Throughout Islamic history, ghulat movements have inflicted significant harm upon the Muslim community and, as a destructive intellectual phenomenon, have generated deep divisions among Muslims. With the arrival of Muslim conquerors in Iraq, ghulat movements emerged as early as the first century AH and, in subsequent centuries, expanded rapidly in terms of number, diversity, and the complexity of their ghuluw-oriented components. These movements created serious challenges for the Shiʿi Imams (peace be upon them) as well as for the Umayyad and Abbasid governments. The emergence and expansion of the ghulat represent one of the most complex phenomena in the early centuries of Islamic history. Although numerous factors contributed to the rise and spread of ghulat movements, political factors played a particularly significant role in their development.
The aim of this study is to analyze the political factors influencing ghulat movements within the historical context of Shiʿism. Employing a descriptive–analytical method and relying on library-based research, this article seeks to answer the question of what role political factors played in the emergence and expansion of Shiʿi ghulat movements. The findings indicate that Umayyad and Abbasid repressive policies toward Shiʿism, the instrumentalization of the discourse of ghuluw by certain Alid figures, the exploitation of ghuluw-oriented ideas by the Abbasid government—especially during its early period—and the utilization of ghulat groups by some Abbasid court officials during periods of Abbasid political decline all provided favorable conditions for the increased activity and expansion of ghulat movements.