TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

of the four true sects, in which shi’ism was not included. The response of Junayd to
especially the first part of this argument is quite interesting and pregnant to further
knowledge about the nature of the shi’ism that Junayd upheld. He obviously propounded
that the verses praising ashābs were not part of the original Qur’an but were later
amendments by sunni scholars. It is known that such ideas proposing the alteration of
the Qur’an was not accepted among shi’ite scholars as well, but had wide-spread
currency among popular level and ghulat extensions of shi’ite society. On the contrary,
shi’ites also accepted the available text as whole, unaltered, and the exact original text of
the Holy Message on the literary level. Thus, we can conclude from this passage that the
shi’ite ideas Junayd pursued were not affiliated with well-cultivated, ‘orthodox’ shi’ism,
which was historically impossible, but resemble ghulat convictions, which have been
attributed to shi’ism mainly by sunni scholars.
So it appears imperative to clarify the shi’ism of Junayd and his son Haydar and
its historical background. As Sohrweide states, available sources do not clarify whether
Junayd pursued Shi’ite ideals already present in Ardabil or whether he appropriated
militant-shi’ism by the influence of nomadic disciples during his journey in Anatolia. 558
Sümer regards the second case fairly possible. 559 Jean Aubin also sees a strong
connection between the appearance of extremist-shi’ism, alongside the claim of seyyid-
ship, under Junayd and his disciples among Anatolian Turkomans. 560 Indeed, the general
set up of the events has certain suggestions. Studies on the issue point out that Junayd
558 Sohrweide, p. 122.
559 Sümer, p. 10.
560 “Peut-être deviennent-ils sayyids un peu avant le milieu du xv siècle. C’est Šayh Ğunayd, en tout cas,
qui adhère au chiisme extrémiste, qu’il prêche dans les tribus turcophones d’Anatolie. Ces tribus vont
porter au pouvoir, en 1501, son petit-fils Šah Ismā’īl, un garçon de quatorze ans, de sang princier Aqqoyunlu
par les femmes.” See Jean Aubin, “La politique religieuse des Safavudes”, Le Shî’isme Imâmite,
Colloque de Strasbourg, 6-9 mai 1968, Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, 1970, p. 237.
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