The political dimension of religion in shiism
"Religion is equivalent to a complex of rules, which together with the essence and the moral substance, essays to correlate the acts of government with ideas of divine inspiration, to answer all needs in the political and the development of social life sphere."
According to Muslim religion, the religious rule stands for the vital duty to aspire to Good and to avoid Evil, aspect which involves the social organization and the cooperation between people in order to accomplish its future tasks.
Unlike in Occidental society where P^gmatism and Rationalism prevail, in Islamic society, religion and Politics are interdependent and they cannot exist without each other.
In the process of studying and defining religion towards social action, the founder's role takes an important aspect: "Religion is an ordinary symbolic binding, which through belief and religious ceremonies received from the creator; it can secure connection and permanence at the same time".
E.DURKHEIM offers a first sociological definition of religion: "A religion is a solidary system of beliefs and relative practices of sacred acts, namely, acts separated from the forbidden ones (beliefs, practices) which unify all believers in the same spiritual community, which is called church."
According to Islam, religion consists of "the totality of fundamental beliefs which refer to human nature and universe and apply to human life."
Etymologically speaking, the word Islam means "obedience" and "obedience" signifies submitting God's commands. Submitting means applying God's orders. The basic principles of Islamic belief are God, angels (malaaikah), books (kutubullah), messengers (rusulullah), Day of Judgement (yawmuddin), predestination (al-qadr), and life after death (akhirah).
The holy book of Islam is the Quran, which represents the main source of religious thinking in Islam and the traditional source as well of which formal and external aspects of religion derive. The seven principles are classified in three basic elements:
• Tawhid (God's oneness) is the most important part of iman (belief). According to this element: "God is omniscient and almighty. He is kind and merciful; he is present anytime anywhere, he is the First and the Last.
• Risalah is the means of communication between God and humanity. This element is the one designating God's "chosen" on earth, embodied by the Prophet (Mohamed) and the imams following him.
• Akhirah represents life after death. On preparing for the Doomsday; man is obliged to do what God asks him to through the "voice" of the Prophet (Mohamed) and of the imams following him.
On Imam Ali's view, religion can be defined as it follows: 'The basis of religion is God and the improvement of knowledge to confirm his existence. This veneration must be done without any doubt or hesitation, man being fully aware of God's merit, whom he has to follow. That is why God has chosen prophets among Adam's sons, who through revelation, allowed
them to bestow the content of religion by forbidding polytheism and by asking to move away from idols."
In the Vll-th century, MOHAMED, an Arab from a Bedouin tribe, preached a new religion which "confused" the world. This religion arose in the territories of present Saudi Arabia, in a perimeter dominated by the practice of religious concepts of "magi".
The new religion has ordered the worshipping of only one God and the destruction of idols. "Mohamed, aged 40, has begun his mission being supported by his wife, relatives and some friends and later by poor people, handicraftsmen, free people and slaves, like Bilal, the negro slave."
In 612, the prophet, as a result of a vision commanding him to make public his mission, started his apostolate by laying stress on "God's might and glory".
Mircea Eliade considered that: "Mohamed didn't intend to create a new religion. He just wanted to awake his fellow citizens and convince them they must worship God only, as he is the creator of Sky and Earth and the only guarantor of fertility."
In 622, Mohamed and his disciples left Mecca to Medina and there came to an agreement with other Arab groups, this moment being marked as the period of Arab expansion. In 624, Mohamed defeated the Meccans and for the first time the Prophet spoke to his followers about the holy war (JIHAD) against God's opponents.
In accordance with the quranic verses, Islam is the religion of peace and forgiveness, this representing the starting point in the Prophets' mission.
The quran imposes each follower to defend religion as duty and natural right: light in Islam is allowed and legal only when it is framed in a holy war. It pursues praising God's words and the revival of Islamic values, any other form of aggression not being permitted."
The first fundamental principle of Islam is the Monotheism, which is the belief in the unique God called Allah.
The second principle is being represented by the establishment of a social equity on the basis of the quranic verses, the Holy Book being assimilated with law.
The third principle is represented by the Prophets' role in social life. For individuals, the Prophecy consists in the sharing of Divine Law which was revealed by God to the Prophets in order to lead the world to perfection.
