Al'Uthami
The smallest of the three Illahi religions, the Al'Uthami are followers of Ali Utham, a 13th century S.C. scholar and theologian who theorized that the supposed bloodline of prophets was a farce. In the teachings of Utham, the prophetic spirit has nothing to do with bloodlines or with legal succession but instead only inhabits the most worthy. They claim that God would never discriminate by choosing only from the ruling family, for all Al'salaan share the same blood and therefore all have the ability to host the prophetic spirit. The Al'Uthami reject an eliteist priesthood and instead claim that each and every Al'Salaani can follow their own destiny by faith. This means they also reject the very notion of the Holy Successorship, instead believing that Jafar Illahia is just one of many prophets (along, of course, with Al'Uthami). This radical and decentralized view of prophecy means that the Utham incorporate a number of additional teachings which command things contrary to those which the Al'fatim and Ali'shahr sects follow, thus branding them as heretical.
The Al'Uthami are by far the oldest sect to split off from the mainline Illahic faith, having existed since roughly 1130. In the early days it was primarily composed of rebels who had refused to recognize the authority of the son of the prophet Jafar (Durvar I) and was heavily persecuted for this. Despite this, it was never totally wiped out, and as the Al'Uthami were not a huge threat and also heretical, not heathens, they were largely ignored by the Emperors who followed Durvar, who focused on converting heathens. However, during the chaos of the dissolution of the Jafarids, the sect began grwoing greatly in numbers for several reasons. First, they attracted learned men who noted that the Utham had essentially come to the same conclusion as the new Al'Shahri sect over a century earlier. Secondly, it attracted many who resented the clerical dominance over the faith, as they believed contact with the divine was not gained through reading books. Finally, the Al'Uthami attracted simple peasants due to their well-trained defensive militias, which kept the regions they dominated safe of bandits during the warfare. Following the Al'Shahri victory, and unlike many other sects, the Al'Uthami was hardly affected by the Brotherhood of Shadow, for the simple reason that they had no clear leadership on most occasions.
The Al'Uthami remained minor (probably only ever reaching a height of ~7% of the Illahic faithful), but significantly larger than any of the other so-called Al'Aqali sects, and was begrudgingly recognized as a much smaller "third major sect" by the other Illahi. They would achieve brief independence with the short-lived [tbd] during the collapse of the Uthmarids, but were soon conquered by the rising Fatimis. The Al'Uthami would later be treated extremely harshly by the orcish invaders due to their staunch opposition to nonhuman peoples. This would devastate the community and reduce them to a few holdouts in the south of Sahib Khasaal. The persecution of the Al'Uthami had the side effect of concentrating their population in this region, and the Al'Uthami would soon declare independence from the crumbling Fatimis in the two provinces of [tbd 1] and [tbd 2]. [tbd 1] is ruled over by the x, who split from the Brotherhood of Shadow and defected to the Al'Uthami, while [tbd 2] remains under the former governor.
Al'Uthami are an extremely nuanced faith, which is hard to properly understand due to its emphasis on spititualism and personal development. Of particular import are their strict rules regarding non-Al'Salaanic peoples. Anyone who is a priest is barred completely from speaking to, pursuing any sort of relationship with, or (God forbid) marrying non-Al'Salaanic humans. Regular Al'Uthami are granted certain leeway, they are allowed to do anything but marry such people. They may take them as concubines, or marry them should that person convert to the Al'Uthami faith, but otherwise are barred from doing so. Children born as half-Al'Salaanic are considered to be Al'Salaanic should they grow up in that environment, otherwise they are treated as any other non-Al'Salaanic. The entire religion is commanded to refuse any sort of marriage with non-humans, as they are believed to be unholy. The Al'Uthami unequivocably shun any person who is what they call a "half-breed" and consider them as non-human. Although they have gained notoriety for their harsh treatment of captives and kidnapping those of different faiths to use as concubines, it should be noted that due to the decentralization of the faith this can only be attributed to small groups (In particular the Al'Ukhan w Alzal'a) and is not the doctrine of the Al'Uthami as a whole, despite what some may believe.
The Al'Uthami are by far the oldest sect to split off from the mainline Illahic faith, having existed since roughly 1130. In the early days it was primarily composed of rebels who had refused to recognize the authority of the son of the prophet Jafar (Durvar I) and was heavily persecuted for this. Despite this, it was never totally wiped out, and as the Al'Uthami were not a huge threat and also heretical, not heathens, they were largely ignored by the Emperors who followed Durvar, who focused on converting heathens. However, during the chaos of the dissolution of the Jafarids, the sect began grwoing greatly in numbers for several reasons. First, they attracted learned men who noted that the Utham had essentially come to the same conclusion as the new Al'Shahri sect over a century earlier. Secondly, it attracted many who resented the clerical dominance over the faith, as they believed contact with the divine was not gained through reading books. Finally, the Al'Uthami attracted simple peasants due to their well-trained defensive militias, which kept the regions they dominated safe of bandits during the warfare. Following the Al'Shahri victory, and unlike many other sects, the Al'Uthami was hardly affected by the Brotherhood of Shadow, for the simple reason that they had no clear leadership on most occasions.
The Al'Uthami remained minor (probably only ever reaching a height of ~7% of the Illahic faithful), but significantly larger than any of the other so-called Al'Aqali sects, and was begrudgingly recognized as a much smaller "third major sect" by the other Illahi. They would achieve brief independence with the short-lived [tbd] during the collapse of the Uthmarids, but were soon conquered by the rising Fatimis. The Al'Uthami would later be treated extremely harshly by the orcish invaders due to their staunch opposition to nonhuman peoples. This would devastate the community and reduce them to a few holdouts in the south of Sahib Khasaal. The persecution of the Al'Uthami had the side effect of concentrating their population in this region, and the Al'Uthami would soon declare independence from the crumbling Fatimis in the two provinces of [tbd 1] and [tbd 2]. [tbd 1] is ruled over by the x, who split from the Brotherhood of Shadow and defected to the Al'Uthami, while [tbd 2] remains under the former governor.
Al'Uthami are an extremely nuanced faith, which is hard to properly understand due to its emphasis on spititualism and personal development. Of particular import are their strict rules regarding non-Al'Salaanic peoples. Anyone who is a priest is barred completely from speaking to, pursuing any sort of relationship with, or (God forbid) marrying non-Al'Salaanic humans. Regular Al'Uthami are granted certain leeway, they are allowed to do anything but marry such people. They may take them as concubines, or marry them should that person convert to the Al'Uthami faith, but otherwise are barred from doing so. Children born as half-Al'Salaanic are considered to be Al'Salaanic should they grow up in that environment, otherwise they are treated as any other non-Al'Salaanic. The entire religion is commanded to refuse any sort of marriage with non-humans, as they are believed to be unholy. The Al'Uthami unequivocably shun any person who is what they call a "half-breed" and consider them as non-human. Although they have gained notoriety for their harsh treatment of captives and kidnapping those of different faiths to use as concubines, it should be noted that due to the decentralization of the faith this can only be attributed to small groups (In particular the Al'Ukhan w Alzal'a) and is not the doctrine of the Al'Uthami as a whole, despite what some may believe.
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