By following the intellectual journey of the iranian philosopher ahmad fardid, ali mirsepassi offers in this book an account of the rise of political islam in modern iran. Corbin conducted several intense dialogues with tabatabai and a number of other religious scholars, some of whom later became. In the thirty years since its establishment, the islamic republic of iran has been the focus of sustained international attention. This might be called the thesis of the incomplete enlightenment, which proposes that only. Neil davidson asks why the more advanced civilisations of the islamic world did not develop a similar movement of their own. Nov 10, 2005 islam is a faith and code of conduct for over a billion people worldwide. If you remove political from it, the heading would still be relevant facts do not support your wishful thesis. The last mufti of iranian kurdistan and its revision of. Iran as a middle eastern country the islamic republic of iran is situated in the northern hemisphere in southwest asia and has a land area of 1,648,195 km.
The letter castigated foucault for his failure to acknowledge the oppressivenatureof islam and reprimanded the western left for romanticizing the iranian revolution without regard to its oppressive ideology. Many writers are prepared to acknowledge muslim cultural and scientific achievements, but always with the caveat that islamic civilisation never experienced an equivalent to the enlightenment. Between islamic and republic, whats left of the iranian revolution. Democracy in modern iran challenges readers to think about islam and democracy critically and in a far more nuanced way than is done in black and white dichotomies. In the current western controversy over islam, one theme recurs with increasing predictability. A muqtedar khan, university of delaware abstract this essay draws on immanuel kants concept of enlightenment as an escape from self imposed ignorance and argues that a similar concept of enlightenment can be understood. Ghamaritabrizis main objective involves rescuing foucaults ideas and responding to contemporary critiques, most. Corbin conducted several intense dialogues with tabatabai and a number of other religious scholars, some of. Islam in political context variations in the ways that islamic thought bears the marks of its cultural and historical contexts, and secular discourse on global political issues that are shared with the nonmuslim world, such as climate change and migration. The constitutional revolution of 1906 opened the way for enormous change in persia, heralding the modern era and creating a model for later political and cultural movements in the region. Philosophies of hope and despair ali mirsepassi on. In the islamic enlightenment, he cuts through the complacent opposition of islam versusmodernity to reveal a fascinating world.
This book offers a sociological perspective on the history of the struggle to achieve modernity and democracy in contemporary iran. According to the constitution, the islamic republic of iran is a republic with separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The democratic theory of hansgeorg gadamer the democratic theory of hansgeorg gadamer. Khomeini, who later became the leader of the islamic revolution, reinterpreted the shia political thought and proposed a novel islamic theory of state. Philosophies of hope and despair mirsepassi, ali on.
Ebook the anti enlightenment tradition as pdf download. The imprecision of the word enlightenment in term of linguistic and cultural meanings resulted in a confusion that has gone beyond cultural and intellectual contexts and has become a political issue. Library of congress federal research division country profile. In particular, mirsepassi provides a skillful analysis of western cultural traditions and their impact on 20thc iranian intellectuals. If you do not see its contents the file may be temporarily unavailable at the journal website or you do not have a pdf plugin installed and enabled in your browser. Islamic revolution after the enlightenment behrooz ghamaritabrizi displays an impressively meticulous reading of michel foucaults writings on the events that preceded the overthrow of the pahlavi monarchy in early 1979. Islamic economics and economic policy formation in postrevolutionary iran. Contemporary political theory, jun 2017 bashir saade.
After 39 years of the revolts that dislodged the shah, there is an absence of an organisational factor to unite the diverse. Justice within and beyond sovereign nations the human rights state. This means that the task of enlightenment is an ongoing struggle, something to value and fight for, even more in times of violence, intolerance and despotism. A reforming movement against the increasing worldliness of muslim society, it focuses on islams spiritual dimension.
The enlightenment emerged out of a european intellectual and scholarly movement known as renaissance humanism. An invaluable book for truly understanding what is happening in the mideast and iran. Do islam and political is lam have to be differentiated from each other, or are they congruent with one another. What makes the islamic enlightenment particularly germane is that nonmuslim pundits in the post911 era have repeatedly called for islam to subject itself to the transformations that the west has already achieved since the enlightenment. Islamic revolution and the enlightenment minneapolis. The impact of the latetwentiethcentury rise of political islam on theories of secularism. In political islam, iran, and the enlightenment, he stakes out an original perspective that highlights the enlightenment influences on contemporary islamic thinking and politics. The case study looks at the events in iran through four. Irans constitutional revolution of 1906 and narratives of.
