ISLAMIC SOCIALISM in the thought of Ali Shariati
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TAWHID AS THE BASIS OF SHARIATI'S THOUGHT
The basis of Shariati's ideology is Tawhid (the oneness of God), a mystical-philosophical world-view that sees the universe as one living organism, imbued with self-consciousness and will. No matter what reality seems like to the observer, Tawhid states that the universe is a harmonious whole. Man's responsibility is to recognize and accept this model of reality and move with its flow.
The seeming discord in the world is not the result of an inherent trait of this tawhidic world, but of an opposing world-view - that of shirk - imposed on the universe by men rejecting the Tawhid model. The world-view of shirk is idolatry that sees creation full of many equal but opposed forces.
Shariati thus views history as an eternal dialectical struggle between tawhid and shirk. Tawhid is the 'natural', God-given order of things, whilst shirk is the enemy who has to be fought and eliminated.
Tawhid means submission to God alone and a revolt against all other powers
'In Tawhid man fears only one power, is answerable to one judge, turns only to one qibla, directs his hopes to only one source'.
Traditional Tawhid, the doctrine of the unity of God, is thus transformed into the basis of revolution.
VIEW OF MAN AND SOCIETY IN THE QURAN
Shariati discovers in the Quran a humanistic philosophy of man's great dignity, God-like essence and spiritual nature. Adam symbolizes the human species created as God's viceregent (khalifa) and superior to the angels in some things. Man is the bearer of God's trust - free will - a trust that no other part of creation was willing to accept. God gave man the knowledge of names, signifying scientific truths that even angels do not know, and a mission to perform God's will and create a paradise in this place of exile. Man is not merely God's trustee on earth, he is also God's relative, partner and friend (another Sufi concept differing from traditional Ulama thought) 'In Islam man is not subjugated by God, since he is the Lord's associate, friend, trustee and kinsman on earth'.
According to Shariati the Quran teaches that all political, economic and religious power belongs to the people. In the Quran Allah and al-nas (all the humans) are often synonymous and society is God's representative on earth. The dictum that 'Rule belongs to God' means that political power belongs to the people, 'Property belongs to God' means all capital belongs to the people, and 'Religion belongs to God' means that it belongs to the people - it is not a monopoly of the clergy! This is in direct contradiction to Khomeini's 'vilayat-i-faqih'.
Dialectics also lie at the heart of Islam. There is a reactionary Islam protecting the status-quo, and a true Islam that has always fought it'The war of religion against religion is a constant of history, a war of shirk against Tawhid, of justice against discrimination'.
From his perspective, it is thus not religion itself that needs to be rejected as the ?opium of the people,? but only one type of religion, the ?religion of legitimation,? while true religion remains unscathed.
HISTORICAL EVOLUTIONARY DETERMINISM LEADING TO UTOPIA
Shariati believes in determinism as a law of the universe decreeing that evolution and revolution are inexorable. All roads lead to the inevitable climax when equality and unity are realized worldwide - this will be utopia, the end of history, the culmination of the dialectical struggle.
He is also a very sensitive and deeply spiritual person. In spite of his oft repeated stress on activism and on rational and scientific thought, we cannot ignore the mystical dimension flowing
through all his works. He is a Sufi mystic despite his denials.He is fascinated by Western political ideology but he don't like its cultural hegemony. Alienated from establishment Islam, he offered an Islam recreated as Marxist ideology and as a tool for revolution.
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if you are talkin about lobbies, yes, this one is part of the problem.
All gnostics can easily become free-masons (and of course many mystics are closer to them, as well as atheists).
Because they are elitarists, they got a pyramidal vision the more you can come near to the truth, the better you deserve the power. But above all the more you can come near to the power, the better you deserve the truth.
The eyed-pyramid of the dollar represent all this.But that one is not true tawhid.
True tawhid says we are all the same, cause we are all chidren of The One.
