'a Islam. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of List of extinct Shia sects, extinct Shi'i sects active in 8th- and 9th-century Kufa in Lower Mesopotamia, and who, despite their somet ...

sect of

Shia Islam in Iraq Shia Islam in Iraq () has a history going back to the times of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first imam of Shia Islam and fourth caliph of Sunni Islam who moved the capital of the early caliphate from Medina to Kufa (or Najaf) two decades after the de ...

. Ibrahimiyya was made up of

Iraqi Turkmen The Iraqi Turkmen (, عراق تورکمنلری; Arabic: تركمان العراق), also referred to as Iraqi Turks, (, عراق توركلری; ) are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq. They make up to 10%–13% of the Iraqi population. I ...

around Talafar. It emerged when the

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

first captured Iraq, and it dissolved in the 1920s after its adherents gradually converted to mainstream Twelver Shia Islam.

History

Ibrahimiyya emerged in Talafar, which became its stronghold. Its adherents were all

. It emerged right after the first time the

conquered Iraq. Ibrahimiyya originated from the heterodox

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash (Latin script: ) ; ; (modern Iranian reading: ); were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman "The Qizilbash, composed mainly of Turkman tribesmen, were the military force introduced by the conquering Safavis to the Irani ...

beliefs, and had similarities with the Safavi order,

Bektashism Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

Alevism Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differ ...

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

, and

Yarsanism Yarsanism (), Ahl-e Haqq (; ), or Kaka'i, is an Ethnoreligious group, inherited, syncretism, syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over ...

. Ibrahimiyya was considered a Ghulat sect. Ibrahimiyya venerated

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...

as men most trusted by

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, and believed that Moses and Reuben were killed by Zoroastrians at the time of the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. Ibrahimiyya believed in the

Haqq–Muhammad–Ali Haqq–Muhammad–Ali is a mystical communion doctrine in Alevism that involves Haqq (‘Truth’ referring to the divine nature of Allah), Muhammad ('Yol' or Sunnah referring to the Jem (Alevism)) and Ali (‘ Nūr’ referring to the Awliya). ...

trinity. The holy book of Ibrahimiyya was the Buyruk, although different from the Buyruk of Shabakism. They were written in the same language, although the Ibrahimiyya version of the Buyruk contained content that was not present in the Shabak version of the Buyruk, including a brief biography of Sheikh Safiaddin and some hymns composed by Shah Ismail and other Qizilbash poets. In some parts, the Ibrahimiyya version was more detailed than the Shabak version. The Ibrahimiyya were a faction of the heterodox Iraqi Turkmen Shias, who were isolated from the orthodox Iraqi Turkmen Shias. They were generally very secretive about their religion. In the 1920s, Twelver Shia missionaries from Southern Iraq began to

proselytise Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

the heterodox Twelver Shias across the country, and the Ibrahimiyya gradually converted to orthodox Shia Islam.Turkic Peoples Of The World, Margaret Bainbridge, 2013, pp. 174,

References

{{reflist Shia Islam in Iraq Shia communities Iraqi Turkmens Extinct Islamic sects