Foucault in iran is a courageous and thoughtprovoking invitation to understand the iranian revolution, and foucaults reaction to it, in an original way. Many espoused a vision of iran freed from the influences of westtoxification, inspired by heideggerian concepts of antiwestern nativism. Iran s complex political system is, in many ways, an experiment, combining elements of a modern islamic theocracy with democracy. In the context of iran, it presumes a sharp division between islam and secularism, and. Towards an islamic enlightenment shows the many facets of the movement, arguing that it is marked by an identity paradox. In the same vein, the rationality of islamic beliefs and islamic socio political order remains a major theme in the discourses of islamic intellectuals, scholars, and preachers. Finally, the rivers of iran, racing swiftly through. Behrooz ghamaritabrizi shows that the iranian revolutionary movement was a sociopolitical source of creativity with historical significance. New islamic political movements first emerged in the near east, the indian subcontinent, and indonesia in the middle of the 19th century in response to european imperial expansion and encounter with european intellectual currents, social values, political thought, and technological advances.
The saudi state, established in the mid 12th hijri century and continuing till the present day, is an extant proof of. In iran, since the midnineteenth century, one issue has been a common concern. Pdf on oct 22, 2018, leila brannstromm and others published behrooz. A critique mehrdad valibeigi the nature and character of islamic law and the divine ordinances of the sharia furnish additional proof of the necessity for establishing government, for they indicate that the laws were laid down for the purpose of. Political islam, iran, and the enlightenment philosophies of hope and despair. On these pages, you can read and hear the history of political islams development. The ideas of nationalism, secularism, religion, and revolution are unique in this muslim country. Montesquieu, the great proponent of mixed government, comparative cultures, and political liberty, despised the book for what he mistakenly saw as its. Hakan yavuz offers an insightful and wideranging study of the gulen movement, one of the most imaginative developments in contemporary islam. Today, there are basically three types of islam in iran. The politics of translation and the construction of islam by ziad elmarsafy article in journal of the american oriental society 3.
Cambridge core political philosophy political islam, iran, and the enlightenment by ali mirsepassi skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Islam was brought to iran via arab islamic conquest in 650 ad and has played a shifting, anomalous role in this nationstate ever since. The history of islamic principlism in iran covers the history of islamic revivalism and the rise of political islam in modern iran. Islamic economics and economic policy formation in post. The islamic revolution and iran under ayatollah khomeini, 1979 1989 8 president rafsanjani and the era of reconstruction, 1989 1997 9 president khatami and the reform movement, 1997 2005 10 2 politics 15 2. The islamic republic, with its factional politics and complex foreign relations remains enigmatic. The life of imam khomeini is a clear indication that the revolution wrought by islam necessarily begins in the moral and spiritual realm. This research is aimed at obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the nuclear issue and its linkage to regional security. Islam has maintained all its pillars and therefore remains, theoretically, robust and dynamic enough to contend with and relate to reality. Islam was brought to iran via arabislamic conquest in 650 ad and has played a shifting, anomalous role in this nationstate ever since. Nevertheless, for the iranian world the advent of islam meant not liberation but defeat and conquest by an alien people.
How islam shaped the enlightenment the new republic. We also assess what impact us and western policies may indirectly have on iran s domestic political scene when engaging iran over security issues, such as the iranian nuclear file. The anti enlightenment tradition start download portable document format pdf and ebooks electronic books free online rating news 20162017 is books that can provide inspiration, insight, knowledge to the reader. Is not islam, from its inception onward and on the basis of its principles, actually a political religion, such that making a distinction between islam and political islam has to appear. He declares that foucault recognized that iranians were at a threshold and were considering if it were possible to think of dignity, justice, and liberty outside the cognitive maps and principles of the european enlightenment. Foucault in iran is a devastating critique of selfrighteous enlightenment rationality, and a mustread for anyone interested in iranian political history, revolutionary action. A splendid work that goes beyond simple binaries, it has no sympathy for the cliched vocabulary used by progressivists to describe these eventsor to criticize foucault for his alleged romanticisation of the iranian revolution. Focusing on iran, turkey and egypt, the three intellectual and political centres of the middle east, mr. Philosophies of hope and despair article in iranian studies 453. Khomeinis theory of islamic state and the making of the. Islam is certainly less dependent than christianity on miracles or what tom paine called improbable happenings, but ultimately, because it counterposes reason to revelation, enlightenment thought casts doubt on all religions christianity, islam, judaism, hinduism and buddhism alike. The intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th century that became known as the enlightenment helped a new class to come to power in europe.
Saeed hajjarian allegedly showed the supremacy of politics as such over any religious norm when he said that the survival of the islamic republic was paramount. Philosophies of hope and despair ali mirsepassi argues that the discourse of political islam has strong connections to important, disturbing currents in western philosophy and intellectual trends. Download pdf lost wisdom rethinking modernity in iran free. Course political sociology of the state in the contemporary arab world. The diverse political landscape in the muslim world is inextricably linked to the sociopolitical and theological shifts within islamismin particular, the yearning for greater social, economic and political justice, a yearning that lies at the core of an inclusive wasatiyyah islam. Ayatollah khomeini, the leader of islamic revolution in iran, argued that in the absence. Foucault in iran is a devastating critique of selfrighteous enlightenment rationality, and a mustread for anyone interested in iranian political history, revolutionary action, and foucaults later writings. The safavid dynasty ruled iran until 1722, when an afghan army invaded the country and captured isfahan. In spite of the valiant efforts of the great islamic scholars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, part of their project failed to take hold. It argues that the discourse of political islam has strong connections to important and disturbing currents in western.
