Background
Shariati was born on November 23, 1933 in Mazinan, Khurasan, a small village in Eastern Iran.
(This book is one of the many Islamic publications distrib...)
This book is one of the many Islamic publications distributed by Ahlulbayt Organization throughout the world in different languages with the aim of conveying the message of Islam to the people of the world. Ahlulbayt Organization (www.shia.es) is a registered Organization that operates and is sustained through collaborative efforts of volunteers in many countries around the world, and it welcomes your involvement and support. Its objectives are numerous, yet its main goal is to spread the truth about the Islamic faith in general and the Shi'a School of Thought in particular due to the latter being misrepresented, misunderstood and its tenets often assaulted by many ignorant folks, Muslims and non-Muslims. Organizations purpose is to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge through a global medium, the Internet, to locations where such resources are not commonly or easily accessible or are resented, resisted and fought! In addition, For a complete list of our published books please refer to our website (www.shia.es) or send us an email to info@shia.es
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(In preparing the way for the unparalleled surge of Islami...)
In preparing the way for the unparalleled surge of Islamic revival in Iran, many factors have been at work. One of the most important is the legacy of Dr. Ali Shari'ati (1933-1977). A teacher, scholar and writer, Shari'ati and a dynamic influence on the young people of Iran with his classes, discussions, free lectures and articles during the 1960's and 1970's. Shari'ati was a sociologist, educated in Mashhad and Paris, as well as a student of history and philosophy. He subjected contemporary society to careful examination, using the terms, experiences and concepts found in Islamic philosophy and culture for his analysis. He formulated and presented to his students and readers a coherent Islamic world-view and an ideology of social, political and economic change. His views have contributed much to the Iranian Islamic revolution. Shari'ati works are constantly reprinted and eagerly studies through-out Iran. This anthology is the first systematic presentation in English of some of his major ideas.
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(The first complete translation of the masterpiece of Ali ...)
The first complete translation of the masterpiece of Ali Shariati, it is not a treatise on the hajj, but a reflection by the astute haji on what the hajj means as it is performed and includes the meaning behind each and every ritual of the hajj based on the Arabic language and traditional sources.
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(The underlying infrastructure of Islam as a school of tho...)
The underlying infrastructure of Islam as a school of thought and action is presented by Ali Shariati along with its superstructure in terms of ideology.
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(Religion vs Religion consists of two lectures Ali Shariat...)
Religion vs Religion consists of two lectures Ali Shariati gave at the Husayniyah Center in Tehran on August 12 and 13, 1970. In them he puts forth a most remarkable thesis, that throughout history, religion has fought against religion and not a non-religion as we have come to believe. That is, monotheism, the religion of the belief that God is One, that religion brought by Prophet Abraham which is called din al-hanif, 'the rightful religion,' has continuously, throughout history, had to struggle against the religion of denying that there is One God or believing that there is no God (kufr, disbelief, infidelity, atheism) or against the religion of believing that there are multiple gods (shirk, polytheism, multitheism), the latter of which has branched into idolatry. Religion vs Religion, translated here for the first time in English, awakened religious and prophetic-like consciousness, bringing literally thousands of young people back to faith and belief in God. Shariati, in his inimitable way, clearly marks the lines and points out the signs that distinguish a divinely-imitative religion manifested throughout history in a 'priestly-function' of, right or wrong, celebrating a nation and a divinely-originated religion and its 'prophetic-function' of distinguishing between right and wrong and then calling a nation into action.
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(Throughout history, Shari'ati reminds us in these lecture...)
Throughout history, Shari'ati reminds us in these lectures and writings, people in search of deliverance from constricting social and intellectual systems have all too often followed influential thinkers out of one form of captivity and directly into another. He warns that great case must be taken in this day of search and upheaval to examine the prevailing movements that promise solutions for humanity. Marxism, which holds special appeal for the world's oppressed peoples and those sensitive to their suffering because of its emphasis on justice, merits particularly close scrutiny. Shari'ati analyzes its roots in materialism, its relation to the Hegelian dialectic, its preoccupation with matters of production, the sources of its diametrical opposition to Islam, Marx's objection to religion, and other crucial aspects to Marxism. But his attention is not confined to Marxism alone. He discusses the established religions, bourgeois liberalism, and existentialism, beginning with their fundamental notions of man. He examines the characteristic refusal of the major freedom-seeking movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to accept any spiritual dimension in man. Throughout his inquiry, Shari'ati offers comparisons with the ideology of Islam, drawing upon the principles and precepts contained in the Qur'an as well as cultural material from the history of Islamic society. Gradually and eloquently, he expounds his personal view of Islam as the philosophy of human liberation.
