The Almohads and the "Qur'anization" of War Narrative and Ritual

The Almohad movement (12th–13th centuries, Islamic West) had in the return to the direct
study of the primary sources of Islam—the Qur’an and the Sunna—and in jih¯ad, two of its most
important pillars of legitimation and action. In this sense, it is an ideal period to study how both
realities—Qur’an and jih¯ad—were linked in a given historical context. During the Almohad period,
the use of Qur’anic verses in accounts related to war episodes became widespread. We thus witness
a “Qur’anization” of the war narrative, a resource adding greater religiosity and spirituality to the
context of jih¯ad, to its elaboration and discursive representation, and to its memory and remembrance
through written testimonies. In this paper I study, through the main narrative and documentary
sources of the period, how the Qur’an was inserted into and adapted to the Almohad war discourse.
Likewise, this approach allows me to explore how the Qur’an came to life within the framework of
the Almohad jih¯ad, how it served for its justification and legitimation, and how it formed part of the
ceremony and the war protocol of the Maghrebi caliphate, thus linking itself