Khomeini the Poet Mystic

AbstractAyatollah Khomeini (1902-1989), the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is commonly known in the West for his political reading of Islam. Especially his death-sentence against the British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie, in 1989, strengthened his image as a fundamentalist. Khomeini as a hermit and mystic poet who composed poetry about selfless love, wine and mystic union is, for the western public, contradictio in terminis. Yet mysticism and poetry are two essential aspects of his personality, usually overshadowed by his outspoken political views.

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CULTURE FACTOR IN THE POLICY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY TURKISH-SPEAKING WORLD - POLITICS AND RELIGION JOURNAL ◽

10.54561/prj1401055k ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 55-71

Author(s):

Marina Kameneva ◽

Elena Paymakova

Keyword(s):

Cultural Policy ◽

Islamic Republic ◽

The West ◽

The Public ◽

Leading Role ◽

The World ◽

Public Consciousness ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Cultural Expansion

The article notes that the theme of culture and cultural policy for modern Iran is not a marginal issue. Culture is seen by the country’s leadership as an important component of its state political and ideological doctrine. There is analyzed the role of the Islamic factor and cultural heritage in the cultural policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran over four decades of its existence. Particular attention is paid to the role of the theory of the dialogue of civilizations proposed by M. Khatami as well as to the changing attitude towards it in the public consciousness of Iranian society. It is emphasized that the theme of “Iran and the West” is becoming particularly acute in the country today, contributing to its politicization. An attempt is being made to show that Iranian culture is increasingly becoming an important factor in the foreign policy activities of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, contributing to the strengthening of the country’s position in the world arena as a whole and the country’s leading role in the region, the realization of the idea of exporting the Islamic Revolution and implementing Iranian cultural expansion outside the country.

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Shariah Punishments in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190910648.003.0029 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 306-309

Author(s):

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Keyword(s):

Criminal Law ◽

Penal Code ◽

Islamic Republic ◽

Islamic Revolution ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Ayatollah Khomeini ◽

The Government ◽

Civil Laws

Iran’s experience of Islamic criminal law is closely connected with Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A new constitution and a set of criminal and civil laws were introduced in the early 1980s and eventually culminated in introduction of the Islamic Penal Code 2013. This chapter provides an overview of that code and its provisions on Islamic punishments, the controversies it has generated, and how the legislative bodies and the government took measures to address them.

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Freedom of Speech

On the Muslim Question ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691157047.003.0002 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Norton

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Free Speech ◽

Salman Rushdie ◽

Freedom Of Speech ◽

Clash Of Civilizations ◽

The West ◽

Van Gogh ◽

Satanic Verses ◽

Ayatollah Khomeini ◽

Charlie Hebdo

This chapter examines how the Muslim question has been linked to the question of freedom of speech. A clash of civilizations that saw the West as the realm of enlightenment, and Muslims in the realm of religion, custom, and tradition, has long been part of spectacles in the Western public sphere. Ayatollah Khomeini gave new life to these civilizational theatrics when he issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of Salman Rushdie, whose The Satanic Verses became the center of a controversy that cast freedom of speech as a Muslim question. However, the martyr to free speech was not Rushdie but Theo van Gogh, the murdered producer of the film Submission. The chapter shows how the dramas surrounding Rushdie, van Gogh, the Danish cartoons and the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's copycat cartoon provocations mark Muslims as the enemies of free speech.

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IRANIAN POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE YEMENI CRISIS

Islam in the modern world ◽

10.22311/2074-1529-2019-15-2-135-150 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 135-150

Author(s):

T. R. KHAIRULLIN

Keyword(s):

Close Contact ◽

Political Islam ◽

Islamic State ◽

Islamic Republic ◽

Arab Region ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Ayatollah Khomeini ◽

The Government ◽

The Ideal

The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of a rather specifi c project of Islamism promoted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iranian Islamism is based on the ideas of Ayatollah Khomeini about the ideal “Islamic state”, in which Islam has close contact with politics, with the government of the country. However, after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the country’s new elite became more pragmatic about the mission of spreading the Shi‘ite version of Islam. In particular, emphasis was placed on rapprochement with those countries and groups that showed friendly feelings to Tehran. In many respects this concerned the countries of the Arab region in which the Shi‘a community was present or prevailed. One of these states is Yemen. In particular, Iran’s participation in the Yemeni crisis, in which Tehran is trying to strengthen its own positions and prevent the strengthening of Saudi positions in Yemen by means of the Zaydi group of the Houthi, is being considered.

