Mehdi BERRIAH

The division and political upheavals experienced by the eastern territories of the Dār al-Islām in the tenth century CE were factors that complicated the social and political, when they experienced an irruption of conquering peoples from the eleventh century onwards. Another factor at play with regard to this dynamic was the gradual militarization of powerful elites. These elites initiated new forms of conflict and framed the discourse around war. Continuing in the vein of the last decade in the field of war studies, this dossier focuses on the notions of ǧihād and fitna. Formulated in the context of a discourse grounded in Qur'an and hadiths, the founding texts of Islam, these two notions fueled discourses on war in medieval Islam. Through the diversity of themes and the nature of sources reflected in this volume, contributions by historians and islamologists of this dossier aim, from a diachronic perspective, to shed light on the meanings and evolution of these two terms, as well as the ways in which they were used in different contexts. The dossier also includes three articles in the varia section.

Originaire pour la plupart des steppes eurasiatiques du Kipchak, région réputée pour son peuple de cavaliers, et achetés pour être formés à la guerre, ceux qu’on appelle les Mamelouks furent propulsés sur le devant de la scène dans le sillage de la septième croisade. Qui aurait pu penser que c’est sur les épaules de ces esclaves-soldats étrangers et nouvellement convertis à l’islam que le sort de territoires de l’Islam allait reposer pendant plusieurs décennies ? Et pourtant, ce sont bien les Mamelouks qui, dix ans à peine après leur prise du pouvoir en Egypte, portèrent pour un temps l’étendard de l’Islam lequel menaçait de tomber face à divers dangers extérieurs. En un peu plus d’un demi-siècle, les Mamelouks réussirent là où beaucoup d’autres dynasties musulmanes échouèrent : ils réussirent à mettre fin à l'existence des États latins d’Orient, au royaume d’Arménie-Cilicie, à soumettre le royaume de Nubie et, surtout, à arrêter les invasions mongoles. Ce dernier exploit est, en grande partie, à l’origine du prestige et de la réputation militaire des Mamelouks. Au cours des XIIIe et XIVe siècles, les sultans et émirs mamelouks mirent sur pied l’une des armées les plus puissantes du Proche-Orient. Plus qu’un métier, la guerre était la raison d’être des Mamelouks. A partir de l’analyse et de la confrontation des sources arabes, latines, arméniennes et persanes, Mehdi Berriah a réalisé plusieurs études sur l’art de la guerre de ces cavaliers hors pair dont certaines sont rassemblées dans cet ouvrage.

The present edited volume offers a collection of new concepts and approaches to the study of mobility in pre-modern Islamic societies. It includes nine remarkable case studies from different parts of the Islamic world that examine the professional mobility within the literati and, especially, the social-cum-cultural group of Muslim scholars (ʿulamāʾ) between the eighth and the eighteenth centuries. Based on individual case studies and quantitative mining of biographical dictionaries and other primary sources from Islamic Iberia, North and West Africa, Umayyad Damascus and the Hejaz, Abbasid Baghdad, Ayyubid and Mamluk Syria and Egypt, various parts of the Seljuq Empire, and Hotakid Iran, this edited volume presents professional mobility as a defining characteristic of pre-modern Islamic societies.

Si la participation des ulémas et des hommes de religion aux affaires de la guerre est un phénomène assez connu dans l’Islam médiéval de manière générale, on peut constater qu’il l’est moins pour l’époque mamlouke bahrite, en particulier en ce qui concerne le rôle et la participation militaire des ulémas aux côtés de l’armée. Constat paradoxal lorsqu’on sait que l’époque est celle d’une revivification de l’esprit du jihad avec les exploits militaires des Mamlouks remportés sur les Mongols, les Francs et les Arméniens. En outre, les auteurs d’époque apportent bon nombre d’informations sur le sujet. Ils relatent en effet la présence d’hommes de religion et d’ascètes accompagnant l’armée mamlouke dans ses campagnes et décrivent, de manière plus ou moins détaillée, leur rôle et leur implication. Ce dernier constat soulève plusieurs questions : dans quel rôle les ulémas et les hommes de religion sont-ils présentés comme des contributeurs à l’effort du jihad des Mamlouks dans les sources ? Si leur rôle de propagandiste, de soutien psychologique et d’accompagnateur
idéologique des élites politiques et militaires semble évident, comment est-il décrit par les auteurs ? Qu’en est-il de leur rôle proprement militaire sur les champs de bataille ? Est-il symbolique ? Participent-ils au combat ? Si oui, de quelle manière et comment cette participation guerrière est-elle présentée ? Représentent-ils et sont-ils présentés comme une aide et un apport substantiels pour les Mamlouks ? Enfin, quelle fut la perception,
par l’élite mamlouke, de la participation de ces hommes de religion dans les affaires du jihad ? À partir de l’analyse et de la confrontation des sources arabes mamloukes, cet article tente donc de faire la lumière sur la représentation, par les auteurs d’époque mamlouke, du rôle et de la participation des ulémas et des hommes de religion dans l’effort du jihad de la moitié du viie/xiiie au début du viiie/xive siècles.

