Beyond Shariati : Modernity, Cosmopolitanism, and Islam in Iranian Political Thought

Ali Shariati (1933–77) has been called by many the 'ideologue of the Iranian Revolution'. An inspiration to many of the revolutionary generation, Shariati's combination of Islamic political thought and Left-leaning ideology continues to influence both in Iran and across the wider Muslim world. In this book, Siavash Saffari examines Shariati's long-standing legacy, and how new readings of his works by contemporary 'neo-Shariatis' have contributed to a deconstruction of the false binaries of Islam/modernity, Islam/West, and East/West. Saffari argues that through their critique of Eurocentric metanarratives on the one hand, and the essentialist conceptions of Islam on the other, Shariati and neo-Shariatis have carved out a new space in Islamic thought beyond the traps of Orientalism and Occidentalism. This unique perspective will hold great appeal to researchers of the politics and intellectual thought of post-revolutionary Iran and the greater Middle East. Beyond Shariatipp i-ii Beyond Shariati - Title pagepp iii-iii Copyright pagepp iv-iv Contentspp v-vi Introductionpp 1-20 Between Cultural Essentialism and Hegemonic Universalism 1 - Postrevolutionary Readings of a Revolutionary Islamic Discoursepp 21-45 2 - Islamic Thought in Encounter with Colonial Modernitypp 46-73 3 - A Postcolonial Discourse of Public Religionpp 74-101 4 - The Enlightenment Subject and a Religiously Mediated Subjectivitypp 102-133 5 - Orientalism, Occidentalism, and the Civilizational Frameworkpp 134-164 Conclusionpp 165-180 Toward a Postcolonial Cosmopolitanism Bibliographypp 181-202 Indexpp 203-213 This book, for researchers of Iranian political thought, post-revolutionary Iran and its effect on the wider Middle East, provides a new reading of Shariati's intellectual legacy, focusing on the theoretical deconstruction of the Islam/Modernity binary and examining the role of neo-Shariatis in modern Iranian political thought. A new reading of Ali Shariati's intellectual legacy on Iranian political discourse and concepts of Islam and modernity Siavash Saffari. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 181-202) And Index.