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Wasatiyya discourse in Shi’i Islam : Ayatollah Montazeri and human rights jurisprudence
Ghobadzadeh, Naser
Ghobadzadeh, Naser
Author
Abstract
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.
Keywords
Iran, Montazeri, governmental Shīʿism, Khomeini, religious episteme, human rights jurisprudence
Date
2022
Type
Journal article
Journal
Religions
Book
Volume
13
Issue
2
Page Range
1-17
Article Number
Article 126
ACU Department
School of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open