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Politics and Eschatology in Iran

Geopolitical Social Security and Freedom Journal ◽

10.2478/gssfj-2021-0006 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 60-70

Author(s):

Anna Maria Cossiga ◽

Alessandro Figus

Keyword(s):

Cultural Factors ◽

Political Society ◽

Islamic Republic ◽

Symbolic System ◽

The West ◽

Future Developments ◽

The World ◽

History Of ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Muslim Politics

Abstract The article studies the Iranian political society, starting from the analysis of the Iranian Constitution, the only one in the world characterized by “eschatological” components. The authors retrace the history of the birth of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is fundamental to ensure an interpretation of the politics of that country that takes into account religious and cultural factors and clarifies possible future developments. Furthermore, they address the problem relative to the symbolic system on which the configuration of the Iranian Republic theoretically rests, which must necessarily come to terms with pragmatic reality. In fact, to have a following in his revolutionary project, Khomeini used the “symbolic spring”, in which the politics of Iran in these years have demonstrated the necessity of realism with a parallel with the concept of agnosticism, which thus becomes natural, in opposition to theories that are often more subjective than objective. Finally, the authors go so far as to say that today is the time for a change, even if in a country like Iran, everything proceeds slowly. Young Iranians will have to obtain a role, reorganize and rekindle from below. The involvement of the young people themselves can increase hope in a process that promises to be complex and articulated, which sees the theocratic model as opposed to the model of Muslim politics in a purely eschatological context, which to most, especially in the West, appears anachronistic, but this is not always the case.

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First International Congress on Religion and Mental Health

American Journal of Islam and Society ◽

10.35632/ajis.v18i3.2012 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 133-136

Author(s):

Amber Haque

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Positive Influence ◽

World Health ◽

International Congress ◽

Psychiatric Institute ◽

Islamic Republic ◽

The West ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Health Organization

The First International Congress on Religion and Mental Health was heldApril 16-19,2001 in Tehran, Iran. It was sponsored by the Iran Universityof Medical Sciences, Tehran Psychiatric Institute, World HealthOrganization Collaborating Center for Mental Health, The ResearchInstitute for Rehabilitation and Improvement of Women's Life (Iran), andthe Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran.Science and religion have generally seemed to oppose each other when itcomes to an understanding and upliftment of human behaviors. The tide isturning however; as increasing number of research in the West is showingindisputable evidence on the positive influence of religion on humanthoughts and behaviors, specifically, in the area of mental health. Thepresent congress highlighted all this in its four-day meeting of scholars inthe field of religion and mental health representing 23 countries fromaround the globe. The key feature of the conference was the presentation ofempirical findings on the benefits of religion in fostering and maintainingpositive mental health. The Islamic Republic of Iran, a country, known forits hard line approach toward secularism and sanctioned by the West inmany ways, attracted some of the best scholars from the Americas andEurope.The Congress Secretary, Dr. Jafar Bolhari, indicated in his speech thatthis conference has at least three objectives: (1) Presentation of scientificresearch in the area of psychiatry and psychology carried out in Iran, in thearea of psychiatry and psychology, which can be beneficial to the Iranianas well as international community, (2) Presentation of integrated researchdone in Iran by the Muslim clergy and scientists collaborating together anddiscussion of its implications at national and international levels, and (3)Observation of April 7, 2001 as World Health Day with the theme of"Mental Health" declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).Since mental health professionals have generally ignored religion andspirituality, this conference was organized to deal specifically with theseissues in the interest of the average person.Out of 242 research papers received by the congress, the Scientific ...

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Contemporary Qur'anic Studies in Iran and its Relationship with Qur'anic Studies in the West

Journal of Qur anic Studies ◽

10.3366/jqs.2012.0037 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 45-72

Author(s):

Morteza Karimi-Nia

Keyword(s):

Islamic Law ◽

Human Sciences ◽

The West ◽

Communications Technologies ◽

Religious Learning ◽

The Status ◽

Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽

Almost All ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

The status of tafsīr and Qur'anic studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed significantly during recent decades. The essay provides an overview of the state of Qur'anic studies in Iran today, aiming to examine the extent of the impact of studies by Western scholars on Iranian academic circles during the last three decades and the relationship between them. As in most Islamic countries, the major bulk of academic activity in Iran in this field used to be undertaken by the traditional ʿulamāʾ; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century and the establishment of universities and other academic institutions in the Islamic world, there has been increasing diversity and development. After the Islamic Revolution, many gradual changes in the structure and approach of centres of religious learning and universities have occurred. Contemporary advancements in modern sciences and communications technologies have gradually brought the institutions engaged in the study of human sciences to confront the new context. As a result, the traditional Shīʿī centres of learning, which until 50 years ago devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence, today pay attention to the teaching of foreign languages, Qur'anic sciences and exegesis, including Western studies about the Qur'an, to a certain extent, and recognise the importance of almost all of the human sciences of the West.

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