The rise of Educated Iranians and the demise of Emulation

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The rise of Educated Iranians and the demise of Emulation
by alborz
06-May-2009
 

The principle of Emulation or taqlid (تقلید ) is deep rooted in Shi’ism and is linked to the question of who will lead the Shi’ites in the absence of the hidden Imam.  A Shi’ite believer is expected to choose a Source of Emulation (مرجع تقلید ) to whom life’s questions and decisions would be referred to and that their response would be followed without question.

The relationship between the emulator (moqaled) and emulated (moqalad), it is illustrative to consider the root of the word taqlid which is qaladeh (قلاده ) , which means a collar that is placed around the neck !

'Education' is known to have several root words, but the one that has broad acceptance is that it originated from the Latin word "educare," which means to nourish, to rear, to bring up.  The Persian for education conveys the same meaning with the use of two words which literally means ‘train and develop’ ( آموزش و پرورش ).

Whereas the intent of education is to grant independence in thought, analysis and deduction, emulation represents the exact opposite by granting broad and absolute decision making power to a select group of clergymen or mujtahids (مجتهد ).

Is it conceivable that the increasingly educated class within Iran can adhere to this fundamental principle of emulation in Shi’ism, and consequently relinquish their ability to think, analyze, deduce and act based on their own knowledge, information and skills that has been acquired based on life’s experience or academic training?  Is not the choicest fruits of education, precisely the acquisition and exercise of these abilities?

Can the irreconcilable and evident divide between those that have chosen not to wear the collar and those that have, be the cause of an ever deepening rupture in Iranian society?

Does this not explain why an increasing number of Iranians do not consider themselves as Moslems, and yet may make such a declaration in public primarily out of fear of the socio-economic consequences as well as the Islamic law dealing with apostasy or ertedad (ارتداد )?

Iranian society’s uncanny ability to live with contradictions combined with its fear of the existing order of governance by jurisprudence (velayat faghih), may slow the pace of change but cannot possibly alter its course.

Alborz

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NUR

Can you answer my criticisms Faryar?

by NUR on

I didn't think so.

The blog is biased pseudo-intellectual nonsense by biased pseudo-intellectuals who can spin the best nonsense: Haifan Baha'is!

Wahid Azal


Manoucher Avaznia

I disagree

by Manoucher Avaznia on

With due respect, I should say that the Persian word for education is Farhang which comes from farheekhtan and it means enlightening and raising awareness or shokoofaee.  Of course, Aamoozesh and Parvaresh is a type of education.  Second, it is obvious that Alborz is unaware of Shii concept of Taghleed based upon Shii sources. 

A.  Taghleed is for those people who do not know the rules of the religion. 

B. Taghleed for the scholars of the religion is prohibitted. 

C.  Even for those who know their daily religious duties and regarding to the matters that come up are not required to have a MarjaTaghleed. 

D.  So, if it we agree that more Iranians are getting advanced education in religious fields, obviously there will be less need for following a Marja. 

E.  Taghleed is about certain aspects of Foroo Deen and not in every aspect of religion. 

F.  The trend towards secularistic ideas or even Ertedaad are not new to the Iranian society.  It was common under the Shah and at the time of Islamic Republic as well.  If Alborz remembers, Iran had the largest Marxist-Leninist organization in the whole the region which is called the Middle East right after the Bahman Revolution.  Several non-religious parties were active right in the beginning of the Revolution 

G. Taghleed is not against mental or scientific activities and freedom of thought. A large number of Iranians thinkers are Moslem and pratice Islam.  If there were no freedom of exchange of thought, there should have been no school even religious school open among Shii communities. 

As a matter of fact, the Shii communities have proven that they have been more open to mental activities than any other groups in Islam as there has been plenty of mental activities among Shiis of different trends. 

All early scholars of the Bahai's were lighly learned people who came from Shii background.  If we like to see large religious gatherings like those in the first days of the Revolution or the time of the war, obviously society is more calm these days and there is no need for those kinds of gatherings and noise as there is no urgent crisis on hand.   


CAUTION DETOUR AHEAD

Sweet post and already NUR is attracted to it !

by CAUTION DETOUR AHEAD on

DETNUR


NUR

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is working for the regime, Baha'is suggest?

by NUR on

So, amigo19, are you as a Baha'i accusing Professor emeritus Seyyed Hossein Nasr of being in the pay of the IRI?

Come on, out with it...

Wahid Azal


NUR

Indeed education is the clue

by NUR on

Most educated Iranians with integrity, who aren't prepared to sellout to either the Zionists or the Devil for a buck as you are, are also decisively breaking their links with your UHJ and walking away from the sectarian calptrap and Stalinism that is Haifan Bahaism. And who can blame them, after all,

//iranian.com/main/blog/truthseeker/how-do-bahais-explain

From THE INSTITUTION OF THE COUNSELLORS: A Document Prepared by the Universal House of Justice January 29 2001

 //bahai-library.com/published.uhj/counsellors.html

Pages 15-16

Although deepening the friends' understanding of the Covenant and increasing their love and loyalty to it are of paramount importance, the duties of the Auxiliary Board members for Protection do not end here. The Board members must remain ever vigilant, monitoring the actions of those who, driven by the promptings of ego, seek to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the friends and undermine the Faith. In general, whenever believers become aware of such problems, they should immediately contact whatever institution they feel moved to turn to, whether it be a Counsellor, an Auxiliary Board member, the National Spiritual Assembly or their own Local Assembly. It then becomes the duty of that institution to ensure that the report is fed into the correct channels and that all the other institutions affected are promptly informed. Not infrequently, the responsibility will fall on an Auxiliary Board member, in coordination with the Assembly concerned, to take some form of action in response to the situation. This involvement will include counselling the believer in question; warning him, if necessary, of the consequences of his actions; and bringing to the attention of the Counsellors the gravity of the situation, which may call for their intervention. Naturally, the Board member has to exert every effort to counteract the schemes and arrest the spread of the influence of those few who, despite attempts to guide them, eventually break the Covenant.


