AL-BAṢRA, at the beginning of the eighth century, was. complex web of tribal, political, and religious interests. It was period of ferment and transition as the ruling Umayyad dynasty weakened in the face of factional challenges. During this period, the Abbāsid da‘wa, though ultimately victorious, was not the only alternative. There emerged out of late seventh-century al-Basra other theories of the community and its leadership of which Ibāḍīsm was one. Those Ibāḍīs whose collective views came to be recognized as moderate (in contrast to recurring Khawārij turbulence . were in fact attacking the very basis of caliphal authority. Ibāḍī theories of walā' and barā'a, which threw open the doors of the community to all comers on the basis of equality before God, could only subvert the privileged position of the Quraysh. Similarly, the ‘Abbāsid da‘wa was propagated to Persian and Arab alike, to tribesmen and mawālī. The ‘Abbāsids also offered an alternative to the dynastic claims of the Umayyads and. promise of moral rejuvenation. Theirs was. persuasive call, the reaction to it powerful, and the consequence, perhaps, inevitable. In retrospect it appears so, but during the learned discussions of Basran men of letters. other alternatives may have appeared just as feasible.