Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .


Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Click here to learn more!

 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



CARMATHIANS (QARMATHIANS, KARMATHIANS)

This article appears in Volume V05, Page 357 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CAR-CAU
CARMATHIANS (QARMATHIANS, KARMATHIANS) , a Mahommedan sect named after Hamdan Qarmat, who accepted the teaching of the Isma'ilites (see MAHOMMEDAN RELIGION: Sects) from ITosain ul-Ahwazi, a missionary of Ahmed, son of the Persian Abdallah ibn Maimun, toward the close of the 9th century. This was in the Saw ad of Irak, which was inhabited by a people little attached to Islam. The object of Abdallah ibn Maimun had been to undermine Islam and the Arabian power by a
secret
  society with various degrees, which offered inducements to all classes and creeds and led men on from an interpretation of Islam to a total rejection of its teaching and a strict personal submission to the head of the society. For the political history of the Carmathians, their conquests and their decay, see ARABIA: History; CALIPHATE (sect. C. 16, 17, 18, 23); and
EGYPT
 : History (Mahommedan period).
In their religious teaching they claimed to be
Shiites
 ; i.e. they asserted that the imamate belonged by right to the descend-ants of Ali. Further, they were of the Isma`ilite branch of these, i.e. they acknowledged the claim to the imamate of Ismail the eldest son of the
sixth
  imam. The claim of Ismail had been passed over by his father and many
Shiites
  because he had been guilty of drinking wine. The Isma'ilites said that as the imam could do no wrong, his action only showed that wine-drinking was not sinful. Abdallah taught that from the creation of man there had always been an imam sometimes known, sometimes hidden. Ismail was the last known; a new one was to be looked for. But while the imam was hidden, his doctrines were to be taught by his missionaries (
dais
 ). Hamdan Qarmat was one of these, Ahmed ibn Abdallah being nominally the
chief
 . The adherents of this party were initiated by degrees into the secrets of its doctrines and were divided into seven (afterwards nine) classes. In the first stage the convert was taught the existence of mystery in the Koran and made to feel the necessity of a teacher who could explain it. He took an oath of complete submission and paid a sum of money. In the second stage the earlier teachers of Islam were shown to be wrong in doctrine and the imams alone were proved to be infallible. In the third it was taught that there were only seven imams and that the other sects of the Shiites were in error. In the fourth the disciple learnt that each of the seven imams had a prophet, who was to be obeyed in all things. The prophet of the last imam was Abdallah. The doctrine of Islam was that Mahomet was the last of the prophets. In the fifth stage the uselessness of tradition and the temporary nature of the precepts and practices of Mahomet were taught, while in the
sixth
  the believer was induced to give up these practices (prayer, fasting,
pilgrimage
 , &c.). At this point the Carmathian had completely ceased to be a Moslem. In the remaining degrees there was more liberty of
opinion
  allowed and much variety of belief and teaching existed.
The last contemporary mention of the Carmathians is that of Nasir ibn Khosrau, who visited them in A.D. 1050. In Arabia they ceased to exercise influence. In Persia and Syria their
work
  was taken up by the Assassins (q.v.). Their doctrines are said, however, to exist still in parts of Syria, Persia, Arabia and India, and to be still propagated in
Zanzibar
 .
See Journal asiatique (1877), vol. i. pp. 377-386. (G. W. T.) CARMAUX, a town of southern France, in the department of Tarn, on the left bank of the Cerou, 10 m. N. of Albi by rail. Pop. (1906) 8618. The town gives its name to an important coal-basin, and carries on the manufacture of glass.


End of Article: CARMATHIANS (QARMATHIANS, KARMATHIANS)


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/CAR_CAU/CARMATHIANS_QARMATHIANS_KARMAT.html">
CARMATHIANS (QARMATHIANS, KARMATHIANS)
</a>
(Previous)
CARMARTHENSHIRE 		(Next)
CARMEL

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  |  International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security