Reinterpretation of Religious Concepts and its Influence on the Occurrence of the Islamic Revolution of Iran

Undoubtedly, the Iranian revolution is at the close of its transition period from earlier universal experiences starting its new experiences in political, and cultural occasions. The most outstanding feature of this new experience is return to religious belief, emphasis on spirituality, and giving significance to human relations regardless of the usual procedure of the world. This is the very thought foundation of the Iranian revolution capable of teaching a new life style, interpretation of the world, and a different understanding of the current world conventions to the modern man. The proper understanding of this aspect of the Iranian revolution involves understanding the process of reconstruction and equipment of intrareligious concepts existing prior to the revolution towards religious revivalism. In this process, a few decades before the Islamic Revolution, a new approach in the Shiite intellectual literature arose concerning concepts such as the relation of religion and politics, expectation of deliverance, dissimulation, holy war (Jihad), and martyrdom. All this played a big role in the intellectual training of people and adopting a new attitude towards a fundamental change based on religion. Shiite scholars of this period came to the conclusion that the contents of Shiite thought are capable of presenting a desirable socio-political pattern in the modern age. However, certain traditional precepts or their interpretations are an obstacle to playing such a role. The present article seeks to analyze this intellectual attempt in the frameworks mentioned. This attempt would prevent the isolation of Islam in its own environment and in the new world circumstances.