The Relationship between Religion and Politics in the Ideology of Jurists in Qajar Dynasty

The purpose of the present study is to survey the relationship between religion and politics in the ideology of jurists during the Qajar dynasty. To this aim, Skinner’s hermeneutics was used to analyze the link between religion and politics in the view of jurists back then, the necessity of chairmanship and government based on jurisprudence, and the relationship between the jurists and kings in that period. Moreover, it was attempted to review some aspects of the political jurisprudence during the Qajar dynasty based on which some of the most important transformations such as Persian constitutionalism took place in that period. The results showed that the power of Shi’ite scholars and their popularity among people made the cruel state in that age in need of their support. The jurists also made use of their religious legitimacy and authority as well as popularity among people to fulfill the Shi’ites’ welfare and prosperity through their contacts with the kings. Due to lack of its religious backup and common popularity, the kingdom of Qajar was in need of Shi’ite jurists to support them, thus the jurists made use of this opportunity to emphasize on the right of common people and their needs in their contacts with the kings. The Persian constitutional government that was not so successful in Iranian society was a reminder of this fact for the Shi’ite jurists that civil order coming from western ideology has no place in Iran and hence the only way to find salvation from tyranny is to establish an Islamic state and implement Islamic rules.