نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار فلسفه و کلام اسلامی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه یاسوج، یاسوج، ایران
2 استادیار زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه یاسوج، یاسوج، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Purpose: The Islamic Revolution of Iran was initiated with the objective of constructing a new civilization grounded in Islamic epistemology and doctrines. The Revolution’s leaders, with the collaboration of intellectuals, sought to establish a polity based on Islamic rulings and teachings, thereby laying the groundwork for a neo-Islamic civilization and the global revolution of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance). The formation of such a civilization, by logical implication, necessitates the purification and refinement of religious knowledge from syncretism (iltiqāṭ) and spurious traditions (Isrā’īliyyāt). Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) consistently emphasized, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the duty of disseminating the pure principles of Islam globally and identified clear criteria for this mission. Ayatollah Khamenei, likewise, has underscored this responsibility for Islamic scholars and officials through various expressions such as “cultural revolution,” “Islamization of universities,” “confronting the cultural invasion of foreigners,” “cultural engineering,” and “Islamic lifestyle.” In his discourses, especially at critical junctures, he has endeavored to elucidate these issues. Therefore, distinguishing authentic Islam from inauthentic forms, purifying truth from falsehood, manifesting the reality of Islam, and cleansing it from rigidity and syncretism is a significant and fundamental obligation for all scholars of religion. The present study, in pursuit of this objective, re-examines the concept of syncretism and counteractive strategies for immunity against it in the thought of Ayatollah Khamenei, drawing from his extensive teachings and lectures. Considering the existing literature, the study adopts a rational approach to extract, analyze, and evaluate immunity strategies.
Methodology: This research employs thematic analysis. The statements of the Supreme Leader constitute the primary research corpus, while other relevant sources serve as explanatory and supplementary materials. In summary, the thematic analysis in this article encompasses the following stages:
a) Initial coding (open coding): Identifying concepts and labeling significant segments of data.
b) Categorization of codes (axial coding): Grouping similar codes to form sub-themes.
c) Extraction of overarching themes (selective coding): Synthesizing and refining codes to establish final themes.
Findings: In contemporary terminology, syncretism refers to the arbitrary selection of beliefs and ideas, even if heterogeneous, without commitment to preserving specific and defined principles. Syncretism, in this sense, leads to the distortion of doctrine. In summary, the factors contributing to syncretism are classified into three main categories: cognitive, motivational, and methodological.
Cognitive Factors:
Epistemic deficiency
Mixing truth with falsehood
Deviation in thought
Substituting holistic perspective with reductionism
Fallacy of verbal ambiguity
Imposition of presuppositions and relativism
Reducing the dimensions and teachings of Islam to material prosperity
Infiltration of non-religious ideas
Invasion of Western thought
Motivational Factors:
Fascination with empirical science
Extremist views and efforts to exclude others
Intellectual and spiritual deviation
Methodological Factors:
Failure to observe the principles and conditions of textual interpretation
Materialistic or maximalist interpretation of religious propositions
Excessive rationalism
Functionalist explanation of religion
Monopolization of a single method in religious studies and neglect of other approaches
Negligence in the transmission of religious messages
Counteractive strategies are also divided into two categories: offensive strategies (principled theorization and epistemic enhancement) and defensive strategies (vigilance and confrontation).
Conclusion: The foundation of the neo-Islamic civilization is a corpus of knowledge structured according to the Qur'an and the tradition (Sunnah) of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). Any syncretism in Islamic values and the infiltration of elements discordant with Islam will destabilize the foundations of Islamic civilization. The findings of the study are categorized under four major themes: “Characteristics of Syncretism,” “Consequences of Syncretism,” “Offensive Strategies for Immunity from Syncretism,” and “Defensive Strategies for Safeguarding against Syncretism.” Each main theme encompasses a set of concepts as follows:
From the perspective of the Supreme Leader, syncretism possesses six principal characteristics: “Non-Islamic intentionality,” “Inducing deviation in religion,” “Unscientific amalgamation of views,” “Interpretation based on personal opinion,” “Subjective and arbitrary inference,” and “Departure from jurisprudential foundations in theorization.”
According to the Supreme Leader, syncretism has a harmful and dangerous consequence, namely “the departure of theory from religious principles.”
In his statements, the Supreme Leader identifies the following offensive strategies for immunity from syncretism: “Purposeful theorization,” “Utilization of authentic sources,” “Application of scientific methods,” “Engagement of experts,” and “Epistemic enhancement.”
Defensive strategies for confronting syncretism and safeguarding religion and religious theorization to ensure the immunity of Islamic civilization, as articulated by the Leader, include: “Continuous monitoring of theoretical inputs” and “Substantive and affirmative confrontation with proponents of syncretism.”
کلیدواژهها [English]
URL:http://tafsir.maaref.ac.ir/article-1-1448-fa.html
Doi: 10.22070/nic.2025.19458.1332
URL:http://tafsir.maaref.ac.ir/article-1-1448-fa.html [In Persian].
Doi: 10.22070/nic.2025.19458.1332 [In Persian].
https://jem.atu.ac.ir/article_92.html [In Persian].
[In Arabic].
[In Persian].
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