Refutations of “Heterodoxy”: Zoroastrians, New Christians, and Muslims against Manichaeans

The controversies and theological debates between different religions have always been an interesting topic for the scholars of religion. These debates were usually carried out in two ways: orally, in a meeting dedicated to these debates, or in writing. One of the religious traditions criticized since its emergence and against which many refutations were written in the early Islamic centuries is “heterodoxy.” Before Islam, this term was applied to Manichaeans; however, after Islam, it came to signify any heretic, atheist, or infidel. This extension of semantic inclusion led the followers of various religions, including Christians, Zoroastrians and Muslims, to work against the heterodox and write refutations to criticize their thoughts and beliefs. This article seeks to study and analyze these refutations.