The conquest of the Frankish and Armenian fortresses attests to the high level of mastery achieved by the Mamluk army in the art of siege warfare. In addition to the large number of places they conquered, the short duration of their sieges raises the question of the process and phases of the Mamluk army's sieges, the presence of specialized corps (sappers, artificers), and above all their use of artillery. Had the Mamluks not used heavy artillery with effective firepower, they would never have been able to conquer so many Frankish and Armenian strongholds in such a short time. This article builds on previous articles by scholars who have examined some aspects of the Mamluk army's artillery, aiming to broaden our knowledge of the equipment and processes of the Mamluk army in siege warfare during the 7th/13th and 8th/14th centuries. By comparing Mamluk didactic and narrative sources, this study attempts to provide new data on the siege equipment of the Mamluk army and its use, and to shed light on questions relating to Mamluk poliorcetics that have been debated by scholars.

Sasanian Military theory has not been studied in depth since C. A. Inostrancev's paper, published in 1926, which proposed a translation of the Persian Ēwēn-nāmag cited by Ibn Qutayba in the ʿUyūn al-aḫbār. This article offers a reassessment of this topic and aims to give a wider look at the theoretical sources which were part of the Iranian de re militari literature. The matters covered by these documents are exposed and compared with the data collected by emperor Maurice about the Sasanian art of war in the Strategikon (late 6th century). We also take into account the fragments of Persian literature preserved in many Muslim furūsiyya treatises. Some of these prescriptions attributed to ancient Persian sources are presented with new translations as an appendix to this article.

The Mamluk victory at ʿAyn Ǧālūt on 25 Ramaḍān 658/3 September 1260 is certainly one of the most famous events in the history of the Mamluk-Ilkhanid war. It has been the subject of numerous works and fueled a rich debate among scholars. Although the facts overall are fairly well-known, there remain several grey areas and some important questions are still unanswered. By comparing Arabic, Latin, Armenian, Persian and Syriac chronicles, this article attempts to shed light on various questions concerning the battle of ʿAyn Ǧālūt and the events that led up to it. It will thus be possible to take a new look at one of the most important battles in history.

The question of jihad is fundamental to Ibn Taymiyya since he is one of the theologians of the Mamluk period-and probably of the entire medieval period-who wrote the most on this subject. Jihad was an essential part of the life of the famous theologian of Damascus, who took part in the Mamluk war effort as a volunteer in various expeditions. Over the last decades, scholars have been interested in the issue of jihad in Ibn Taymiyya and have highlighted several elements. These works have helped us learn more about the ideology of jihad in Ibn Taymiyya. However, it should be noted that those works focus on the jihad against a particular enemy (Mongols, heretics of the Kisrawān, Shi'ites) in a particular context and do not deal much with Ibn Taymiyya's general conception of jihad, for which several grey areas remain. This article will discuss Ibn Taymiyya and his general conception of jihad. My method is broken down into two steps to provide new elements and research perspectives. In the first instance, I will identify the maximum of Ibn Taymiyya's writings and passages related to jihad, making the beginning of a type of inventory. Then I will analyze their content and cross-check them to bring to light general aspects of Ibn Taymiyya's conception of jihad.

https://comprendrelislam.fr/islam-et-violence/le-jihad-dans-loeuvre-dibn-taymiyya-mort-en-1328/

Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) est l’un des théologiens de l’époque mamelouke qui a abondamment écrit sur le jihad. Il a en outre participé activement aux expéditions militaires aux cotés de l’armée mamelouke. L’un des éléments susceptibles d’expliquer cet intérêt pour le jihad consiste dans le contexte de guerre de la Syrie à la fin du XIIIe et au début du XIVe siècle, où il vécut. La période correspond, à quelques années près, au conflit entre le sultanat mamelouk et les Mongols de l’ilkhanat voisin (1260-1323), et à la guerre contre les Francs et contre les Arméniens. Sa vie fut donc rythmée par les incessants combats des Mamelouks. Enfant, il fut contraint de quitter sa ville natale de Harran avec sa famille en raison de l’avancée mongole, marquée par un lot de dévastations et d’exactions. Cet évènement constitua très probablement un réel traumatisme qui nourrit en partie son militantisme pro-jihad et sa détermination à combattre les Mongols.

