The Rōshānī movement ( Pashto : روښاني غورځنګ , lit. ' The enlightened movement ' ) was a populist, nonsectarian Sufi movement that was founded in the mid- 16th century , in the Pashtunistan region of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan , and arose among the Pashtun tribes . The movement was founded by Pir Roshan , an Ormur warrior, Sufi poet and revolutionary. Roshan challenged the inequality and social injustice that he saw being practiced by the ruling powers of the Mughal Empire . He advocated for a system of egalitarian codes and tenets that his followers, the Roshaniyya, promulgated within Islam. Pir Roshan educated and instructed followers of the movement through new and radical teachings that questioned basic Islamic canons during that time, and propagated egalitarian principles. His teachings resonated among the Afridi , Orakzai , Khalil , Mohmand , and Bangash tribes.
28-651: The Roshaniyya were a millenarian Sufi group popular with the Pashtun populations in the northwestern regions of the Mughal Empire . The group achieved strong influence and authority among the eastern Pashtun tribes and played a significant role in Pashtun history and in the policy of the Mughal Empire on its western frontiers. The movement itself was a challenge to Pashtun tribal society , and its purpose
56-523: A Tui is an equivalent of God title. Origin of Tui is believed to be Tui Manu'a (the title given to the son of the Polynesian God Tagaloa, and therefore Tui were viewed as living Gods). See: See House of Chiefs (Fiji) There are several Samoan polities and titles (several including the term Tui) in the present kingdom. On American Samoa , the paramount chief is titled Tu'i Manu'a On Futuna island, see Tu`i Agaifo of Alo . There
84-804: A series of defeats, many tribesmen deserted Jalala and he fled from Tirah to the Yusufza'is . In 1601, twenty years after assuming leadership of the Roshaniyya movement, Jalala and the Roshanis went to the aid of the Lohani Pashtuns in Ghazni . The Hazaras of that area however, attacked the Lohanis and when the Lohanis appealed to the Roshanis, they attacked the Roshanis too. The Roshani were pursued until they were eventually caught up with, and Jalala
112-472: A transformation. These movements believe in radical changes to society after a major cataclysm or transformative event. Millenarianist movements can be secular (not espousing a particular religion) or religious in nature, and are therefore not necessarily linked to millennialist movements in Christianity . Both millennialism and millenarianism refer to "one thousand". They both derive from
140-451: Is incorrect, stating: Millennium is from the Latin mille , "one thousand," and annus , "year"—hence the two n's. Millenarian is from the Latin millenarius , "containing a thousand (of anything)," hence no annus , and only one "n". The application of an apocalyptic timetable to the changing of the world has happened in many cultures and religions, continues to this day, and
168-443: Is not relegated to the sects of major world religions , both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic. Increasingly in the study of apocalyptic new religious movements , millenarianism is used to refer to a more cataclysmic and destructive arrival of a utopian period as compared to millennialism which is often used to denote a more peaceful arrival and is more closely associated with a one thousand year utopia. Christian millennialism
196-580: Is part of the broader form of apocalyptic expectation. A core doctrine in some variations of Christian eschatology is the expectation that the Second Coming is very near and that there will be an establishment of a Kingdom of God on Earth. According to an interpretation of biblical prophecies in the Book of Revelation , this Kingdom of God on Earth will last a thousand years (a millennium ) or more. Many if not most millenarian groups claim that
224-503: The Aum Shinrikyo terrorist acts). It sometimes includes a belief in supernatural powers or predetermined victory. In some cases, millenarians withdraw from society to await the intervention of God. This is also known as world-rejection . Millenarian ideologies or religious sects sometimes appear in oppressed peoples , with examples such as the 19th-century Ghost Dance movement among Native Americans , early Mormons , and
252-471: The 16th and 17th centuries. Millenarianism Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin millenarius 'containing a thousand' and -ism ) is the belief by a religious , social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society , after which "all things will be changed". Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes
280-545: The 19th and 20th-century cargo cults among isolated Pacific Islanders . The Catechism [doctrine] of the Catholic Church rejects all forms of millenarianism and its variations: The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of
308-715: The Afghans over the Mughal monopoly of political and military power. For a few years during his studies, he attained what he considered to be union with God but kept his mystical experiences to himself. Eventually, he began to accept disciples. Bayazid preached a life of poverty, fasting, and remembrance of God which appealed to the poorer classes of Kaniguram . As his disciples grew, the local ulama and Sufi pirs claimed Bayazid and his disciples were frauds who sought worldly wealth and knew nothing of true religion. When asked which Sufi tradition he followed, he responded that he followed
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#1732771831162336-714: The Christian tradition. Neither term strictly refers to "one thousand" in modern [1963] academic usage. Millennialism often refers to a specific type of Christian millenarianism, and is sometimes referred to as Chiliasm from the New Testament use of the Greek chilia ' thousand ' . The terms millennialism and millenarianism are sometimes used interchangeably, as in The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism . Stephen Jay Gould has argued that this usage
364-559: The Roshaniyya movement to Pashtun tribal society happened when religious leaders competed with traditional lineage headmen for leadership of the tribesmen. The founder of the Roshani movement, Bayazid Pir Roshan, is credited with inventing a Pashto alphabet and writing one of the earliest known prose in Pashto. His alphabet paved the way for writing further literature and poetry in Pashto. The Roshani movement gave Pashto some famous poets in
