Islamic Political Thought

All theories of political science and international relations are inevitably based on specific ontological foundations that one of the main sub-branches of their ontology is anthropology (history). However, anthropological foundations have been neglected in the evaluation of international relations theories (problem). Therefore, it seems necessary to strengthen the approaches interested in examining the anthropology of international relations theories in view of the conceptual gap in the background of this issue (background and necessity). Therefore, this question can be raised: How can the perception of human nature provide an Islamic basis for rethinking the intellectual approach of the main theoretical approaches in international relations (including realism and liberalism)? (Question). It seems that from the Islamic point of view, any stagnation and dogmatism in the absolute pessimistic or optimistic conception of human nature can be considered as a common weakness of idealism and realism in international relations (hypothesis). This article aims to provide a serious rethinking of the anthropological foundations of these two schools, as two major theoretical approaches in the analysis of international politics (goal). The present paper, within the framework of the non-theoretical approach, emphasizes an Islamic reflection on the anthropological foundations of the idealist and realistic paradigms (method). Understanding the difference between the anthropological foundations of the Islamic approach on the one hand and the realistic and liberal approaches on the other hand can be one of the results of the article (finding).

The approach of convergence in the Islamic world as a prelude and path for Islamic countries to become a new pole of power in the world has been proposed and discussed for a long time among the thinkers and elites of Islamic countries. In this regard, various perspectives and strategies have been presented to achieve this geopolitical goal. Considering Iran's special geopolitical position as the gateway to the heartland of the world and the prospect of becoming a trans-regional power, the authors sought to describe the factors of this convergence and then provide an analysis of different strategies to achieve convergence in the Islamic world with Iran as its pivot. For this purpose, in this research by using a descriptive and analytical method, the five factors of convergence categorized by document collection, and then the strategies to achieve convergence have been mentioned with emphasis on the special capacity of the Islamic Republic to build civilization and play a role in future scenarios.

According to this research based on historical research methods, different conditions, and various events can lead to a change in the views of Turkish Islamist elites on the meaning of the Islamic revolution of Iran. The research shows that the dominant understanding of Iran's Islamic Revolution has changed in three different periods: In the first period, under the influence of the thoughts of Shariati and Imam Khomeini, the Islamic Revolution as a utopia; in the second period, under the influence of the  Umm al-Qura theory and the Iran-Iraq war, the Islamic revolution as an model of Islamic governance; and in the third period, under the influence of the Syrian crisis, the understanding of Islamic revolution of Iran as a Shia revolution. In this third period, two main viewpoints appear: The first viewpoint understands the Islamic revolution as a Shia revolution from the beginning, and the second viewpoint, by dividing the history of the Islamic revolution of Iran into two eras, introduces the era of Imam Khomeini as the era of "Islamic revolution" and calls the era of Ayatollah Khamenei as the era of "Shia" revolution.

Mohammadreza Hakimi is one of the contemporary Shia thinkers who is in the continuation of the "Tafkik School". Tafkik School as a stream originating from the Shia Islam, is theologically based on special foundations that can be influential in the political; That is, it is something that can be traced to the field of "political theology". Theology is a knowledge that seeks to explain God's relationship with the universe, especially humans. But political theology seeks to find the theological foundations of the political; That is, it examines how the political is articulated according to the way of looking at God's relationship with man and the world. Different religions can have their own political theology according to the way they explain this relationship. The present article seeks to answer the question that what formulation of the political is represented by Mohammadreza Hakimi's interpretation of the theological foundations of Shia? In line with the answer, first the relationship between God and man is depicted in the Shiite approach. Because of His grace, God sends prophets to guide man to the ultimate goal of the creation. These prophets actually provide the correct model of human life to achieve the goal. In this approach, after the death of the Prophet, it is the Imam who continues the model of guidance. In addition to receiving and delivering revelation, he has other roles of the prophet, including political and social leadership. During the period of the Major Occultation, the Imam's deputy is someone whose rule is similar to his rule; It means government based on justice, especially on social justice.

The analysis of the relationship between the people and the government and their roles and positions in governance is an age-old issue, with each school of thought and consequently each thinker presenting a framework for it. The people's political approach to governance in the context of the theory of religious democracy is both a product of the discourse of the Islamic Revolution and the lived experience of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Considering the governance experience of these two main theories in Iran, comparing their perspectives is key to solving many problems. By employing a selected theoretical approach and using a descriptive-analytical method, the authors have concluded that while there is a common discourse and approach between Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, the theoretical development of this concept and the elaboration of its operational details are distinctive features of the Ayatollah Khamenei 's perspective on Imam Khomeini.

Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali is one of the most important thinkers of the Seljuk period in Iran. Ghazali’s Thought, based on his works, is very wide-ranging in various fields of religious sciences. At the beginning of his scientific life, he wrote a book entitled “Maqasid al Falasifa” (The Aims of Philosophers), but in the final period of his research, he wrote the “Tahafut al-Falasifah” (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) and joined the opponents of philosophy, in which he expressed the contradictions of philosophers. Consequently, many thinkers believe that he is not only against philosophy but also against reason, and as a result reach the conflict between reason and religion or the sharia of religion.This article examines the question of whether there is a conflict between reason and sharia in Ghazali's thought? Does al-Ghazali mean the philosophical views of philosophers only those that are incompatible with the Shari'a? And what should be done if there seems to be a contradiction? This article tries to address these questions by referring to Ghazali's intellectual works.