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( Ali Shari'ati is, for many, the ideological father of t...)
Ali Shari'ati is, for many, the ideological father of the Iranian revolution. A charismatic leader and teacher, his radical blend of Islam and Marxism mobilized a whole generation of young Iranians. Now available in paperback, this full-length political biography looks at Ali Shari'ati's life and thought in the context of the complex and contradictory cultural, social and political conditions of the Iranian society that shaped him.
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politican sociologist Revolutionary
Shariati was born on November 23, 1933 in Mazinan, Khurasan, a small village in Eastern Iran.
He was educated by his father, Aqa Muhammad Taqi Shariati.
His youth was spent in Meshad where his father established the Center for the Propagation of Islamic Teachings. After high school he entered Teachers' Training College and became an active member of his father's center. He entered the University of Meshad in 1956, graduating in 1960. From 1960 to 1964 a state scholarship enabled him to study at the University of Paris, where he gained sociological insight and pursued Islamic studies with the renowned French scholar Louis Massignon.
While in France Shariati had joined with such other Iranian expatriates as Mehdi Bazargan and Bani Sadr who supported resistance to the shah of Iran. Not unexpectedly, he was imprisoned for a time on his return to Iran in 1964. Although turned down for a teaching position at the University of Teheran, he taught at a variety of high schools until a position became available at the University of Meshad. There he became a popular teacher, using an innovative method which expounded Islamic doctrine using a sociological approach. While some Muslim clergy criticized his lack of Islamic expertise, others sympathized with his attempt at modernization and helped him revise the content of his writings. His classes, however, threatened the government establishment, which had them suspended.
In 1965 he established a center of Muslim religious teaching, the Husaniya-yi Irshad in Teheran, and he moved there in 1967. The choice of an institution dedicated to the martyrdom of Husayn in the struggles against the Ummayyads (660-750 A. D. ) emphasized his commitment to the struggle against the tyranny of the shah's regime in Iran. His political influence was so great that the regime had him arrested again in 1973 and closed down the Husaniya, banning his works. Although released in 1975, his freedom was restricted. In June 1977 he travelled to England, where he died under circumstances that his supporters insisted suggested the involvement of SAVAK, the Iranian secret police.
(The first complete translation of the masterpiece of Ali ...)
(Throughout history, Shari'ati reminds us in these lecture...)
(This book is one of the many Islamic publications distrib...)
(The underlying infrastructure of Islam as a school of tho...)
(Religion vs Religion consists of two lectures Ali Shariat...)
(In preparing the way for the unparalleled surge of Islami...)
( Ali Shari'ati is, for many, the ideological father of t...)
In France he was influenced by the radical Marxism of Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Franz Fanon. Despite this influence he criticized these thinkers for their rejection of traditional religion and suggested that the only way the deprived nations could counterbalance Western imperialism was through the cultural identity preserved by religious traditions.
The guiding principle of Shariati's thought, like that of Islam generally, is tawhid or unity. On one level this refers to the excellence of the human being. God creates humanity out of clay and spirit, thus enabling a unity of all elements in creation. The human being is thereby made the vice-regent (kalifa) for God, bringing perfection to the created world. On another level the principle of unity must be applied to the social world. Every corruption and injustice in the world comes from a lack of unity. The Muslim proclamation that God alone is to be worshipped, made five times daily, conquers greed, envy, and fear by liberating the individual from selfishness.
The implications of this view are radical. If the central significance of the Muslim creed is individual liberation, then any form of dependency is wrong. The Muslim clergy have embraced the principle of imitation (taqlid) rather than creative innovation (ijtihad) as the basis for deciding Islamic behavior. Shariati opposed blind traditionalism, citing the Koranic statement that "God does not change what is in a people until they change what is in themselves" (Sura 13, Aya 11). The test of a Muslim society lies less in its traditionalism than in its ability to utilize traditional thought to meet the challenge of creating a just society. The ideal of unity requires individuals who can lead a society to the virtues it represents and the social justice which it demands.
