نشریه مطالعات ایرانی اسلامی
سال دهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1399)

Muslims and the Jews have had tense relations at various historical times, in which Jews experienced failure in direct confrontation; It forced the Jews to change their approach to Islam. The newly converts from Jews to Islam with a seemingly scientific approach to the interpretation of the Qur'an and the influence among the Muslims introduced nonsensical issues to Islam. In response, the conscious Muslims blocked their way of influence with Enlightenment. But the controversy was still there, with the widespread presence and investment of Jews in Islamic studies in contemporary times. It raised the question of whether methods of influencing authoritative scientific sources and references, including publishing the Leiden EI2 Encyclopedia of Islam, were aimed by Jews at peculiar purposes? This research uses the sources and library studies and the method of discourse analysis to study the text of the articles of the Encyclopedia of Islam and is bound to answer the above question. The findings of the study indicated that the articles in the Encyclopedia of Islam, in favor of the Jews, present distorted, opportunistic, and falsified figures of the Prophet of Islam. This form of describing and introducing Islam pursues a major goal, which is to maintain the dominance of Jewish teachings over Islamic studies. As a result, the encyclopedia reader is convinced that the teachings of the Torah and the Bible are superior to the teachings of Islamic sources. In other words, other Islamic sources have nothing to say without adapting to other religions. The Jewish discourse has produced numerous works and texts in this field, and in recent centuries, using new methodologies and theories that have been proposed in the field of modern sciences, it has launched new attacks on Islam. Through the study of this new literature, an attempt was made to briefly review the strategic, methodological and content developments in this field. The main elements and axes of this biased discourse are as follows: Islam has adapted its teachings from other religions, especially Judaism. A Jewish Orientalist has used its efforts to prove that Islam is not authentic and that what exists in Islam is borrowed from the religions and cultures of other societies. This group of orientalists, by researching the main and basic texts of Islam such as the Qur'an and the hadiths of the Prophet [PBUH], try to dispel the suspicion that the Qur'an is taken from the Bible and especially the Torah and the hadiths of the Prophet [PBUH] inspired by the teachings of Greek and Roman sages and are forged, and the books of the Muslims report these forged hadiths or narrations. The basis of the Orientalist argument, after denying the validity of the sources, is to prove the suspicion of adaptation; Because after the suspicion of adaptation, all other doubts open their way. The purpose of the dubious adaptation by those who intend to strike at Islam is to prove the Jewish origin of Islam, and this is something that Jewish orientalists, along with some Western orientalists, claim. This group of Orientalists seeks to tarnish the image of Islam by considering the Jewish origin of Islam and claiming the general influence of Judaism on Muslim beliefs and worships, and ultimately to introduce Islam as a sect of Judaism or a religion independent of Judaism but of Jewish origin. Jewish discourse focuses more on the Shari'a issues and rules of Islam than on ethics and mysticism. The approach of the Jewish discourse is selective and does not address all aspects of Islam. In other words, the tendency of this discourse is to deal only with dimensions on which it can impose its own method of interpretation. Since Judaism is also a Shari'a-based religion, the Jewish discourse examines Islam with the focus on Shari'a and its rulings, and is oblivious to other aspects such as morality and mysticism. The Jewish discourse seeks to discredit Islamic sources. The Jewish discourse does not consider Islam to be an original religion and the basis for its formation is the adaptation of the teachings of other religions, especially Judaism. Therefore, he believes that the study of history shows that Islamic sources are not valid in themselves and by referring to them alone, the truth about them cannot be obtained and one should refer to the main texts, i.e. the texts related to Jewish law.