True tawhid says the Truth is inside all of us, and we have to put all in the condition to discover it.
True tawhid is a metaphysical cause for equality of all men and respect of all lives.A system based on true Islam should fight every spiritual oligarchy, every material injustice, every distruction of the world and let all the people know the Light.
I think the Qur'an was sent for this reason.
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A system based on true Islam should fight every spiritual oligarchy, every material injustice, every distruction of the world and let all the people know the Light.
I think the Qur'an was sent for this reason.
In order to live a righteous, rational and purposeful life, one does not need holy religion (Islam), holy book (Quran) or holy figure (Muhammad). These artifacts are only for the weak minded and the destitute (the controlled/brainwashed human factor). Anyone who believes that Quran, Muhammad, Ahadees or the combinations thereof is the ONLY WAY to live our lives, are the ones with NPD or BPD Syndromes (Narcissism). -
Peace to all,
Wrong prissy, most do need it, though some dont, some can pass a test without studying at all, yet the majority need a teacher and a text in order to prepare and learn, and God willing pass the test. It is only just that God would give us a book and good teachers in order to help us find the right path.
Kurt
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According to Shariati the Quran teaches that all political, economic and religious power belongs to the people. In the Quran Allah and al-nas (all the humans) are often synonymous and society is God's representative on earth. The dictum that 'Rule belongs to God' means that political power belongs to the people, 'Property belongs to God' means all capital belongs to the people, and 'Religion belongs to God' means that it belongs to the people - it is not a monopoly of the clergy! This is in direct contradiction to Khomeini's 'vilayat-i-faqih'.
Dialectics also lie at the heart of Islam. There is a reactionary Islam protecting the status-quo, and a true Islam that has always fought it'The war of religion against religion is a constant of history, a war of shirk against Tawhid, of justice against discrimination'.
From his perspective, it is thus not religion itself that needs to be rejected as the ?opium of the people,? but only one type of religion, the ?religion of legitimation,? while true religion remains unscathed.
Got to be careful to avoid socialist totalitarianism. 'The People', al-nas, of the Quran are not a Borg like entity. Social liberalism and social democracy are much more humane than authoritarian government-owns-everything socialism.
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In order to live a righteous, rational and purposeful life, one does not need holy religion (Islam), holy book (Quran) or holy figure (Muhammad). These artifacts are only for the weak minded and the destitute (the controlled/brainwashed human factor). Anyone who believes that Quran, Muhammad, Ahadees or the combinations thereof is the ONLY WAY to live our lives, are the ones with NPD or BPD Syndromes (Narcissism).
sterile arguments prissy...
communism has failed because of the materialist basis for equality materialism = individualism = if i can fuck you, i'll do it.
capitalism won, because in a materialist way of life its more correct.
and now capitalism is falling, because we fucked the earth.
do you think atheism is a modern stuff? no, isn't,
in the qur'an all this things are described any system based on materialism will fall.the qur'an is not the path,
the qur'an is just the only sure guide to the path we have here at the moment. -
Don't you just hate kabbalahists?
In order to live a righteous, rational and purposeful life, one does not need holy religion (Islam), holy book (Quran) or holy figure (Muhammad). These artifacts are only for the weak minded and the destitute (the controlled/brainwashed human factor). Anyone who believes that Quran, Muhammad, Ahadees or the combinations thereof is the ONLY WAY to live our lives, are the ones with NPD or BPD Syndromes (Narcissism).
Show me science of modern kind being created with out the quran.
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Got to be careful to avoid socialist totalitarianism. 'The People', al-nas, of the Quran are not a Borg like entity. Social liberalism and social democracy are much more humane than authoritarian government-owns-everything socialism.
Ali Shariati and his other ideologues were not trying to install Socialism per se, but a system that shared some characteristics with it. One of those characteristics was the promise of the redistribution of oil wealth to the masses, and from 1979 to date this has not yet happened. He was full of hot air.