Taghut

"Taghout" redirects here. For the village in Azerbaijan, see Ataqut.
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Taghut (Arabic: طاغوت, ṭāġūt; pl. ṭawāġīt (طواغيت); broadly: "to go beyond the measure") is Islamic terminology denoting the worship of another deity besides God.[1] In traditional theology, the term often connotes idols or demons drawn to blood of pagan sacrifices.[2] The pre-Islamic deities al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, later also Satan, are associated with that term.[3] In modern times, the term is also applied to earthly tyrannical power.[4]

The modern Islamic philosopher Abul A'la Maududi defines taghut in his Quranic commentary as a creature who not only rebels against God but transgresses his will.[5] Due to these associations, in contemporary political discourse, the term is used to refer topeople considered anti-Islamic and agent of Western cultural imperialism.[citation needed] The term was introduced to modern political discourse since the usage surrounding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, through accusations made both by and against Khomeini.[4]

  1. ^ Dmitriev, K., & Toral-Niehoff, I. (Eds.). (2017). Religious culture in late antique Arabia: selected studies on the late antique religious mind. Gorgias Press. p. 55
  2. ^ Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam (in German). Walter de Gruyter. p. 210. ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4.
  3. ^ "ṭāg̲h̲ūt". In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms, (Brill, 2012) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei2glos_SIM_gi_04636
  4. ^ a b Momen, Moojan. (1995). "Țāghūt". In John L. Esposito. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. ^ Mawdudi, 1988, vol.1, pp.199-200