Islamic Scholars’ Support of Iranian Products in the Qajar Era; Why and how

After the establishment of the Qajar dynasty, relative peace prevailed in Iran, and it seemed that the environment for economic growth and development was provided to some extent. However, due to some factors such as the weakness of the kings, the great desire of the Russian and British governments to influence Iran, and the lack of necessary infrastructure in the country for economic development, not only the expectations regarding the improving the quality of life of Iranians were not fulfilled, but at times, the situation was worse than before. It should be noted that Iran’s economy during the Qajar period depended on foreign products. Considering this situation, some Islamic scholars sought to support domestic goods against the economic dominance of the West and they took measures. This research is to investigate the causes and methods used by scholars facing the widespread presence of foreign goods in the Iranian market. It seems that the most important reason for the support of Iranian productions by the scholars was the religious motives to prevent the political-cultural domination of the non-Muslims over the Islamic society. These supports were mainly done by clarifying the issue and mentioning the benefits of using domestic products and the effects of dependence on foreign goods. The present study tries to investigate this issue using historical data and descriptive-analytical method.