In the 8th and 9th centuries, there lived in Iraq a sect which was branded as “heretical” by orthodox Muslim writers. Known for their “extreme” adoration of the Imams and the Prophet, they were called “extremists” (ghulat) by Muslim heresiographers. In addition to accusing them of holding the wrong Islamic beliefs, however, heresiographers lavish upon them charges of all manner of antinomian behavior. Among these, abstention from prayer and the drinking of wine are the lightest. Many also charge them with having sex with their mothers and sisters, of sharing their wives, and having orgies. Of course, one is well justified in viewing such accounts as “fake news,” aimed at belittling the group, and until recently scholars unanimously viewed these accusations as just that. However, a series of newly published sources produced by these sectarians shows that at least some of these accusations were not entirely groundless. They do indeed contain hints – expressed in various degrees of subtlety – that their idea about prayer or pilgrimage differed from that held by the majority of Muslims at the time. In my paper I will pursue two goals. On the one hand, I will study the heresiographic accusations against the evidence of the newly available accounts written by the sectarians themselves. Having separated the wheat from the chaff, and having shown that some of the accusations of antinomianism were accurate, I will study the cultural context in which the antinomian behaviors of the sectarians may be understood. My contention is that the distinct approach to the accepted Muslim rituals served as a visible marker of identity for this group of sectarians. For if ritual is deployed to show one’s belonging to a certain group, by the same token, abstaining from a ritual performed by everyone is also a way of displaying one’s membership in a group.