asghar eftekhary

Justice is the main Principle for macking a safe National/ International order. Because of it, author in this article identify and analyze different dimensions of Justice order. For this, author analyzed Two approaches – according Imam Khomeini's point of wieve: National order & Justice; and International order & Justice. At the first stage, this theory is baised on Adjustment of relation between Government & Citizens. In the Second Stage, is baised on Adjustment between States according Law and Power. Therefore, author shows us a new theory of International/ National Order which is baised on Adjustment – not power.

The concept of expediency, which has drawn the attention of Muslim intellectuals due to its theoretical and practical applications, is a principle used in relation with social management. Some writers, due to the emergence and development of this concept in Shiite political system, believe that the religious model of Shiite government is conventionalized because of the element of expediency. After analyzing different types of expediency (philosophical, theological, and jurisprudential), the paper evaluates the theoretical foundations and practical model of expediency in the Islamic Republic of Iran and shows how the concept developed in Shiite political Fiqh and could play a role in the government as a practical rule.

Taking some early steps, this material has sought to deliver a theory on Forgiveness (Afav) in the viewpoint of Holy Quran. Forgiveness is one of the most significant components of coagulation in the interpersonal communication, individual serenity and moral eminence. However, it is so essential to demarcate and rethink the scope and the limits as well as the applications of this moral virtue. Given that, author initially has assessed the meaning and the conception of clemency in Islamic thought and then has elucidated its conceptual and meaning borders by the “content-analysis” and “semantics” methods which in carry out he has recognized the sources and the contexts of the concept as well as its communicational spheres. Casting light on the value and the statues of clemency and its process in Holy Quran, the author has measured the it’s positive effects in the various compasses of life.

Islam as a religion contains a comprehensive set of principles, precepts and values (belief system) which lie at the foundation of a quite elaborate body of practical edicts (do’s and don’ts) governing all aspects of the behavior and life of the faithful, at the personal as well as communal/social levels, with the ultimate goal of leading a pious, happy life and “salvation” in the Hereafter. Over and above the personal and communal affairs, Islam is also concerned with the affairs of the state, as the embodiment of the apparatus in charge of the collective affairs of the society, and its behavior at all levels, both domestic and external. Based on this overall framework, this article looks into the Qur’anic approach to international relations and tries to analyze Qur’anic propositions in order to arrive at an Islamic understanding of the nature, rules, and behavioral principles governing these relations. To this end, the author advances an analytical model for "semantic structure and legal institutions" and studies the Qur’anic precepts/propositions from the vantage point of comparison between the two semantic structures of the Jahilyya [pre-Islamic paganism] and Islam. The article then proceeds to lay out the general principles of an Islamic theory of international relations – consisting of the three principles of conviction, blissfulness, and “Velaya” [acceptance of the guardianship of jurisprudence], which, in my reckoning, could fit under the general title of an "objective ethical theory."

Time and spatial contexts do not always conform to religious teachings; so, the question of their contradiction and the possibility of the rise of conflict within society has been subject to historical debates. From this perspective religion has not merely a security-generating function and its conflictual dimensions should be also taken into consideration. This writing deals with the second aspect of the issue and tries to identify the security-generating functions and objectives in the event of the rise of a conflict. For this purpose, it chooses the concept of the arena of reform as an enormous intra-religious concept and re-interprets major jurisprudential rules concerning the quality of conflict settlement. The author concludes that there are two types of positive and negative reforms. The positive form refers to the apriori management of conditions in order to prevent the appearance of conflict. The negative form also includes apriori management of conflicts and their resolution with minimum degree of controversy. Hence, the unpeaceful management of conflicts pattern is derived from these two patterns.

Criticizing the policy of securitizing issues, Barry Buzan sets a new strategy with regard to the management of domestic security issues before the Third World statesmen; a strategy that today enjoys utmost importance and efficiency. The author tries to redefine and reconstruct this analytical pattern at the international level. To do this, first in a theoretical discussion he introduces the concept of security code of regions. This concept is a reply to the important question that to what degree an actor may achieve security. Within this framework, two major positions are distinguished: non-securitized and securitized positions. Analyzing the structure of the global security system and examining the changed place of the Middle East from an important peripheral region during the Cold War to a focal point of security equations in the post-Cold War era, the author concludes that the Middle East is defined as a securitized region in all Western scenarios.

