The Philosophy and History of Khumus
INTRODUCTION Khums refers to an obligatory tax which must be paid to the Islamic state. Shia and sunni differ in their opinion on khums. Several groups question the Shia ithna ‘Asheri interpretation and system of khums. Reasons and motives for questioning the structure of Khums are many. We shall list some of the points here and discuss them in more detail later: 1. Challenging the institution of Marjee’a and its motive. Opponents claim that the shia scholars have developed this system for personal benefits. Within this groups there are further categories: a) The first category views the marjee’a as any other organized corrupt system feeding on illegal money. Some shias are also included in this group. b) The second category is more politically and religiously inclined. The self sufficiency and financial independence of the institution of marjee’a is seen by them as being harmful to their religious and political agenda. Additionally, by proving Khums as un-islamic, they aim to inva