The Arabic
zindīq is a loan word from pre-Islamic
Middle Persian 𐭦𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭪
zandik, a
Zoroastrian term of uncertain etymology and meaning (for a discussion of the term in a pre-Islamic context, see
zandik). Zindīq (زنديق) or Zandik (𐭦𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭪) was initially used to negatively denote the followers of the
Manichaeism religion in the
Sasanian Empire. By the time of the eighth-century
Abbasid Caliphate however, the meaning of the word zindīq and the adjectival
zandaqa had broadened and could loosely denote many things:
Gnostic Dualists as well as followers of Manichaeism,
agnostics, and
atheists. However, many of those persecuted for
zandaqa under the Abbasids claimed to be Muslims, and when applied to Muslims, the accusation was that the accused secretly harbored Manichaean beliefs. A history of the time states cites the first
Abbasid caliph
Abu al-'Abbas As-Saffah as having said "tolerance is laudable, except in matters dangerous to religious belief, or to the sovereign's dignity." Al-Mahdi's successors, the caliphs
al-Hadi and
Harun al-Rashid, continued the pogroms, although with diminished intensity during the reign of the latter and was later abolished by him. This policy in turn influenced the
Mihna policy of
al-Ma'mun which targeted those Muslim religious scholars and officials who refused to accept the doctrine of created nature of Quran. The reason for these persecutions are not easy to determine.
Zandaqa was viewed as a threat to Islam, to Muslim society, and to the state. In the eighth century, Islamic norms were still under development and had not yet crystallized, and Muslims were still a small minority in the vast territories ruled by the caliphate, and even those who had converted were perceived to have been only "imperfectly" Islamized. Many of these converts had previously been Manichaeans, and Manichaeaism with its well developed missionary ideals had undergone a slight resurgence during early caliphate rule. As such, the Manichaeans were perceived as a threat to the security of the Muslim religious elite and to the Abbasid state. The threat was perceived to be especially evident in the quasi-scientific manner in which the Manichaeans posed unsettling questions, their skill at creating a favourable impression in public debate, and their ability in defending their own intellectually-appealing world-view. ==Later usage==