A Critical Discourse Analysis of Mohammed Ben Abdellah and Al-Mansur al-'Abbasi's Letters Based on Laclau and Mouffe Theory

Every text plays a significant role in recreating hegemony and power in society to access the legitimized discourses of the political rulers in public opinion. Laclau and Mouffe's critical discourse analysis is one of the methods which investigates the latent layers of language in written and oral texts and shows power influence in the reproduction of hegemony; that is to reveal how power discourses are formed. letters Mohammed Ben Abdellah (718-762 A.D), a Shia leader, and Al-Mansur al-'Abbasi (713-774 A.D), the Abbasid Caliph, are among works which can be analyzed to explore the political condition and power relations in Abbasid Era. The present study aims at analyzing the discourse of these two letters relying on an analytical-descriptive approach and in relation toLaclau and Mouffe's theories. The results indicate that both discourses are related to a single source of power; thus, none of them is neutral and impartial; being produced in particular situations. Moreover, the leaders’ claims are based on “leadership of the Islamic Natin”; therefore, both writers sought to explain their points through techniques such as “prevention”, “contrast”, “otherness”, “deconstruction”. Their difference lies in Mansur’s use of significant argumentative skills and has performed better in “highlighting”, “marginalizing”, and “deconstructing” the points.