Ali Shariati Mazinani (; 23November 193318June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who specialised in the sociology of religion. He is regarded as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century. He has been referred to as the "ideologue of the Islamic Revolution", although his ideas did not ultimately serve as the foundation for the Islamic Republic. The work and ideas associated with Shariati are known as Shariatism.

Biography

Ali Shariati, also known as Ali Masharati, was born in 1933 in Mazinan, a suburb of Sabzevar in northeastern Persia. His father's family were clerics. His father, Mohammad-Taqi, was a teacher and Islamic scholar. In 1947, he established the Centre for the Propagation of Islamic Truth in Mashhad, Khorasan Province. It was a social Islamic forum that became involved in the oil nationalisation movement of the 1950s. Shariati's mother came from a small land-owning family in Sabzevar, a town near Mashhad.

During his years at the Teacher's Training College in Mashhad, Shariati encountered young individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and for the first time witnessed the poverty and hardships prevalent in Iran at that time. At the same time, he was exposed to many aspects of Western philosophical and political thought. He attempted to explain and offer solutions for the problems faced by Muslim societies through traditional Islamic principles interwoven with, and understood from, the point of view of modern sociology and philosophy. His articles from this period for the Mashhad daily newspaper, Khorasan, display his developing eclecticism and acquaintance with the ideas of modernist thinkers such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal among the Muslim community, and Sigmund Freud and Alexis Carrel.

In 1952, Shariati became a high school teacher and founded the Islamic Students' Association, which led to his arrest following a demonstration. In 1953, the year of Mossadeq's overthrow, he became a member of the National Front. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Mashhad in 1955. In 1957, he was arrested again by the Iranian police, along with fifteen other members of the National Resistance Movement.

Shariati then earned a scholarship to continue his graduate studies at the University of Paris under the supervision of the Iranist Gilbert Lazard. He left Paris after earning a PhD in Persian language in 1964. According to Ali Rahnema, the Paris to which Shariati arrived in the 1960s was "the world's hub of cultural and political activity", particularly in terms of anti-colonial resistance in the context of the Algerian Revolution. During this period in Paris, Shariati started collaborating with the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) in 1959. The following year, he began to read Frantz Fanon and translated an anthology of his work into Persian. Shariati introduced Fanon's thought into Iranian revolutionary émigré circles. He was arrested in Paris on 17 January 1961 during a demonstration in honour of Patrice Lumumba. Shariati went to Tehran, where he began lecturing at the Hosseiniye Ershad Institute. These lectures were hugely popular among his students and were spread by word of mouth throughout all economic sectors of society, including the middle and upper classes, where interest in his teachings began to grow. His continued success again aroused the interest of the government. Shariati was arrested, along with many of his students. Widespread pressure from the people and an international outcry eventually led to his release on 20 March 1975, after eighteen months in solitary confinement.

thumb|right|250px|The tomb of Shariati

thumb|right|250px|The mausoleum of Shariati in 2001

Shariati was allowed to leave for the United Kingdom. Shortly after, on 18 June 1977, he was found dead in Southampton at the house he was renting from psychology professor Doctor Butterworth. He is believed to have been killed by the SAVAK, the Iranian security service during the time of the Shah. However, in Ali Rahnema's biography of Shariati, he is said to have died of a heart attack under mysterious circumstances, although no hospital or medical records have been found. He is buried in Damascus next to Sayyidah Zaynab, the granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the daughter of Ali. Iranian pilgrims often visit his grave.

Views and popularity

thumb|right|250px|Shariati and his family one day after his release from prison

Shariati sought to revive the revolutionary currents of Shi'ism. His interpretation of Shiism encouraged revolution in the world and promised salvation after death. He referred to his brand of Shiism as "red Shiism" or Alid Shiism which he contrasted with non-revolutionary "black Shiism" or Safavid Shiism. His ideas have been compared to the Catholic Liberation Theology movement founded in South America by Peruvian Gustavo Gutierrez and Brazilian Leonardo Boff.

Shariati was a prominent philosopher of Islam, who argued that a good society would conform to Islamic values. As opposed to other prominent revolutionary figures, such as Ayatollah Khomeini, Shariati proposed a utopian classless society that would be established through a dialectical struggle between the people of tawhid (monotheism) and the people of shirk (polytheism). He argued that it was only in a classless society that true monotheism could be established, and the dialectical struggle between these two dual forms of humanity were idealized for him in the struggle between Cain and Abel.

Shariati believed that the most learned members of the (clergy) should play a leadership role in guiding society because they best understand how to administer an Islamic value system based on the teachings of the prophets of God and the 12 Shia Twelver Imams. He argued that the role of the clergy was to guide society under Islamic values to advance human beings towards reaching their highest potential, rather than to provide or serve the hedonistic desires of individuals as in the West. For Shariati, "Safavid Shiism", which he described as the religion propagated by the ulema, was devoid of the "true" and revolutionary roots of Islam brought forth by Muhammad and Ali that challenged the authority of the elite in Mecca, namely that of the Umayyads. He argued that "Safavid Shiism" had taken on an apolitical character as an arm of the state, and had corrupted the original revolutionary message of Islam and Shiism, which he refers to as "Alid Shiism". His resentment and criticism of the clergy was, and continues to be, a point of controversy, as many of the ulema vehemently disagreed with his arguments.