Shariati's View of the Religious Leader. Attaining tawhidrequires the help of religious leaders, but they must be leaders of the right type. The ideal of Mohammad stands as the model of a leader who can use religious insight and knowledge of social norms to transform society. The true religious leader is one who takes up the social responsibility that Mohammad displayed and gains the confidence of the people, thereby educating the society, transmitting religious teachings, and improving the condition of human society. He found the radical emphasis on change and the role of leadership echoed in classical Muslim sources. The Koran proclaims that Allah (God) and the people (al nas) are often identical. In order to know God's will it is important, then, to look to what the people are saying, thinking, and doing. Since the time of Muhammad and his early successors (and Shariati aroused dissent by accepting much of the Sunnite evaluation of those leaders despite his own commitment to Shi'ite Islam) religious leadership has waned. He declared that in the modern period it was necessary to return to the primal responsibilities of social consciousness and creativity.
In practical terms he took this to mean that the intellectuals rather than the clergy would bring about the return to the original meaning of Islam. He looked forward to a new type of religious leader. The qualifications were not only knowing the Koran, but knowing its social message and its vision of a new social world, not only being an expert in the biography of the Prophet, but recognizing the place of the Prophet in a Koran-oriented society; not only knowing Islamic history but having the ability to use that knowledge as a model of just social behavior; and, finally, being acquainted with Islamic culture as the basis for Muslim identity.
The problem with the traditional clergy, he explained, was that they were content to look at Islam as a set of general universal principles. Instead, they should apply Islamic ideals to the particulars of Muslim society, the particular problems with which both individuals and the community as a whole must struggle. Such views irritated many of the clergy, and in 1968 Ayatollah Motahari, a disciple of Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, resigned from the Teheran Husaniya in protest against Shariati's anticlericalism, anticipating the anti-intellectualism that followed the 1979 revolution. Shariati himself responded to such critics by vigorously attacking the established clergy. Despite the victory of the clerical leaders in the Iranian revolution, however, his ideas continued to be influential among younger Iranian Muslims.
In the first place Shariati criticised western liberal democracy. He pointed out that there is a direct relationship between democracy, liberalism and the plundering of nations. He believed that liberal democracy is the enemy of humankind. He also referred to the fact that the ruling economic system of liberal democracy is unjust and contrary to the rights of people. He maintained that in such a society, someone who is weak is already subjected to defeat and annihilation. There are basic foundations in Shariati’s thoughts and his criticism of liberal democracy. The first foundation is related to the contrast between the religious worldview and the non-religious one. He explained history, society and humanity according to a monistic worldview. He explained liberalism as something with inequality and discrimination. Freedom and equality based on spirituality were the very basis of pre-modern societies which were devastated in one period of history.
Shariati believed that the government of Imam Ali could be considered the best form of democracy. On this occasion, he tried to interpret the behavior of Imam Ali in contrast with his enemy. He called this democracy Commitment democracy. It appears that Shariati did not accept the western definition of democracy although he had no problem with democracy. According to him, a religious government is the democratic right of Muslim citizens. He believed that one of the basic problems of western democracy is demagogy. Nowadays the votes of voters direct to special channels with the help of advertising instruments. In such a condition only one who is critically conscious can dispose of distractions and surface-level arguments, and vote effectively for themselves and their communities. He maintains that the western democracy based on gold, cruelty and tricking (Zar, Zour va Tazvir) is an anti-revolutionary regime which is different with ideological Guidance.
For explaining better the commitment democracy, he at first divides between two concepts. One of them is Syasat and the other is politic. Syasat is a philosophy by government that want to have the responsibility of changing and becoming the society not its being and existence. In fact Syasat is a progressive and dynamic thing. The aim of government in the philosophy of Syasat is to change social foundations, institutions and even all the norms of society namely culture, morality and desires etc. in simple word, Syasat want to make exist the people. In contrary, there is no making in politic. In other word politic is follow of having people not making them. Of course Shariati prefers Syasat on politic because the former is more progressive. He considers with making human(Ensan Sazi). In fact his utopia is constructed with three concepts of Gnosis, equality and freedom. Commitment democracy appeared out of his lecture in Hoseyniyeh Ershad; a famous lecture with the name of Ummah and Imamate. According to him, Imam is one who want to guide humans not only in political, social and economic dimensions but also in all existential dimensions. He believes that Imam is alive everywhere and every time. In one hand Imamate is not a metaphysical belief but a revolutionary guide philosophy. He added that Imam has to guide people not according to his desire like dictator but to Islamic ideology and authentic values.
He married Pouran Shariat Razavi. They had two daughters.