The Mongol invasion led to the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate and the formation of the Ilkhanid dynasty in Iran; in the continuation of this transformation and extensive political changes, the social and economic situation throughout the neighboring regions was also affected. These changes include the effects of the Mongol's nomads way of life on the peasant and Sedentist peoples, the administration of government and taxation, the disappearance of the agricultural economy and the spread of land-owning or secession, and changes in trade routes and centers; Meanwhile, the Aran region was also one of the states of Iran that was not outside this rule; The present study also seeks to answer the question that what were the main consequences of the rise of the Mongols and the rule of the Ilkhans on the economic situation of Islamic societies, especially the Iranian region? Due to its special geographical location and strategic status, this region was always awarded to the high-ranking Mongol commanders in the form of secession, and due to the tax methods adopted by these military commanders and also the special social tendencies that existed at that time, witnessed extensive changes in the economic and social conditions of Aran and its people in this period. This study will analyze and explain the impact of Ilkhanid rule on the economic situation of the region. What distinguishes the present study from other researches is its reliance on the economic situation of Iran during the Mongol and Ilkhanid eras, so that basically a separate study has not been written on this subject so far. In this research, historical method and analytical-descriptive approach have been used to examine historical reports. Finally, from the historical data, it can be concluded that despite the special political position of the Aran in the Mongol period, which was undoubtedly due to the Ilkhanid relations with Alus Jochi and the centralization of Azerbaijan as a new political center. Agriculture, trade and Sedentist life of the region due to attacks and frequent raids by nomadic tribes were damaged and declined compared to the pre-Mongol period. By examining and assessing the sources, the findings of the research indicate that with the Mongol invasion of Iran, killing, looting and turning agricultural lands into pastures caused the decline of socio-economic life of the states. Aran was also one of the states conquered by the Mongols and was chosen as the winter resort of the Ilkhanate due to its strategic location and climate. Aran, based on its specific geopolitical and geographical location, the location between the Kura and Aras rivers, as well as the location between the two Mongol governments (Ilkhans and the Golden Army), was politically, socially and economically influenced by the events of this period. On the other hand, the passage of trade routes through it caused the rulers of the Ilkhans not to be indifferent to it. On the other side of the borders, Alus Jochi claimed ownership of Aran based on the division of Genghiz and violation of Hulagu Khan of it, under the pretext of attacking cities and regions. The continuation of these conflicts until the end of the Ilkhanate rule had a major impact on the economic and social life of the region. On the other hand, the Ilkhans and the nomadic groups that came to Iran with them had to some extent maintained their way of life, and this way was influential to varying degrees in the economic and social life of the Aran region. As mentioned, the issue of Aran is not explicitly addressed in historical sources, and therefore, since Aran was one of the states ruled by the Ilkhans, it can be inferred that, like other regions, its urban and agricultural population was massacred or enslaved. With the influence of the Mongol military leaders in Iran, their exploitation of villagers and craftsmen, handing over agricultural lands to military commanders in the form of secession and also their lack of knowledge about agriculture, and lands, these swathes of lands became pastures and Iran's agriculture and sedentist life declined. The method of taxation of the Mongols was also a cause of concern and dissatisfaction of the people with the Ilkhans government. This weakened agriculture and depopulated villages. On the other hand, heavy taxes on occupations and trade may have been an obstacle to the revival of social life in the cities of Aran. In general, Aran has played an important role in the political and economic developments of this period due to its mountainous location and its location in the East-West trade route, its proximity to the Black Sea, the conflicts between Alus Jochi and the Ilkhans and the establishment of military barracks; Therefore, the economic situation, agriculture, trade and commerce of the region along with its population, has been affected by the political conditions and developments of the Ilkhanate era.

The use of lineage and its emphasis on the clash of the views of the two Iranian and Arab societies in the first two centuries AH caused the emergence of challenges in the Islamic world and the emergence of problems in Islamic unity. This led to the production of ethnic hatred in some areas of the caliphate and in some areas to two separate mental ideas. The question of this research is based on the question that what effect did the use of lineage have on creating a crisis in the desired unity of the Islamic society? In this descriptive-analytical method of research, the importance and influence of genealogy in the thinking of Arabs, ancient Iranians and the impact of these thoughts on the early governments of Islamic Iran, which somehow followed both ideas, is discussed. The result of this study showed that one of the most important factors of dispersion and division in the Islamic world was the attention and application of lineage in the political and social structure of the fledgling Islamic society in the first two centuries AH. If the Umayyad caliphate tried with all its might to suppress and control various crises, but their tribal performance prevented the stabilization of the situation on the eve of the division and disintegration of the relatively large territory of their caliphate. Numerous military uprisings were severely suppressed during this period, but the ideological foundations of secession continued to grow at every stage. The rejection of the superiority of the Arabs by the Iranians and the non-Arabs and the insistence of the Arabs on racial prejudices, gradually promoted a spirit of pride to ancient and past ancestors. The settlement-seeking people, Tasviyya Khah, Shu'ubiyya, and the anti-Umayyad currents each engaged in a kind of theoretical confrontation with the Umayyad prejudice, which was also considered a precondition for a practical defiance of the Umayyad caliphate. Genealogy, or lineage, was considered the legitimizing factor of the government, and if there was a disturbance in it, the obedience of the people in the whole territory of the Islamic world would be in crisis. The pride and bigotry of the Arabs in boasting about their lineage, which they considered to be the highest lineage in the world, caused some settlement-seeking Muslims, to protest and because of this bigotry and stubbornness led to racial oppression in the Umayyad period, Shu'ubiyya