The Persecution and Political Asylum in the Umayyad Era: A Historical Study of the Alawites as a Model

Abstract

The Umayyad era witnessed a bitter conflict between the Umayyads and the Alawites, during which the Alawites were subjected to severe persecution, which led to the Alawites seeking refuge in other areas far from the Umayyad authority. In fact, this conflict is nothing but a tribal conflict between the Islamic powers. This conflict began during the time of the Prophet (PBUH) after their ancestors were killed in Badr, the conquest of Mecca, and their tribal fanaticism was taken away from them. This competition affected the course of Islamic history, and formed the basis of some religious and political beliefs and ideas in the long term. This conflict led to the killing and annihilation of the family of the Prophet and their displacement from their positions. The research shed light on some of the means of persecution practiced by the Umayyad authority against the Alawites, most notably the persecution of Imam Hassan, peace be upon him, after Muawiyah used the war of false rumors to disperse his army, which led Imam Hassan, peace be upon him, to seek refuge in Madain, whose emir was Saad bin Masoud Al-Thaqafi. When Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, left after he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid bin Muawiyah to correct the religion and return it to its path, the Umayyads killed Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, and his family. His murder resulted in many movements that stood against the Umayyad authority, including the people of Medina’s refusal to pledge allegiance to Yazid bin Muawiyah. Then Yazid sent Uqbah bin Muslim al-Mari, and the city was plundered for three days and nights, and a large number of the sons of the Companions and the family of the Prophet were killed, including Abu Bakr Abdullah bin Jaafar and Awn bin Abdullah. This was followed by Ibn al-Zubayr’s persecution of Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the killing of Imam Zaid bin Ali, peace be upon him, and his brother Yahya’s seeking refuge in Khurasan, and then the uprising of Abdullah bin Muawiyah, which ended in Khurasan