Foucault in iran centers on the significance of foucault s writings on the iranian revolution and the profound mark it left on his lectures on ethics, spirituality, and fearless speech. The socioeconomic transformation of iran strengthened and created new bonds between societies in iran, while at the same time resistance and the struggle for political. Transnationalism in iranian political thought by ali mirsepassi. Feb 19, 2015 stop calling for a muslim enlightenment. In contrast, and in order to save history from merely serving policymaking, this article argues that the relationships involved were determined in the wider context of the process of the modernization of iran, in which political islam emerged and, albeit to a limited extent, influenced the development of a religious kurdayeti or kurdishness. Iran even today seeks to find the balance between these two poles, which have been the main source of friction in iranian society and political life. The iranian revolution past, present and future brought the safavids into direct conflict with the ottoman empire and led to two centuries of intermittent warfare between those two powerful states. The reevaluation of islam that took place in the 17th century was closely connected to the acquisition of a much wider range of empirical sources. Arendt, democracy, and judgment arendt, democracy, and judgment. Foucault 192684 was a major figure in french poststructuralism, and he is also known to philosophers in the angloamerican tradition. Philosophies of hope and despair by ali mirsepassi cambridge university press, 2011. The age of enlightenment also known as the age of reason or simply the enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in europe during the 17th to 19th centuries. Political islam is a term that denotes any interpretation of islam as a source of political identity and action. It can refer to a wide range of individuals and groups who advocate the transformation of state and society according to what they see as islamic principles.
Finally, the enlightenment movement in europe put an end to this dominance. Political islam, iran, and the enlightenment by ali mirsepassi. Muslims have always understood islam as enlightenment, the path that rescued. The other islam transforms this image and opens the way to finding common ground in our troubled times.
The dominance of one pole to another has only created tension in iran s political. On november 6, 1978,le nouvel observateurpublished the following letter, called an iranian woman writes, by mme. Iran s constitutional revolution of 1906 and narratives of the enlightenment ali m. Between islamic and republic, whats left of the iranian. How islam got political on bbc radio four, thursday 10 november at 8pm. The foundations of the economic partnership between iran and china are iran s abundant energy resources and chinas growing energy needs, but china is not overwhelmingly dependent on the islamic republic for its energy needs.
Enlightenment has therefore been used as an excuse to achieve certain goals that have nothing to do with culture. In democracy in modern iran, ali mirsepassi maintains that it is possible, demonstrating. Afary and andersen, foucault and the iranian revolution, 9. Despite the attention, however, it continues to defy easy characterisation. Political islam s romance with the west when the french philosopher and scholar henry corbin visited iran in 1945, 1 allamah tabatabai, the most eminent shii scholar and philosopher of the time, traveled from qom to tehran just to meet with him. Dilemmas, responses and the future 1 the iranian nuclear issue and security in the persian gulf have long been high on the united nations peace and security agenda. Cambridge core political philosophy political islam, iran, and the enlightenment by ali mirsepassi. From them also, thrust up in the wake of the volcanic activity of late pliocene times, came diorite and obsidian, both highly prized in antiquity. Review of political islam, iran, and the enlightenment. This case study investigates the social, economic, and political dynamics of 1970s iran that led the iranian people to accept, and then maintain, religion as the basis of a new political system after deposing mohammad reza shah pahlavi in 1979. Export a ris file for endnote, procite, reference manager, zotero, mendeley export a text file for bibtex note. The rise of islamism is, paradoxically, both a product. In the decades since the 1979 revolution, the question has become even more critical.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the islamic enlightenment. Founded in turkey by the muslim thinker fethullah gulen, the gulen movement aims to disseminate a moderate interpretation of islam through faithbased education. It argues that islam, as a religion and cultural practice, and democracy, as a nonviolent way to organize political order, are both socially rooted and can be best understood and reconciled within a sociological and institutionally grounded perspective. Sufism, a blend of the mystical and rational tendencies within islam, emerged soon after the revelation of muhammad. More than a century of struggle for or against modernity has constituted much of the social, political, and cultural history of the country. Iran s constitutional revolution of 1906 and narratives of the enlightenment book description. Counterenlightenments is the first fulllength study to deal with the history and development of counterenlightenment thought from its inception in the eighteenth century. Foucault in irancenters not only on the significance of the great thinkers writings on the revolution but also on the. Shia political ideology underwent a signi cant transformation in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
618 1402 103 1552 724 1214 21 734 1558 986 893 433 1238 106 1651 1536 1609 1187 1084 236 470 1305 1251 65 415 308 490 731 443 77 313 251 215 257 252