Gulen and Nursi present different images of the combination of Islam and modernity. This article seeks to evaluate the similarities and differences of Nursi and Gulen’s political thought. According to Gulen's claim that Nursi has been his professor, it seems that there is not much difference in their thoughts, but this article show that despite the influence of Gulen's ideas from Nursi and some similarities in their theoretical approaches, there are obvious difference in their thoughts. This article by applying a historical analysis, attempt to examine a comparative study on the religious and political ideas of Gulen and Nursi. The finding if this article shows that the central point of their theories is reliance on science education, Islam minus politics, combination of tradition and modernity, emphasis on democracy, compromise with other religions and Sufi tendencies, but they have many differences in the fields of ethnicity, methodology, etc.

In this article, while briefly reviewing the traditional intellectual and philosophical foundations of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, we have expressed his political thought. Nasr's political thought is a kind of traditional conservatism, and his thought can be considered reminiscent of the thought of Edmund Burke after the French Revolution. In defense of the monarchy, Nasr described his favorite political model as "Islamic monarchy." He was opposed to any revolution and considered the basis of leftist and revolutionary ideas to be incorrect. In this paper, we have used a historical-analytical method based on documentary and library research.

Civilization plays a central role in Ali Shariati's intellectual framework, to the extent that understanding his broader philosophical system is nearly impossible without comprehending his views on the concept of civilization and the evolution of human society throughout history. This article seeks to explore Shariati’s approach to civilization by employing the dynamic framework of Thomas A. Spragens and addressing five interconnected questions: What is the concept of civilization? What are the characteristics that shape human nature? What are the obstacles to human development? What are the factors that can free humanity from these obstacles? And, finally, what drives the progress of human civilization? The findings of this study shows that Shariati views civilization as the collective achievements and accumulated knowledge of human society, which do not naturally exist in the environment but are created by humans due to three inherent qualities: self-awareness, free will, and creativity. These attributes are inherited from God and exist as latent potentials within each individual. To actualize these qualities, however, humanity must overcome four determinisms: nature, history, society, and the self. According to Shariati, the gradual mastery over these four constraints leads to the formation of civilization. Throughout historical processes, humans gradually liberate themselves from these external and internal forces. In this transformation, individuals evolve from beings shaped by nature, society, history, and the self into creators of nature, society, history, and the self. As a result, their divine-like attributes—self-awareness, will, and creativity—reach full potential, leading them to the ultimate ideal of a true, exemplary human, which in Shariati's view, is a near-divine figure.

As one of the main goals of Iranian Islamic Revolution, achieving a modern Islamic civilization derived from Islamic rationality is faced with some challenges. As the most fundamental for an intellectual system, such intellectual challenged can be named “rationality”. On this basis, using attributional analysis type of the qualitative research method, this paper is to answer the following question: “Based on the Islamic revolution leaders’ viewpoints and at the regional level, which most fundamental intellectual challenge does the Islamic revolution face on its way for achieving its depicted high level goals, i.e., bringing up a modern Islamic civilization, and how could they be overcome? The findings indicate that “Takfiri rationality” is the most fundamental challenge at the regional level. Challenge gaps between Takfiri rationality and Shia rationality at the region can be worded as “adhering to texts versus narrations”, “opposing the reason“, “monotheism and accusing Islamic sects”, “believing in and relying on the Prophet companions’ fairness” as well as “opposing emulation”. Criticizing such a rationality, Shia rationality emphasized on “monotheism in Shia school of thought and being free of superstition”, “emphasizing on the necessity of empowering the Islamic revolution and the Islamic axis of resistance”, “the necessity of annihilating ISIS as the main promoter of Islamophobia all over the world”, “opposing any kind of violence and act of terrorism” as well as “denying whatsoever kind of dividing Islamic sects”. Hereupon, operational solutions for dealing with the challenge of Takfirism are proposed in three categories, namely intellectual-scientific, cultural, political and military-security.

War and peace are key issues in international politics, drawing a variety of perspectives from scholars. It seems that in all schools of thought, peace is favored over war, and pacifism is widely accepted as a reasonable principle. Islam, being the final and complete divine religion, places particular emphasis on peace, considering it a core principle, a viewpoint that is also strongly reflected in the actions and teachings of the Imams (peace be upon them). Nahj al-Balagha, a collection of sermons, letters, and maxims attributed to Imam Ali (as), emphasizes the importance of peace. This study seeks to reconstruct the principles of pacifism through a descriptive and analytical examination of Imam Ali’s (as) discourses. The findings indicate that peace and reconciliation, which are often considered synonymous, are, in fact, distinct concepts. A close examination of Imam Ali’s (as) teachings reveals principles such as guidance, restraint, and prevention of war escalation, vigilance before and after peace agreements, delay of war to convince public to embrace peace and abandon conflict and finally, adherence to peace agreements constitute the framework of pacifism in his teachings.

Undoubtedly, the process of nation-state building has been one of the most significant challenges faced by many countries across the world, particularly in Islamic nations, over the past century. This issue is so critical that it can be argued that the primary root of insecurity and instability in many of these countries lies in the weakness and ongoing crisis of nation-state building, especially in states that function as quasi-states or post-colonial entities. In such circumstances, the inability of these states to provide the basic functions of statehood has paved the way for insecurity, instability, and both internal and international conflicts. Iraq stands as a prime example of a failed state, struggling to transition through the process of nation-state building, and as a result, it has faced multiple domestic and foreign challenges. This paper seeks to evaluate the complexities and obstacles of nation-state building in Islamic countries, with a particular focus on Iraq. The analysis highlights several major challenges hindering the successful establishment of a cohesive nation-state in Iraq, including the historical roots and barriers preventing the formation of a unified national identity, the deep ethnic and sectarian divisions, external interventions, and the failure of governance, particularly in the post-Saddam era of consociational democracy.