mocked the Arab lineage and boasted of the ancient Iranian ancestors. And they did their best to show the adverse attitudes of the Arab race. The result emerged two important trends that were based on past lineages. Arabs who boasted of their racial superiority and ignorant epics and days of conquest in order to dominate non-Arabs, and so on; Non-Arabs or Arabs who, outside of this thinking, cared about a settlement point of view, increased their activities after observing the racial prejudices of the Umayyads and denied any superiority of the Arab race. This ideological schism, which was the result of distancing oneself from religious and Islamic teachings, gradually grew into a number of branches, ranging from a simple settlement to radical anti-Arab views. In the first two centuries AH, in the custom of society, the purity of blood and lineage took on a high value. Of course, the influence of the prevalence of Umayyad tribal prejudices in the entire structure of government and society, as well as the Shu'ubiyya intellectual movement, cannot be ignored in highlighting these ideas. At first, it was assumed that the Arabs had no doubt about their superior race, which in their view was full of honor, freedom and greatness, and boasted that in their ignorant period's epics they had traits such as eloquence, poetry, love, heroism and chivalry, as well as this quality that they had many struggles in the spread of Islam. Thus, they considered themselves more valuable than other Muslims and as God's chosen ones to guide other people. They saw themselves as divine agents and insisted on enduring much suffering and martyrdom in the spread of Islam, and from this perspective they considered themselves worthy of superiority, assuming it was their right to rule over others. On the other hand, exactly the opposite of this view was the discourse of "Settlement People" or Ahl al-Taswiyah, who took this kind of pride of the Arabs opposite to the original beliefs of Islam, based on the Book of God. This view had many supporters, the most important of whom, Shu'ubiyya, were after proving the superiority of the Persian race over the Arabs, making great efforts to glorify the kings of pre-Islamic Iran and narrating many accounts of justice and greatness of these kings. This cultural movement ended up rising poets and writers to power with an extreme sense of nationalism. Books they wrote began with "Kiomars" and ended with the time of its author. The poems written during this period highlighted the sense of patriotism and prejudice towards the ancient race in the minds of the people. The function of these two relatively contradictory discourses in the fate of the Islamic world caused division and distance from the unity that was the cause of power among Muslims.

Familiarity with modern methods of historiography and the transformation of Iranian historiographical methods has been one of the most important achievements in dealing with the manifestations of modernity in Iran's Qajar Era. The most important concerns of this research are the study of the formation and development of memoir writing and determining its place in the process of historiography of the Qajar period. The framework and general spirit of the present study seeks to answer the question that what effect and place did the flow of memoirs have in the process of historiography of the Qajar period? Findings of the study indicate that the sources of memoirs can be considered as a type of historiography related to the Qajar dynasty, which was formed in the middle of the Nasserite era under the influence of modern European ideas and manifestations, but it took different route from its western examples. In the West, memoir-writing, by emphasizing on the originality of human existence, were more at the disposal of the personal feelings and moods of their authors and placed under category of literature. While Iranian memoir-writers, aware of this "I" and "crystallizing" it in "social We", put it not at the service of expressing their own feelings and existential originality, but in describing the political and social events around them. Due to the critical atmosphere that prevailed in many political, cultural, social and economic fields at that time, these memoirists also turned their memoirs into a field for expressing these criticisms. This private sphere, which was created in the personal privacy of these soliloquies, became a means of criticizing various issues from a historical and critical point of view, with their awareness of the disorder of their society. Their works became secret historiography due to their secrecy and informality and the presentation of pristine information from the political, social, cultural and economic situation and works with high credibility in the historiography of this period. Considering the importance of the Constitutional Revolution, we divided the memoirs related to the Qajar period into two periods: Before and after the Constitution from a historical perspective, and according to the class base of the memoir-authors, which fall into two groups of the dominant and middle classes. Existence of 14 memoir-writers, with 15 works in the first period and notably their heeding to recording issues of political history and 27 memoir-writers in the post-constitutional period with 27 works and their attention to recording the events of social history and the life of the masses clearly demonstrates the effects of the Constitutional Revolution on this historical-literary campaign. The existence of 15 memoir-authors of the second period in the middle class and the fact that there are only 2 memoir-writers of this class in the first period, in comparison with the 12 memoir-writers of the dominant class of this period, also well proves the hypothesis that the Constitution Revolution led to a shift in the class base of the memoir-authors from the ruling class in the first period to the middle class in the second period. In valuing memoirs from a historiographical point of view, according to the class base of memoirists, which has directly influenced their thoughts and reasons, as well as the way they write memoirs, and according to characteristics such as having insights and views of historians and critics, and the extent to which these memoirists used documents, correspondence, and orders, as well as the extent to which they provided pristine historical and political data, given that most memoirists were from the ruling class and were involved and aware of many important events, and according to the special class base that has dominated many currents, the value of the memories of this class can be preferred to the second class. However, due to the wide expression of social issues by middle-class memoirists, special value should be given to the group and not diminished their importance. In general, it should be noted that modern memoirism, which itself was formed under the influence of modern European ideas and had a special evolution with the Constitutionalist movement, like other Iranian historiographical methods of this era, while being influenced by the cultural and social conditions of their society also caused a change in the presentation of historiographical materials in terms of style and prose, subject and history technic, as well as the language of reporting events.

