Abdessamad Belhaj

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Structures, Figures and Functions


The process of persecution

The first reactions of the Shīʿī clergy towards Kadīvar’s dissent occurred in 1995; his critical articles on the guardianship of the jurist exasperated the clergy to such an extent that they imposed restrictions on him in Qom. First, Kadīvar was prevented from giving lectures to general audiences and then he was also banned from addressing academic circles.1 In September 1995, Kadīvar was proscribed by the Special Representative of the Leader Khamenei in Qom to teach at the Madrasa Feiziyyeh. Kadīvar faced “increasing threats to a degree that in 1996 anyone who participated in his classes in the seminary were labeled as “undesirable elements”.2 The isolation of Kadīvar in Qom was successful because the Shīʿī ruling clergy had appropriated most of the ḥawza, and the critical voices of the Iranian regime were silenced. Not only did religious authority lose its autonomy in Qom, but the political power also established a strong foothold in the city, using the typical tools of power (intimidation, economic incitement, persecution, etc.).3 Under enormous pressure, in 1997, Kadīvar had to finally leave Qom.4

Authority in Contemporary Islam

Tartalomjegyzék


Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó – Ludovika Egyetemi Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2024

ISBN: 978 963 454 960 4

Authority is a key question in Islamic studies and beyond. This book examines the nature, figures, structures and functions of religious authority in contemporary Islamic ethics. It also discusses how Islamic authority and political power compete and/or cooperate in Muslim contexts and Europe. Moreover, it provides a coherent framework to understand authority as a moral foundation in relation to community, power, tradition and subversion. Various cases from Europe and the Muslim world are studied here to showcase the claims and practices of authority in their contexts. Despite its active role and resourcefulness in contemporary Islam, religious authority has to confront many limitations, including the dynamics of secularisation and individualisation. The author is a senior researcher at the Religion and Society Research Institute of the Eötvös József Research Centre at the University of Public Service (Budapest).

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/belhaj-authority-in-contemporary-islam//

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