The fact that theories find different positions when they are linked with power turning them into strategy leads us to make a distinction between the status of practice and the status of theory. On this basis, in this article the author examines the strategic aspect of Imam Ali's (Peace be upon him) security theory after he assumed responsibility of administering the affairs of the Islamic society. In so doing, he proposes an analytical framework based on distinction between the idea of security and the organization of security. On this ground, he views "the power-oriented nature of security" and "secularization of security" as two serious harms inflicting the security strategy in the Islamic society. This is the reason why the Alavi government's security strategy becomes institutionalized in response to these two harms and refers to the "eradication of power from security" and "making security religious” so that security finds its deserved meaning and status.In an article series on the Islamic theory of security, the author tries in this article to present certain evidence that indicate the determination of Imam Ali to restrict the sphere of the presence of power in the definition of security and liberate the capacities of the Sharia for the establishment of security in the Islamic society

Following the demise of the Prophet of Islam, the Islamic polity witnessed a transitional period in which the caliphate in established as the political system. It occurred while in the Shii viewpoint, Imamate as a religious-political organization linked to the prophecy had to assume such an important responsibility. Therefore, Shiism as led by Imam Ali (Peace be upon him) was marginalized. This situation lasted until the Alavi government was created following the murder of the third Caliph. Although security is identified as a public goods that is secured through the government’s management, the question that thy he did not resist the dominating political current despite his righteousness leads us not to consider the foundations of the security theory in the Alavi period as merely limited to his government’s time.This article, which is published in a paper series about the Islamic theory of security, deals with a sensitive era stretching from the demise of the Prophet of Islam to the establishment of the Alavi government. Proposing the concept of “securitized identity,” the author indeed speaks of the priority of the “preservation of the Sharia per se” over the “assumption of government for guidance” because of the existence of alternative options for the achievement of guidance.

Continuing his previous studies on the Islamic theory of security, the author analyzes the short period following the Prophet’s demise from a security perspective. To do that, using the analytical framework of cleavages and the concept of condensation of cleavages, he shows how this condensation has appeared with the Prophet’s demise. Consequently, the Ummah’s security theory had become subject to internal crisis. According to this analysis, four political, economic, cultural and social cleavages emerged in Medina as affected by power considerations and the ideas of the Ignorance era, thus the essence of Islamic identity was threatened. In such circumstances, just two patterns for crisis management are proposed. The patterns include: First, toleration of the critical conditions aiming at the preservation of Islamic identity that wishes to adjust the conditions from the condensation of cleavages to their intersection; second, the exacerbation of the crisis in order to attain desired objectives in anarchic atmosphere which presents high risks and costs, leading likely to the decline in Islamic identity because of the condensation of cleavages. This analysis is an introduction to the security theory of the Allawi government which will be followed in the next articles.

The assumption that there exists a firm correlation between meanings and objective structures, and that aspects of various theories can be understood by analyzing structures shapes the foundation for this article’s analytical framework. The author tries to grasp a number of influential teachings in the discussion of Islamic security by investigating the pattern of the Prophet’s governments as a valid Islamic pattern in the realm of politics and government. In doing so, the author discusses the structure of the Islamic society under the Prophet from two perspectives including: the social structure perspective and the political point of view. While discussing social structure, the alternative pattern of Ummah as contrasted to the dominant pattern of tribe is studied and in the second discussion, the power structure based upon responsibility vis-à-vis the power structure founded on domination is offered. The critical and analytical considerations set out by the author presents certain Islamic teachings with respect to security. According to the author, this security can be referred to as the theory of Ummah security, drawing on the Prophet’s state model. This theory revolves around three premises including the amalgamation of belief borders and territorial limits, the combination of religious exigencies and territorial interests, and finally the mixture of statecraft and liberation.

In this article, by recognizing the discoursive foundations of Ignorance (Jahelyya) in the issue of security and using it as an ‘other’, the author attempts to reach a clearer picture of the Islamic security discourse. To do so, he identifies four main elements of the Ignorance discourse –namely multiplicity of gods, aggression, trade and bigotry- and accordingly describes the negative perception of security envisaged by the Ignorant Arabs. By drawing upon divine verses and analyzing the Islamic worldview, the author continues to introduce four alternative elements to replace the Ignorant ones as considered in the Islamic worldview including monotheism, faith, tutelage and happiness, and reconsider them in security terms. Consequently, a new picture of security emerges as contrasted with the Ignorant image of security. The most important characteristics of this new picture include the affirmative nature of security, multi-logical characters of analyzing security issues and offering strategies for them, and finally the preponderance of individual over government (that represents the essential pivot of human security in the contemporary age). The three aforementioned principles constitute the guidelines for understanding security from an Islamic point of view and for processing Islamic theory of security.

