Wasatiyya Discourse in Shi’i Islam: Ayatollah Montazeri and Human Rights Jurisprudence

There are significant differences of opinion about the successes and failures of Iran’s clerical government, but it can hardly be disputed that the experience has led to the flourishing of Shīʿī political thought. In the past four decades, aided by government support, extensive literature has been p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Main Author: Ghobadzadeh, Naser (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI 2022
In: Religions
Further subjects:B Khomeini
B Iran
B governmental Shīʿism
B Montazeri
B religious episteme
B human rights jurisprudence
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Summary:There are significant differences of opinion about the successes and failures of Iran’s clerical government, but it can hardly be disputed that the experience has led to the flourishing of Shīʿī political thought. In the past four decades, aided by government support, extensive literature has been produced endorsing the political theology of "governmental Shīʿism" conceptualized by Khomeini in the early 1970s. Numerous other schools of thought have also emerged in opposition to the militant Shīʿī interpretation of religion by governmental Shīʿism. Using the concept of Wasatiyyah to conceptualize the most important counter-discourse to governmental Shīʿism, this article addresses the life and thought of Ayatollah Montazeri, one of the most prominent Wasatiyyah thinkers. Focusing on the issue of human rights in Montazeri’s thought, the article seeks to demonstrate how Montazeri instigated a fundamental reform of the seminary episteme, and by doing so articulated intra-religious reasoning in favor of the promotion of modern concepts such as human rights.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel13020126