392-437: The current society and its rulers are corrupt, unjust, or otherwise wrong, and that they will soon be destroyed by a powerful force. The harmful nature of the status quo is considered intractable without the anticipated dramatic change. Henri Desroche observed that millenarian movements often envisioned three periods in which change might occur. First, the elect members of the movement will be increasingly oppressed, leading to
420-484: The devout and dedicated. In most millenarian scenarios, the disaster or battle to come will be followed by a new, purified world in which the believers will be rewarded. While many millenarian groups are pacifistic , millenarian beliefs have been claimed as causes for people to ignore conventional rules of behaviour, which can result in violence directed inwards (such as the Jonestown mass murder) or outwards (such as
448-411: The divine tradition. The millenarian quality of his messages came through his emphasis on the renunciation of worldly pursuits and on the imminence of the day of resurrection. Since Pashtun tribesmen have traditionally considered religious law and religious leaders to be at odds with tribal law or Pashtunwali , they may have been attracted to Bayazid's particular emphasis on mysticism at the expense of
476-404: The kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the 'intrinsically perverse' political form of a secular messianism. Tu%27i Tu'i , also spelled more simplistically Tui , is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally,
504-751: The movement happened in 1570 when the Tu'i tribe in Nangrahar , which had accepted Bayazid as the Pir-e-Kaamil , attacked a caravan and plundered it. When Bayazid got word that the caravan had been attacked, he sent an apology to Mirza Hakin in Kabul. Yet, Mirza Hakim's councilors had convinced him that Bayazid was responsible for the actions of the Tu'i tribe and sent a farman to either kill or capture Bayazid. Shortly before his death and after spending time in hiding and on
532-442: The movement, the pantheistic Sufi character of the Roshaniyya movement and its mass millenarian appeal were overwhelming. After Bayazid's death in 1575 the pantheistic Sufi character of the movement became less and less prominent. Roshaniyya doctrines were more mystical and less overtly legal, which made them more attractive to Afghans who found the shari'at to conflict with the tribal customs of Pashtunwali. The biggest challenge of
560-547: The need for prayer , fasting , and poverty in preparation for the Day of Judgement, because it gave meaning to their lives. Lastly, poorer tribes were attracted to Bayazid's assertion that anyone who failed to adhere to the movement could be prosecuted as an infidel and that such person's lands and possessions would be plundered. It is also important to note that Bayazid originally wrote his Khair al-Bayan in Pashto , which meant that
588-725: The run, Bayazid helped the Afridis and Orakza'is drive the Tirahis from Tirah . Following the death of Bayazid Ansari, Father Monserrate , also known as "Jalala", became the leader of the Roshani Movement. He first went to Tirah, where he organized the Afridi and Orakza'i tribes in an outbreak of violence. The Afridis and Orakza'i attacked and plundered caravans, performed raids, and killed Afghans , Mughals , and Hindus indiscriminately. This provoked counter-attacks and after
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#1732771831162616-407: The second period in which the movement resists the oppression. The third period brings about a new utopian age, liberating the members of the movement. In the modern world, economic rules, perceived immorality or vast conspiracies are seen as generating oppression . Only dramatic events are seen as able to change the world and the change is anticipated to be brought about, or survived, by a group of
644-411: The shari'at and his condemnation of the religious establishment. However, by accepting Bayazid's message and Bayazid, they simply swapped one religious leader for another. Furthermore, some tribal sardars viewed the Roshaniyya movement as a source of possible strength for themselves within their own intratribal rivalries. Poorer individuals, lineages, and tribes were attracted to Bayazid's teachings about
672-535: The shari'at. In terms of disseminating his message, Bayazid publicized it extremely well. Messages and letters were sent continuously to surrounding areas and places in India and Central Asia . In the late 1560s while living in Hashtnaghar (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan), he sent his disciples with letters calling on people to join the movement, and accept him as a perfect guide. A turning point for
700-539: The text was more accessible to the Pashtuns than the Arabic Quran and that those followers took some measure of pride in its composition. Bayazid's millenarian message of repentance and preparation for the Day of Judgement struck a particularly sympathetic chord in the religious sensibilities of Pashtuns. Pashtuns were also attracted to his more mystical approach to religion that deemphasized outward practices of
728-614: Was born in 1525, and had an early experience of victimization at the hands of the Mughals that persisted throughout his lifetime and ultimately led to his leadership of an insurrection against the Mughal government in Kabul . At a young age, Bayazid was sent to master the Qur'an and through his studies he became more devout in his worship of God. He was educated, well-traveled, familiar with mysticism , and had firsthand experience with resentment of
756-558: Was killed. Jalala's death, however, was not the end of the movement. The Roshaniyya movement was a religious, social, and political challenge to individual Afghans and non-Afghans, as well as to the Afghan Pashtun tribes. Bayazid's emphasis on the ascetic life, mysticism, and repentance in anticipation of the Day of Judgement were themes that attracted numerous people and provoked an initially positive reaction from Afghan tribesmen. During Bayazid's lifetime and position as leader of
784-399: Was to raise issues of leadership, authority, and social ethics. Its leaders were the followers and disciples of Pir Roshan, and membership within the movement threatened to undermine traditional tribal leadership. The Roshaniyya movement went through three phases: the first phase lasted from 1565 to 1585, the second phase from 1585 to 1605, and the third phase from 1605 to 1632. Bayazid Ansari
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