Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers
mohammad nezhadiran; Rozhan Hesamghazi
Abstract
This research aims to compare the concept of Westernization in the intellectual literature of Iranian intellectuals specifically focusing on Dariush Shaygan and Jalal Al-Ahmad to understand the root of the differences in their views. By analyzing their attitudes toward this concept, the research will ...
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This research aims to compare the concept of Westernization in the intellectual literature of Iranian intellectuals specifically focusing on Dariush Shaygan and Jalal Al-Ahmad to understand the root of the differences in their views. By analyzing their attitudes toward this concept, the research will explain the two distinct political and philosophical approaches that characterize Iranian intellectuals' responses to the dominance of Western culture and civilization in Iranian society, and evaluate and compare their strategies for addressing this situation. An analytical-comparative method has been employed in this research. By applying this approach, the study seeks to analyze the concept of Westernization in the intellectual literature of these two intellectuals and examine the relationship between their intellectual origins and intellectual frameworks, highlighting their fundamental distinctions. The main finding of this research indicates that the primary difference in the concept of Westernization between Al-Ahmad and Shaygan is rooted in their divergent philosophical and political approaches when examining the relationship between modern Western civilization and non-European civilizations. The general result reveals that Al-Ahmad's political and economic approach has led to a post-colonial interpretation of Westernization, while Shaygan's philosophical view, grounded in an ontological critique of modernity, has guided his perspectives toward post-modern attitudes.
Presenting an original critical discussion about the nature of the modern humanities and determining its relationship with religion
mohammad nezhadiran; rozhan hesam ghazi
Abstract
Al-Ahmad's radical critiques of the concept of Westernization due to the widespread popularity of various sections of Iranian society at the time of its introduction played an important role in the intellectual and political orientations of Iranian society. Research Findings1- Westernization is a reaction ...
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Al-Ahmad's radical critiques of the concept of Westernization due to the widespread popularity of various sections of Iranian society at the time of its introduction played an important role in the intellectual and political orientations of Iranian society. Research Findings1- Westernization is a reaction related to modernizationHis views entitled "Westernization" in its technological, economic and social dimensions should be considered as a reaction to the pattern of modernization that was being formed rapidly in the second Pahlavi era and regardless of its consequences. The strong dependence of this process on global capitalism and the prominent role of multinational companies in investing in Iran's domestic industries, along with the growing import of foreign products from oil revenues and the prevalence of consumerism in the urban lifestyle, was a phenomenon that many intellectuals of that period in various forms. It was criticized and Al-Ahmad was one of the pioneers in criticizing this modernization in this direction.2. Critical Westernization of Superficial ModernismThe dependent and accelerated modernization of the Pahlavi government was rooted in a superficial and ignorant modernism that dominated the thought and culture of the elites and constitutionalist and modernist intellectuals of Reza Shah's era and in the Ahmad's era by the formal education system, press and cultural magazines and even some new intellectuals and educated people. dominated. The modernism that prevailed during this period undoubtedly lacked philosophical depth or precise knowledge of the nature of modern culture and civilization, and for this reason it promoted imitation of the modern lifestyle as the main manifestation of modernity. He was involved in cultural and identity debates.3. Weakness of the positive aspects of the concept of westernizationThe lack of philosophical aspect and the emphasis on economic and political aspects of Al-Ahmad's critiques of the accelerated modernization and superficial modernism of the Pahlavi era in the context of the critique of the phenomenon of "Westernization" indicate if his superficial acquaintance with modern European civilization. Except for the strengthening of anti-Western political currents in the form of political and cultural anti-Westernism.
