A Comparative Study of Political Theology Issues from the Perspective of Javadi Amoli and Mojtahed Shabestari

Javadi Amoli and Mujtahed Shabestari are considered to be important thinkers of political theology and among the most important sources of religious thought production who have actively participated in contemporary issues of political theology. Based on a comparative method, this article examines the opinions of these two in the most important issues of political theology to find their similarities and differences. The result is that their commonalities are attention to newly emerging political issues, relative coherence in their collection of political theology, the connection between the field of religion and the field of politics, the scientific and religious authority of imams, considering reason and revelation as parts of the same division and accepting reason's inherent validity, the fundamental importance of how to govern, the possibility of harmony between Islam and democracy, rejecting imposition and coercion, people's participation in the process of political affairs, the right to monitor the performance of rulers, non-imposition of opinion, freedom, justice, security, and ownership are different dimensions of human rights. The differences, however, are greater since they belong to two different paradigms/discourses with different presuppositions. While Javadi Amoli sincerely believes in maintaining and strengthening the political theological heritage, Shabestari considers this heritage completely useless in the contemporary era. Contrary to Shabestari, Javadi Amoli connects issues to God in a hierarchical manner and considers the intention of closeness to God necessary.