New ideas for the reconstruction of social sciences based on the sources of Islamic thought
Hamid Parsania; Abolfazl Eghbali
Abstract
Discussions surrounding women, gender, and their social manifestations have historically posed significant challenges for the Islamic world. Various intellectual and social approaches - each grounded in distinct semantic systems - have addressed these issues from different perspectives. A macroscopic ...
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Discussions surrounding women, gender, and their social manifestations have historically posed significant challenges for the Islamic world. Various intellectual and social approaches - each grounded in distinct semantic systems - have addressed these issues from different perspectives. A macroscopic analysis reveals that two dominant semantic paradigms, Islam and modernity, underlie these approaches. The present study aims to examine these perspectives, analyze their underlying semantic systems, and conceptualize gender-based approaches within the framework of social worlds. This is an applied study, methodologically situated in the domain of qualitative research. The conceptual framework is based on the theory of social worlds, and the fundamental methodology is employed to explore the development of these discourses in the theoretical and socio-political spheres of Iranian society. According to the findings, key components of the Islamic theory of gender include gender essentialism, the social extension of gender, social systematization based on couplehood, and gender as an existential capacity. The epistemological foundations of this social world are rooted in Javaheri jurisprudence and transcendental wisdom, while its non-epistemological (cognitive) contexts include the social and political developments of the Constitutional Era and the Islamic Revolution of Iran. In contrast, the feminist theory of gender is characterized by concepts such as gender constructionism, transsexuality, gender fluidity, gender as a mechanism of domination, and the rejection of gender’s social extensions. Its epistemological contexts include Western feminist thought and the neo-religious and intellectual movements within Islamic societies, while its non-epistemological contexts in Iran are shaped by the legal inequalities between men and women and the political transformations of the 1970s.
New ideas for the reconstruction of social sciences based on the sources of Islamic thought
Qasem Zaeri; ali Eskandari Naddaf
Abstract
In the last two decades, there has been a thriving debate on the possibility or nature of "native science" in the general field of humanities in Iran. The status of "social science" in Iran is a part of these discussions, and "sociologists" themselves have been and are part of the localization debate. ...
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In the last two decades, there has been a thriving debate on the possibility or nature of "native science" in the general field of humanities in Iran. The status of "social science" in Iran is a part of these discussions, and "sociologists" themselves have been and are part of the localization debate. This article refers to the opinions and opinions of a group of Iranian social science professors and experts in the aforementioned time frame, to categorize the opinions of the supporters and opponents of indigenous social science in Iran. The article shows that at least three main points can be identified in the discussions of indigenous social science in Iran: the positivist perspective, the continental-postmodern feature, and the perspective of Islamic wisdom. What is common between these three people and their representatives is the emphasis of all three on dealing with science and sociology to the specific issues and topics of each society, and the special attention to its specificity, including the historical specificity and identity of the Iranian society: the first group believes. Fixed and universal theoretical principles and foundations belong to modern science and these principles should be used to understand and solve the local problems of Iranian society. The second group believes that these principles are different for every society and culture, and understanding Iranian society requires identifying the specific cultural and historical principles and rules of this society. The third group definitely has the social beliefs of the first group about the global identity of science, but they consider the theoretical foundation of the modern scientific platform to be wrong and believe that there are alternative foundations to the Islamic wisdom for indigenous knowledge. In this article, the general orientation of "fundamental methodology" is used.In this article, the general orientation of "fundamental methodology" is used.
Abstract
Fundamental methodology is a way in which the theory is generated. Given this, Sayyid Qutb’s social knowledge is inspired by Externalism and Ash'ari theology. Furthermore, the necessity of reference to the first generation of Muslims’ Ideas, in a Jihad frame, links his thought ...
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Fundamental methodology is a way in which the theory is generated. Given this, Sayyid Qutb’s social knowledge is inspired by Externalism and Ash'ari theology. Furthermore, the necessity of reference to the first generation of Muslims’ Ideas, in a Jihad frame, links his thought to Salafi stream. This paper, employing a documentary research method and following critical approach in description and interpretation levels, retrieves the fundamental methodology of social knowledge adopted by Sayyid Qutb in four realms: 1)the realm of “Idea”('Aghide) in which there is a kind of epistemological mutuality between social structure and people’s Ideas('Aghayed); 2)the realm of “Jihad” in which the theory of social change is pointed out; 3)the realm of “Islamic civilization” in which “the typology of society” is articulated; and 4)the realm of science and culture which from Sayyid Qutb’s opinion, this are has an inherent plurality. In addition, the fundamental methodology used by Sayyid Qutb encompasses a sort of critical approach toward social condition and intellectual schools so that one could be able to articulate this approach with four parameters: “Islamic values and Islamic society”, “elites and social change”, “value and action”(praxis), and “realism”. The prevalence of various social schools, especially the issue of West colonialism as one of the most important non-epistemic grounds based on Sayyid Qutb’s social knowledge, has raised the concern of revival of Islamic civilization for him. The influence of social thought of Sayyid Qutb in the current era has been affecting some Jihad-oriented deeds (Salafi) in the Middle East and, some social events in countries such as Egypt and Syria. The above mentioned observations make a critical review of Sayyid Qutb’s social theory a necessity.