Shariati's works were highly influenced by Louis Massignon and the Third Worldism that he encountered as a student in Paris, including ideas that class war and revolution would bring about a just and classless society. He was also highly influenced by the epistemic decolonisation thinking of his time. He is said to have adopted the idea of Gharbzadegi from Jalal Al-e Ahmad and given it "its most vibrant and influential second life". He sought to translate these ideas into cultural symbols of Shiism that Iranians could relate to. Shariati believed Shia should not only await the return of the 12th Imam, but should actively work to hasten his return by fighting for social justice "even to the point of embracing martyrdom". He said that "every day is Ashoura, every place is the Karbala".

Shariati is sometimes referred to as the "Fanon of the Islamic Revolution"; In his lecture "Shiism: A Complete Party", Shariati argued that the Shia sect of Islam contained in it a revolutionary ideology and was itself the "party of God", with the ability to mobilize the masses in a "class struggle".

Drawing directly from Fanon, in his lectures titled Bāzgasht or "Return", Shariati presented his own version of a "return to self" that was rooted in a revival of the ethical and spiritual core of a community, arguing for a return to the "culture of Islam" and Islamic ideology.

Social theorist Asef Bayat has recorded his observations as a witness and participant in the Iranian revolution of 1979. He asserts that Shariati emerged at the time of the revolution as "an unparalleled revolutionary intellectual" with his portraits widely present during the marches and protests. His nickname as "mo'allem-e enqilab" ("revolutionary mentor") was chanted by millions, and his literature and tapes had already been widely available before the revolution. Bayat recalls that "[his] father, barely literate, had his own copies" of Shariati's works.

On the role of women

In Expectations from the Muslim Woman, also called Our Expectations of the Muslim Woman, first given in 1975, Shariati discusses women's rights in Islam. The point of his lecture is not to show that women's rights do not exist in Islam, but to show that what Shariati saw as anti-Islamic traditions have had tragic results for Muslim women. He uses Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad, as an example of a woman who played a significant role in political life.

He begins his lecture by stating that:

<blockquote>Most often, we are satisfied by pointing out that Islam gives great value to science or establishes progressive rights for women. Unfortunately we never actually use or benefit from this value or these rights.</blockquote>

He continues by stating that:

<blockquote>From the 18th through to the 20th century (particularly after World War 2) any attempt to address the special problem of the social rights of women and their specific characteristics has been seen as a mere by-product of a spiritual or psychic shock or the result of a revolutionary crisis in centers of learning or as a response to political currents and international movements. Thus, traditional societies, historical societies, religious societies, either in the East or in the West (be they tribal, Bedouin, civilized Muslim or non-Muslim societies, in whatever social or cultural stage of civilization they may be) have all been directly or indirectly influenced by these thoughts, intellectual currents and even new social realities. To Shariati, Freud was an agent of the bourgeoisie:

<blockquote>Up to the appearance of Freud (who was one of the agents of the bourgeoisie), it was through the liberal bourgeois spirit that scientific sexualism was manifested. It must be taken into consideration that the bourgeoisie is always an inferior class.</blockquote>

He concludes that a scholar or scientist who lives, thinks, and studies during the bourgeois age, measures collective, cultural, and spiritual values based on the economy, production and consumption. Then, Shariati's father declared that his son believed that the principles of Abu Dhar are fundamental. Some described Shariati as the modern Abu Dhar in Iran. Of all his thoughts, there is his insistence on the necessity of revolutionary action. Shariati believed that Marxism could not provide the Third World with the ideological means for its own liberation. One of his premises was that Islam by nature is a revolutionary ideology. Therefore, Islam could relate to the modern world as an ideology.

According to Shariati, the historical and original origin of human problems was the emergence of private ownership. He believed that in the modern era, the appearance of the machine was the second most fundamental change in the human condition. Private ownership and the emergence of the machine, if considered one of two curves of history, belong to the second period of history. The first period is collective ownership. However, Shariati gave a critique of the historical development of religion and the modern philosophical and ideological movements and their relationship to both private ownership and the emergence of the machine.

Epistemology

Shariati developed the idea of the social, cultural and historical contingencies of religious knowledge in sociology. He believed in the earthly religion and the social context in which the meaning of society is construed. He also emphasised that he understood religion historically because he was a sociologist. He said he was concerned with the historical and social Tawhid, not with the truth of the Quran or of Muhammad or Ali.