Unrivaled cavalrymen, the Mamluks were the undisputed masters of the furūsiyya in their time. Furūsiyya art was the result of a combination of different equestrian and military traditions. As argued by A. Carayon in 2012, this art reached its peak under the Mamluks and became a channel of social distinction. This article examines various aspects of the practice of furūsiyya beyond military parades and competitions that were practiced by Mamluk legions. Did the passion for furūsiyya only exist among the Mamluks or did its practice extend to other social groups? As such, how did this interest in furūsiyya transcend social boundaries? Was it practiced only as a military art? Did the practice of the furūsiyya mean more to the Mamluks than mere military training and a channel to social distinction? These are some of the questions that I will attempt to answer in this discussion based on the analysis of various sources including chronicles, instruction and training manuals, and religious treatises.

The contemporary terrorist attacks perpetrated in the name of Islam, both in the West and the Muslim world, lead to a renewed examination of the question of violence in Islam and its sacred texts, particularly in the Quran. Relying on a multidisciplinary team (historians, specialists of Islamic studies and philologists), this project aims not only to revisit the place of jihad in the Quranic text but also, above all, to study its interpretation by the ʿulamā’ of the medieval period (7th-15th centuries) and its practical declinations, in particular on the battlefield. Firstly, the semantics of the so-called "sword" verses and their articulation in the Quranic text will be analysed, drawing on the most recent Quranological works. In addition, it will be necessary to shed light on the interpretation of these verses by medieval scholars, with a particular focus on their procedures. By interpretive procedures, we mean the parameters and phases of reflection that led the scholars to propose such interpretation(s) for the verses relating to jihad. It will also attempt to compare and contrast scholars' interpretations from different periods to highlight and understand the similarities and differences that ultimately reflect scholars' positions regarding fiqh al-jihad. Finally, particular attention will be paid to the way in which these interpretations irrigate the social field. Several events in partnership with French and European universities and institutions and bringing together specialists from various disciplines (Islamic studies, history, philology, political science, linguistics) are planned. Some of them will be published. The project aims to produce an exhaustive synthesis of the place of jihad in the Quranic text, the interpretations of the verses of jihad proposed by medieval scholars, and the literature on medieval jihad from the 7th to the 15th century. A historiographical review of the works on the subject in French, English and, as far as possible, Arabic will also be submitted.

Grâce à la recension et à l’analyse serrée de la littérature du jihad médiéval, et principalement du grand juriste Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328), il s’agit d’examiner comment les groupes jihado-takfiristes construisent leur idéologie, la diffusent et la revêtent d’une légitimité leur permettant de convaincre de potentiels adhérents chez des publics influençables. De fait, si ce public peut être une proie, c’est en partie car ses membres n’ont accès à la littérature médiévale que par la médiation de textes souvent tronqués, mis hors contexte et dotés de commentaires affichant une orientation clairement belliciste. De nombreux politologues comme Gilles Kepel, Olivier Roy, Romain Caillet, David Bénichou, Farhad Khosrokhavar, Philippe Migaux ou encore Myriam Benraad s’intéressent au phénomène jihadiste en étudiant les fais et les écrits des jihadistes. Si ces faits et leurs conséquences ne peuvent être que contemporains, leurs causes et surtout leur idéologie sont bien antérieures. Pour analyser et mieux comprendre les discours et l’idéologie de ces mouvances jihadistes, il est indispensable de le faire à la lumière de savants religieux tels qu’Ibn Taymiyya (m. 1328) et de leurs écrits.
Le projet vise à étudier la manière dont les textes de ces savants, et en particulier ceux d'Ibn Taymiyya, sont sélectionnés, manipulés, traduits en français et diffusés sur internet. Il s'agit aussi de comprendre le contenu de ce corpus et les usages qui en sont faits, à la fois par les émetteurs et les récepteurs. Plusieurs manifestations scientifiques rassemblant des spécialistes de diverses disciplines (islamologie, histoire, science politique, linguistique) sont prévues et certaines feront l'objet d'une publication. La finalité du projet est de réaliser une synthèse exhaustive sur les littératures du jihad médiéval et contemporain ainsi qu’un bilan historiographique des travaux sur la question, aussi bien en langue française, anglaise et, dans la mesure du possible, en arabe. De cette manière, les substrats sur lesquels repose le phénomène complexe du jihadisme contemporain pourront être mieux appréhendés et compris. 

