Abādites

Abādites or Ibādites are a Moslem sect named after its founder Jaber Ibn Zayd (end of the 7th century). The Abādites still have a small number of followers in Oman, the island of Djerba, Tripolitania, Tunis and Algeria. Around the middle of the eight century the Abādite missionary 'Abdullāh ibn-Yahya, called Tālib al-Haqq (The Seeker after Right), set out from Basrah, began preaching in Yemen and built up a kind of theocratic dominion all over south-west Arabia. In spite of various vicissitudes and suppression the Abādite imāms succeeded in maintaining their power for some 900 years. The descendants of the few who could escape into the secluded valleys of the Hadramawt have remained faithful to their creed down to this day. Notwithstanding their wide dispersion the various Abādite groups show a remarkable coherence.