Attitudes of the Poets of the Constitutional Period to Religion

In the constitutional period, when Islamic tradition and modern civilization faced each other, due to their differences, clergymen and intellectuals who were the effective social forces of the time reacted differently to it. Intellectuals were of three types: against religion; pro-religion but with stress on instrumental use of it; and pro-religion believing in compatibility of Islam and modern civilization. Clergymen were of two types: conservatives, against modernity; and constitutionalists believing in compromise between Islam and democracy. This article, using the method of qualitative content analysis, and studying the poems of seven popular poets of this period, surveys their attitudes to religion. The research reveals three main current of thought among the poets: one places religion against modernity and believes that modernization demands total removal of religion from society. Other flow believes in eliminating most religious traditions, changing their function, and emphasizes just on faith dimension of religion. The third current accepts modernization on the ground of religious traditions, and supports the change and reform to some of them just through Ijtihad. This movement stresses the preservation of religion in society.