     The need to protect the Faith from the attacks of its enemies may not be generally appreciated by the friends, particularly in places where attacks have been infrequent. However, it is certain that such opposition will increase, become concerted, and eventually universal. The writings clearly foreshadow not only an intensification of the machinations of internal enemies, but a rise in the hostility and opposition of its external enemies, whether religious or secular, as the Cause pursues its onward march towards ultimate victory. Therefore, in the light of the warnings of the Guardian, the Auxiliary Boards for Protection should keep "constantly" a "watchful eye" on those "who are known to be enemies, or to have been put out of the Faith", discreetly investigate their activities, alert intelligently the friends to the opposition inevitably to come, explain how each crisis in God's Faith has always proved to be a blessing in disguise, and prepare them for the "dire contest which is destined to range the Army of Light against the forces of darkness".

-

Wahid Azal


amigo19

Dear Alborz, Great posting

by amigo19 on

Dear Alborz, Great posting !

The education is the clue.Most Iranian who live abroad except for the  very small minority that is paid by the regime, are breaking all the links and ties with mollahas and this a great hope for the future of Iran.

At the same time the media, Internet and all the communication means,and the universities are helping to enlighten the minds and souls of all Iranians outside  as well as inside Iran .

 


NUR

Baha'i pot calling the mullahs kettle black

by NUR on

The idea of unquestioning, blind obedience to the all-male Universal House of Justice, and the belief that this body is infallible and immune from error (mas'um az khatta), far exceeds the current Twelver Shi'ite practice of emulation (taqlid) in matters relating to points of fiqh (jurisprudence) in the Islamic shar'ia. There is no difference at all. You Baha'is are as much emulators (muqalidin) as the Shi'ite Muslims you criticize. In fact one could argue that the mode and manner of your emulation is ultimately far more insidious than the one in Shi'ite Islam. 

You Baha'is will only ever have the credibility to interrogate and question the bases of emulation in Islam when you are prepared to allow criticism and disagreement with the policies of the UHJ without fear of repercussions. Unfortunately the Baha'i ideas of the covenant and unity (read: uniformity) are far more inflexible and rigid - and ultimately immune to reform without the danger of schism - to allow for actual freedom from such things as emulation. And Baha'u'llah already demonstrates his anti-libertarian point of view when he outright criticizes personal liberty (hurriya) in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and claims he does not sanction it 100%. The opinions of recently retired UHJ members on liberty also does not bode well for freedom from blind emulation in the Haifan Baha'i organization.

But note the notion of emulation (taqlid) and a source thereof (marja') are still not universally recognized amongst all Twelver Shi'ites without execption. In fact these notions are very recent developments stemming from developments in the 19th century in the attempts by the Usuli faction of the 'ulama to consolidate their power amongst their non-Usuli opponents. Khomeini's vilayat-i-faqih is only the most recent development in this trend at centralizing power by the contemporary Usulis - and even that is not universally recognized. As a matter of fact there are countless Islamic scholars in Iran itself who are arguing positions which can't be classified as anything else but Neo-Akhbari. Yusefi Eshkevari and to some degree Ayatollah Shirazi are two leading exponents of such a trend. 

Furthemore, as history shows, and as countless scriptural verses demonstrate, Islamic religion and education are not mutually incompatible. On the contrary. And I doubt you can apply such silly over-generalizations you have made in your blog to an eminent Iranian Islamic scholar (and pious Muslim) such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, for example, and many similar like him.

As for your contention that Iranians increasingly are not identifying themselves as Muslims: that is only the case in urban centers such as Tehran and amongst the Iranian diaspora. These numbers hardly constitute a majority. Outside of Tehran (and maybe Tabriz), in virtually every major rural and semi-urban center - which is the bulk of the Iranian population - people are are much Muslim as they were before the revolution, probably even more so now. In fact the reason why this present regime continues to enjoy support and endure is precisely due to the support these non-urban, and very pious Muslim centers give to it.

If you people had an accurate sociological gauge for the factual trends of religiosity amongst the majoritarian Iranian population - as opposed to the sectarian/political scripts prepared for you by the foundations, organizations and governments still quixotically pushing for regime change and whose voices are being echoed on this not so innocuous site - you might actually learn a thing or two about the real religious composition of Iran in the early 21st century.

That said, this blog is a classic Baha'i pot calling the mullahs kettle black!

Wahid Azal

 


default

viva independent thinking

by Anonymous1 (not verified) on

viva independent thinking


Abarmard

exactly

by Abarmard on

My observation about the Iranian society is their level of sophistication.