Masmudah

The Masmudah were a confederation of Berber tribes indigenous to the High Atlas region of Morocco. Muḥammad ibn Tūmart, the founder of the Almohad movement, was a member of the Masmudah tribe. The Almohads, a Berber Islamic reform movement, rose to prominence in the 12th century, challenging the Almoravid dynasty. This movement emphasized a return to the original sources of Islam, the Qurʾān and the Traditions of the Prophet, and rejected the literal interpretation of Islamic law endorsed by the Almoravid jurists. After Ibn Tūmart's death, his lieutenant, ʿAbd al-Muʾmin, led the Almohads to conquer the Almoravid empire, unifying the entire Maghrib under Berber rule for the first time.1