Over the past two decades, the growing number of works on Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) confirms the ever-growing interest of scholars in the famous Ḥanbalī theologian of Damascus who is undeniably one of the most studied and well-known medieval Muslim theologians both in the Arab world and in the West. This is due to his numerous works on a wide range of subjects, in which a rich and complex writings which still influence to a certain extent contemporary Islam. As a result, Ibn Taymiyya is more often (mis)quoted than understood in addition to be often wrongly described as “fanatical”, “rigorist” and “radical” (Makdisi, L’Islam hanbalisant, 57-58, 61, 67; Rapoport and Shahab, Ibn Taymiyya and His Time, 4; Michot, “Ibn Taymiyya et le mythe du grand méchant barbu”, 35-54.).
The flowering of studies on the shaykh over the last two decades has broadened our knowledge of his work and thought, including his position in matters of dogma, Sufism, logic, philosophy, politics but also the reading and reception of his writings after his death and during the modern period (Caterina Bori). There nevertheless remains much ground to be covered in all these topics of research.
This conference seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the “Ibn Taymiyya phenomenon” (Little, “Did Ibn Taymiyya Have a Screw Loose?”) by providing a platform for specialists in the field to present and share their latest findings. The frame of the conference is widely defined and may include papers on Ibn Taymiyya himself, his students and followers, or the influence of his intellectual legacy in later times. Participants are encouraged to propose a paper on any new or little-studied aspect related to Ibn Taymiyya’s thought and legacy.

Journée d'études La liberté humaine en islam classique Approches plurielles. La liberté humaine est une notion fondamentale au cours de l'histoire de la pensée islamique. Elle fut, au fil des siècles, l'objet de controverses et se situa au coeur de décisions politiques importantes. Sur le plan politique, l'existence et la reconnaissance, en terre d'islam, des catégories dites des Gens du Livre (ahl al-kitāb), corrobore l'idée d'une liberté de croyance et de culte en islam. Pourtant, dès la mort de Muḥammad (m. 632), Abū Bakr entrepris des actions contre ceux qui se détournèrent de l'allégeance à la religion, ce qui pose le questionnement de la place de la liberté humaine dans son rapport au divin. Plus tard se développera le questionnement autour du statut du musulman « pervers » dans ses actions (fāsiq) ou dans sa doctrine (zindīq). Une seconde question, plus théologique (relative au qadāʾ wa-l-qadar), se pose en parallèle : les hommes sont-ils libres de leurs croyances et de leurs actes ou n'ont-ils aucune marge de manoeuvre face à la décision divine ? Peut-on parler d'une volonté humaine en face de la volonté de Dieu ? Nous trouvons dans le Coran des versets qui cautionnent la préséance de la toute-puissance divine et d'autres versets qui prônent le prisme de la volonté humaine. Mais à chaque fois ces versets sont pris et examinés à part, sans faire référence aux versets qui les précèdent. Ainsi, au coeur de l'arbitrage suite à la bataille de Ṣiffīn (37/657) opposant ʿAlī et Muʿāwiyya, les Khārijites isolèrent un verset coranique menant à rompre toute possibilité de consensus et déclenchant une scission dans la umma. Sous le règne du calife abbasside al-Ma'mūn (m. 833), le primat de la raison humaine et de la doctrine de la création du Coran établit les fondements d'une nouvelle dogmatique avant de voir resurgir, quelques années plus tard, le dogme de la toute-puissance divine. Alors que le pouvoir politique n'a cessé d'être à la fois le précurseur et le pourfendeur de ces doctrines, qu'en est-il des positions parmi les théologiens et penseurs de l'islam ? Dans une approche islamologique pluridisciplinaire, cette journée d'étude proposera quelques éclairages sur les sens qu'a pu revêtir la notion de liberté pendant la période dite de l'islam médiéval (VIIe-XVe siècle) aussi bien chez les juristes, à travers le statut de celui qui délaisse la prière (tārik al-ṣalāt), chez les théologiens du kalām où elle s'articule principalement autour de la volonté divine (mashīʾa) et de la volonté humaine (irāda) dans son rapport avec la capacité (qudra) et du choix (ikhtiyār); et chez les mystiques et les philosophes. Jeudi 7 octobre 2021 15h-17h Séance 1-Théologie Modérateur : Pierre Lory Mehdi Berriah, assistant professor/Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam La liberté de croire et de penser chez Ibn Taymiyya Amal Belkamel, doctorante-EPHE / LEM Volonté humaine, volonté divine : quelles articulations dans le kalām ? Jeudi 21 octobre 2021 15h-17h

