Religious Intellectualism in Iran: An Inquiry into Martyr Avini's Views

Religious intellectualism is a new term which entered political literature after the Islamic Revolution of Iran and is divided into different trends and groups, and it has eclectic thoughts. By providing a new interpretation and perception of religion, religious intellectuals tried to both preserve the essence and substance of religion and solve the basic problems of intellectualism in the framework of religion. Among these problems are “precedent and modernization”, “religion and secularism”, “we and the West”, and “government and authority”. The present paper deals with this issue, using a documentary- analytical approach.Martyr Avini is one of the religious intellectuals who have discussed and studied the basic problems of intellectualism through a maximum view of religion. He focuses on traditions, believes that religion has a maximum role in politics and society, and criticizes radical modernity. Furthermore, he criticizes the western radical opinion, reproaches and blames intellectuals and their attitude towards social realities and people, and believes that religious democracy (the system of the guardianship of jurist) is the best type of government.