Chapter Two The Motivation for the Journey: 1 For the people of the Maghreb in general, the East was the focus of hopes for those seeking knowledge and eager to delve into it. This could only be achieved by traveling to the centers of learning there, such as Baghdad, Damascus, Medina, and others. In the Maghrebi custom, this journey was an important element in shaping a scholarly personality and in gaining prestige and respect. This made students of knowledge extremely keen to undertake this journey, seeing it as the path to scholarly fame. Few of the renowned scholars of the Maghreb did not travel to the East to acquire knowledge.

These considerations must have been in the mind of Ibn Tumart, who grew up with a love for knowledge, was passionate about it, and eager to acquire it. Thus, a longing for the sciences of the East and its scholars developed in him, mingled with the hope for a prestigious position and scholarly fame. This was one of the main reasons for embarking on the journey to the capitals of the East.

Within the scope of this reason, there is an important element that likely fueled this longing: the echo in Marrakesh of a unique Eastern personality who was a pioneer of a highly influential intellectual revolution, namely the personality of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. His name had a brilliant reputation in the Maghreb since the issuance of that fatwa. His fame then increased during the Almoravid period.

(1) See: Ibn Khaldun, Al-'Ibar, 384/6, 386.