The ill-established premise that Ibn Taymiyya was a stubborn opponent of Sufism no longer holds as Henri Laoust, George Makdisi, Thomas Homerin and more recently Assef Qays clearly demonstrated his links with al-taṣawwuf, especially with al-Qādiriyya Ḥanbalī brotherhood. Ibn Taymiyya’s position on the samāʿ, which he criticizes in many writings, should in no way be taken as a condemnation of Sufism as such or of the brotherhoods as has already been well demonstrated by several scholars. In his considerable writing production, his book al-Istiqāma is another proof of the closest Ibn Taymiyya’s position to Sufism. The great part of al-Istiqāma consists of a commentary of a well-known Ṣufī writing, al-Risāla al-Qushayriyya by Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1074). In his Risāla, al-Qushayrī quoted many times ʿAbd alRaḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021) who was his master. A close reading of Ibn Taymiyya's writings highlights the importance of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, whom he quotes and often refers to. In my paper, based on al-Istiqāma, I will discuss Ibn Taymiyya’s position regarding al-Sulamī’s words reported by al-Qushayrī.

During the 7th/13th – 8th/14th centuries, the Mamluks fought several enemies against whom they were victorious: they managed to resist the Mongol invasions obliging the Ilkhanids to be at the initiative of a peace proposal; to expel the Franks from Syria and conquer their territories; to weaken the kingdom of Armenia before conquering it throughout the 8th/14th century.
What about Cyprus? Except for the expedition that Baybars launched against the island in shawwāl 669/May 1271, an expedition that failed, and al-Ashraf Khalil’s declaration of wanting to conquer it, Cyprus did not constitute, according to the sources, a significant objective of the Mamluk Sultanate during the second half of the 7th/13th century. However, at the beginning of the 8th/14th century, and for obvious reasons of international politics, Cyprus attracted more attention of the Mamluks, as the examination of the sources confirms, in particular, the writings of Ibn Taymiyya. 
If the latter, in his Risāla al-qubruṣiyya, adopts a moderate tone, which is different from the one that usually characterises it in his other writings, it is to obtain the good treatment of the Muslim prisoners present in Cyprus and the opening of negotiations for their release. Nevertheless, the analysis of several passages of the text brings out indirect discourses that make it possible to identify, with other sources, Ibn Taymiyya’s perception of the Kingdom of Cyprus: a cross-power that represented a potential threat and against which the Sultanate must lead the jihad.
When he mentions the defeat of the Mongols and their Armenian allies, Ibn Taymiyya denounces, implicitly, the role of Cyprus and its participation in the war against the Sultanate, and the failure of plans for joint attacks between the Crusader forces crossed, of which Cyprus is a part and the Mongols. In addition, the praise of the military force of the Mamluk Sultanate by Ibn Taymiyya, who goes so far as to extol the Assassins’ ability to reach their target (despite his utter opposition to their belief that he considers as heretic), can be understood as a warning to the Cypriot authorities against potential retaliation by the Mamluks.
Finally, the memory of the Cyprus Muslim period reflects a certain nostalgia of Ibn Taymiyya and, consequently, his wish for a ‘reconquest’ by the Mamluks.
Based on Arabic sources, this submission proposes to shed light on Ibn Taymiyya’s perception of Cyprus as the next target of Mamluk strategy; on the one hand, by analysing his discourse and confronting it on the other hand to other sources.

Obedience (ṭāʿat al-ḥukkām) to political authorities is one of the leitmotivs in contemporary Salafiyya propaganda, in particular the one which is now called Madkhalism. It is clear that on this very sensitive subject, the actors of this movement quote Ibn Taymiyya less frequently than for other questions. In this paper, firstly, we will shed light on the reasons of this "sidelining" of Ibn Taymiyya. Secondly, we will try to highlight the hiatus that sometimes exists between, on the one hand, the position of Ibn Taymiyya in his writings on this thorny question and on the other hand, that of contemporary scholars who quote Ibn Taymiyya in their discourses.

Misreading and misunderstanding Ibn Taymiyya’s jihad writings without contextualization lead to oversimplifying his thought.
However, a close reading of the substantial scattered jihad material of Ibn Taymiyya allows to bring out a well thought and
complex conception of jihad. Moreover, careful examination of the famous Hanbali theologian’s writings shows that he is not
always as the warlike and the extremist scholar as he is often presented. His positions regarding fiqh al-jihad have often been underestimated in
their complexity. Based on Ibn Taymiyya’s writings and contemporary historical writing (especially chronicles), this lecture will
give an overview of Ibn Taymiyya’s jihad conception and shed light on Ibn Taymiyya’s positions on some jihad issues.