Political philosophy

Sociology

Some scholars classify him among the current religious neo-thinkers. According to this standpoint, Shariati accepted the rationality of the West. Shariati called the theoretical foundation of the West civilisation and called its appearances Tajadod (renewal). He emphasised accepting civilisation and criticised Tajadod. He also believed that civilisation has to be considered as something deep. He also highly acknowledged the importance of empirical science and knowledge. He appreciated the empirical methodology and criticised traditionalism for its disregard for scientific methodology. On another hand, he criticised the Modernists because they confuse the Western ideological theories with valid scientific epistemology. According to Shariati, the knowledge of reason is self-evident. Therefore, he suggested thinking of reason as the axiom for understanding the other sources, namely the holy book or Quran, ḥadīth (tradition), sīra (prophetic biography) and ijmāʿ (consensus). Shariati also dismissed consensus as a source for understanding religion. He insisted on the concepts of knowledge and time along with the holy book and tradition, and stressed the important role of methodology and changing of viewpoint.

Shariati, who was a fan of Georges Gurvitch in his analysis of sociology, believed that there was no special pattern for the analysis of social affairs and historical events. He thought that there was no unity of religion and society, but rather there were many religions and societies. He referred to the active role of the scholar of human science during investigation and scientific research. He believed that there was a relationship between the values of scholarship and the effects of those values on the conclusions of an investigation. He believed that it was not necessary to extend the other conclusions of other Western scholars to Iranian society. However, he criticised the Western ideological schools, including nationalism, liberalism and Marxism. He maintained that there was conformity and correspondence between Western philosophy and Iranian society. According to Shariati, democracy is inconsistent with revolutionary evolution and progress. One of his criticisms of Western ideology is its imitation of those ideologies. One of his other criticisms is the denial of spirituality in Western philosophy. Those ideologies attempt to prevent humans from achieving transcendental goals and any evolutionary movements. In this vein, he firmly criticised capitalism, and at the same time he admired socialism because it would lead humanity to evolution and free it from utilitarianism. However, he firmly criticised Karl Marx. According to Shariati, Marx's theory on the economy as the infrastructure and foundation of humanity and society was incorrect. Conversely, Sharia places the human, not the economy, as the foundation and origin of society.

Modern problems

Shariati saw human history as composed of two stages: the stage of collectivity and the stage of private ownership.

Legacy

thumb|1980 Iranian stamp honoring Shariati

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File:تصویر پرتره از علی شریعتی مزینانی.jpg|Portrait of Ali Shariati Mazinani

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There are many adherents and opponents of Shariati's views, and Shariati's personality is largely unknown. Ali Khamenei knew Shariati as a pioneer of Islamic teaching according to the requirements of his generation. According to Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Shariati had both positive and negative characteristics. Khamenei believed that it was unfair to consider Shariati as someone who firmly disagreed with the Mullahs. One of the positive sides of Shariati was his ability to explain his thoughts with suitable and simple language for his generation. Shariati was somewhat supportive of Mullahs in Iran. Some scholars like Elizabeth F. Thompson try to envisage some similarities between Shariati and his role in the Islamic revolution in Iran with Sayyed Qutb's role in Egypt. One similarity is that both paved the way for the imminent revolution in their countries. Both desired Islamic cultural dominance. Both were fans of being revolutionary about ruling values and norms. They considered Islamism a third way between those of America and the Soviet Union. At the same time, they were not wholly utopian, and they were partly Islamic. Of course, there are differences between them, for example, Shariati was a leftist while Qutb was a conservative. According to Mahmoud Taleghani, Shariati was a thinker who created a school for revolution. The school guided young people to revolutionary action. Beheshti believes that Shariati's work was fundamental to the Islamic revolution.

According to Hamid Algar, Shariati was the number one ideologue of the Islamic revolution.

Publications

Despite Shariati's early death, he authored some 200 publications including articles, seminar papers and lecture series in addition to more than a hundred books.

Major works

  • Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
  • Hubut in Kavir
  • Guftuguhaye Tanha’i
  • Marxism and Other Western Fallacies: An Islamic Critique
  • Where Shall We Begin?
  • Mission of a Free Thinker
  • Man and Islam – see chapter "Modern Man and His Prisons"
  • Arise and Bear Witness
  • Lessons on Islamology
  • Ali is Alone
  • Community and Leadership
  • Religion against Religion
  • We and Iqbal
  • Historical Determinism
  • What is to be Done?
  • "The Intelligentsia's Task for Reconstruction of Society"
  • Ba Mukhatabhaye Ashna

Other works

  • Hegel und Ali Shariati: Geschichtsphilosophische Betrachtungen im Geiste der islamischen Revolution im Iran
  • Paradox as Decolonization: Ali Shariati's Islamic Lawgiver

Translation

Shariati translated many books into Persian. Besides the work of Abu Zarr mentioned above, he translated Jean-Paul Sartre's What Is Literature? and Che Guevara's Guerilla Warfare. He also began to work on the translation of Franz Fanon's A Dying Colonialism. He admired Amar Ouzegane as a major Marxist Muslim and began to translate his book Le meilleur combat (The Best Struggle).

Many scholars have contended with the nature of Shariati's translations and the manner in which he viewed and presented the ideas of others, vis-à-vis his view of himself as a rawshanfikr, roughly translating to intellectual or enlightened. Scholars who have studied Shariati and his works, such as Ali Rahnema, Georg Leube, and Arash Davari, have considered the liberties, "fictive" elements, and "true lies" which Shariati deployed in his translations and transmissions of others' ideas.