Following the domination of Caliphate current especially after its transformation into monarchy, we witnessed the deprivation of the Shii denomination from having a government. Consequently, the pattern of “spoiled government” was introduced as the dominant discourse for the analysis of the conditions and proposing solutions. Although the prevalence of this discourse lasted for a long time due to political circumstances, the rise of the Safavid dynasty provided the grounds for the appearance of a new discourse in the area of the Shii political thinking. The author has described this new discourse as making political power religious. This discourse is founded on three principles including: Principle one: circulation of power which implies the production of soft power and its reproduction within the framework of the Shii political jurisprudence organization. Principle two: circulation of method which indicates the transition of Shii jurisprudents from mere realism to committed idealism.Principle three: circulation in the ideational organization of power which implies the presence of Shii jurisprudents instead of political philosophers in the production of political theory creating or supporting the government.On this basis, the author addresses the reasons for and quality of the Shii jurisprudents’ attention to political power and support for it. Then, he traces and extrapolates the place of security in the new discourse drawing on the main thrusts of political thoughts of scholars such as Mohaghegh Karki, Moghaddas Ardabili, Feyz Kashani, Mohaghegh Sabzevari and Allameh Majlesi.

The way Shii jurisprudents encounter the usurper governments, which are all in theory illegitimate, is one of the important issues in the study of the process of change in Shii political thinking and practice. However, certain principles and foundations can be found in the thinking and practice of several Shii jurisprudents who have believed in particularization of this general verdict or specific reservations for the sake of public expedience of the society. The category of security may be mentioned as one of such factors which has gained more importance and weight among a number of jurisprudents and has led them to issue religious verdicts to the effect that to support and obey the monarch is permitted and necessary.The author has described this situation as the necessity of security which was notably expounded by such famous jurisprudents as Kashef ol-Qeta’ and Mirzay-e Qomi in the Qajar era. To explain this idea and its practical consequences, the author first explores how a gap emerged between two images of government in Islamic society. In this way, he outlines the background of the appearance of such a discussion and continues to introduce the principle of necessity of security using two active and passive approaches drawing on Sheikh Kashef ol-Qeta’ and Mirzay-e Qomi’s thinking and deeds.

Following the fundamental changes in the structure of the international system because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, many analysts will pay attention to the question of the essential trends that will be included in the agenda for world security. This writing is intended to offer an answer to this question in which the author has proposed the following hypothesis: The world security plan involves two agendas. The first agenda corresponds to the contents of world hegemony and refers to the positive rivalry between the United States and European Union. The second agenda relates to the grounds for the rise of conflicts, and ushers in the entry of the Middle East to the context of security developments in the 21st Century. In order to explain the subject, the author has initially presented two main scenarios which are pursued by the great actors in the stage of international politics (namely the American and European scenarios for the world order) and according to them the lines of conflict have been derived and described. According to this hypothesis, the tendency of the world system to hegemonic structure and heightened political-security tensions in the Middle East form two general phenomena of the 21st Century.

The notion that the state is in the center of national security equations, though has been occasionally criticized, still enjoys prominent validity; thus a large number of analysts and decision-makers in the field of security issues have consensus over the unique place of the state in the definition and identification of the secure situation. However, the acceptance of the important place of the state in the process of security building cannot be taken as evidence for the centrality of this institution in the formation of the meaning of security. In the light of this aspect of the issue, this article proposes the question of the secure situation in the following way: “Are the states able to create the same meaning of the secure situation envisaged by them as the desirable norm in the minds of their audiences – i.e. people? The author’s semiotic analysis derived from the analyses found in the linguistic field indicates that the state is identified with four features in the area: expression, decision, conduct and feedback. In other words, the meaning of security is not merely inferred from the state expression; so one can expect that in many cases the implication of security affected by other signs – such as decision, conduct and most importantly feedback – finds an implication entirely different from one envisaged by the state. The author attracts the attention of the power holders to the important point that the implication of security is largely influenced by the states’ decisions and the feedback thereof.

The author in this article, defines civil society as a layer between nation and state. Creation of this layer in the complementation of structure of power, derives from perceptions of state and nation in the west. Thus, this has been hypothesized that: because of differences between Islamic political view and its western about state, nation and their relationship, such a sphere can not be formed in the Islamic structure of power.Western state is an aggressive state, against nation, dominantive, apart of comprehensive values and nation is also weak and against state which needs state's supports. While, these attributes are not justified by Islamic though.As a result, according to political view of Islam, public domain has not a certain existential philosophy, and Islam to serve citizens rights and regulate social affairs use a pattern which differ from western public sphere.