In Islam, it is said that: "priesthood (the imamate) represents the promotion and the establishment of divine law in society." Imam's duties are the following:
• The Imam has to be a model which people have to follow in every day life; he is the secular reflection of quranic virtues.
• He has to establish the order of the society and divide the responsibilities.
• The imam is supposed to change the divisions between Muslims into one unity as God sent prophets to guide people to unity, solidarity and moving away the differences between them.
• He has to promote virtues and forbid evil.
• He has to set equity and social right, to prevent aggression and discourage social deviation and corruption.
• The Imam is the one leading the war against enemies and divides properties and income.
• He has to organize the pray ritual.
2. Shiism, the historical moment of division
The term Shiism has appeared making reference to Imam Ali's followers, the first ruler of Prophet's house and the one who first embraced the Islamic religion. He was assured
after Mohamed's death he would be called his successor and heir. The supreme proof for the shiits that Ali was the legitimate successor of the Prophet was the Ghadir Kuhumn event, when Mohamed assigned Ali as the major protector (walayat-immah).
After the Prophet's death, Ali's partisans believed the caliphate and the religious authority (marjaya-ilmi) belonged to him. Instead, the Prophet's close friends didn't appoint Imam Ali their caliph, situation which led to division and the forming inside Islam of the "Ali's partisans - the shiah" minority. This minority was first condemned due to the political circumstances of the moment.
The fist appointed Caliph, Abu Bakr, also called "the imam of God" (khalifat al-rasul), has designated Omar as his successor in 634, to whose succession followed Othman who was killed in 644.
The new caliph of Medina was appointed Imam Ali, circumstance which marked the short ascension of the shiits. Due to the divergences with Muavie, the governor of Syria, there took place many military confronts which finally determined some of Ali's adepts to leave him (the kharigits).
In 661, at Kuffa, one kharigit assassinated Ali, moment which coincided with Muavie's appointment as the new caliph of Medina and which marked the beginning of the dark period of Shiism.
The differences between Shiits and Sunnis don't lie in principles but in spirit "Shiism has doubts in accepting the idea of majority and pursues the ethic superiority of an active minority or the rational defense of oppressors". This idea was expressed, in 683, in the fundament of revolt of Imam Hossein and the other 72 allies of his, revolt which ended with his martyrdom at Kerballah.
The doctrinaire essence of Shiism could be summarized in the expression "Great Hope", which consists in the final victory over oppression and oppressors, through the appearance of the divinized Imam, (mahdaviat).
"Over the history, the appearance of the savior Imam prepared the collective conscience in order to face Mahdy's revolution and the world-wide reform."
The Mahdaviate followed up the religious rebirth by respecting Prophets' experiences and considered the incomplete temporary rebirths as dangerous, being known they couldn't determine people adhere to religion unless a sacred personality pertaining to the Prophets' category was present among them.
The Iranian philosopher, Dr. A. Souroush stated that: "The Mahdaviate is accepted in our religious society. It is part of the religious life of our nation both before the Islamic Revolution and moreover, in present, when Islamic government is developing. Mahdy's epiphany will usher in for the Islamic world a new era of justice and wealth."
3. Philosophy- Politics and the great thinkers of Islam
One of the greatest philosophers of Islam, FARABI (257-338 according to selenary calendar), brought a major contribution to the political philosophy of Islam. He was the one who debated upon the bases of political judgment and social ideas with regard to town in the Islamic world.
According to FARABI's conception, Politics is part of Philosophy or of a well organized system, presented by philosophers like a rational structured organism.
The tradition FARABI followed in elaborating the political thought was taken over from the great philosophers of ancient Greece, Platon and Aristotle. Two of his most important
philosophical works are The Civil Politics and Judgments of the inhabitants of the city of
Utopia (Judgments of Utopia's inhabitants).
'The Civil Politics" presented a hierarchy of existence:
1. origin in primary condition;
2. origin in secondary condition;
3. active reason in third condition;
4. instinct in fourth condition;
5. form in fifth condition;
6. substance in sixth condition;
Further on, the author defined and explained each condition reaching "the tenth reason", also called "active reason", which, in his opinion, would be responsible for the way the spiritual and material existence of human being are organized. His conclusion is that perfection can be reached provided that people get rid of their savage instincts and leave aside the material world.
