The North African religious leader Abdullah ibn Yasin (died 1059) was the founder and spiritual leader of the Moslem Almoravid movement.

Little is known of the life of Abdullah ibn Yasin until he stepped into North African history about 1050 as a missionary to the Sanhaja Berbers of the western Sahara. Himself a Berber, Ibn Yasin had been trained in the Maliki school of jurisprudence. He was living in the town of Nafis in the Moroccan High Atlas when he was invited by two Sanhaja leaders to instruct the Berber tribesmen of the Sahara in the true principles of Islam. Ibn Yasin proved to be a stern disciplinarian in the Maliki tradition, insisting that the Berbers abide by the letter of Moslem law in such matters as marriage, taxation, and punishment of criminals. Rather than give up their traditional practices, the Berbers denounced Ibn Yasin and his preaching.

Discouraged by...