The rule of the Mongols and Ilkhans in the seventh and eighth centuries AH were able to form a vast state by relying on the power of the sword, and the Iranian identity was endangered by their invasion. The efforts of the elites, the Iranian courtiers to restore this national identity were immortalized in the history of this land. The role of Hamdollah Mostowfi in preserving and spreading Iranian culture and identity during the turbulent period of the seventh and eighth centuries AH is very important. The difference between Mostowfi's work and other elites of his time is the use of the art and language of poetry. He has tried to make connections with the historical and mythical past of Iran by using cultural and political symbols such as the Shahnameh, Book of Kings. This study seeks to answer the main question: What was the role of Hamdollah Mostowfi's in preserving and expanding Iranian culture and identity in this turbulent period? Considering the research in the life and valuable works of Hamdollah Mostowfi as one of the historical and civilizational manifestations of Iranian society, it can be concluded that generally Iranian historians, writers and personalities throughout history and Hamdollah Mostowfi especially in the Ilkhanate era were very effective in preservation and revival of Iranian culture and identity. It also shows that the concept of Iran and Iranian identity is not a new subject and can be found in historical and ancient texts, especially in the works of Hamdollah Mostowfi per se. The research method is analytical and descriptive using library resources. Based on the results of this research, it can be said that during the ups and downs of Iran's history, political borders were repeatedly invaded by the enemies. But it was the elites and writers who were able to defeat the stubborn enemy on the cultural front and impose Iranian culture and civilization on them. After a while, the invaders became attracted to Iranian culture. The national identity of the Iranians was repeatedly threatened by the invaders and they were able to cross the barrier of soldiers and military officers, but were preserved and guarded by soldiers and cultural officers. What has been said in the previous articles is not a modern Iranian name and identity. Rather, it is related to the depth of the history of this land and can be seen in the study of the works of writers and historians of ancient history up to the Islamic period. Hamdollah Mostowfi is one of these cultural officers of Iran who in the difficult political, cultural and social conditions of the Ilkhanate era was able to preserve and revive the name of Iran, the land of Iran and the national identity of Iranians in his works that has been unique since Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. In his three valuable works, "Zafarnameh"; "Selected history" and "Nuzhat al-Gholoub", he tries to revive the Iranian identity. Mostowfi has time and again in his works cited Iran, land of Iran and Iran-shahr. Mostowfi tries to repair and revive this deprivation and silence of the sources in a completely intelligent way, so that it became a suitable model for historians and writers after him. Keywords: Hamdollah Mostowfi, Iran, Identity, Culture, Ilkhans

With the transfer of the Fatimid caliphate to Egypt, in order to spread and propagate the religious-political power of the caliphs, the religious and political activities of the Da'wah organization expanded. In this regard, the Iranians played a significant role in the structure of the Fatimid power. The Iranians, the ruling elites of the Fatimid court, had an active presence against the opposition through their scientific and religious participation in spreading Fatimid ideology. Iranian thinkers rationally shaped the Fatimid political structure on a cultural basis, because with the spread of rationality in the Middle Islamic era, Islamic sectarian thinkers used this tool to justify their authority. In this era, the Fatimid elites also wanted to explain the religious and political authority of the Fatimid caliphate against rivals and opponents by using cultural tools and by philosophical and rational reasoning in their works and scientific debates. The main question of the present study is what effect did the religious and scientific status of the Iranian elites have on the authority of the Fatimid Caliphate? It seems that the elites with the religious characteristics of Hojjat and Da'i al-Da'at of the Da'wah organization and as thinkers of the Fatimid government were effective in spreading Fatimid thought and ideology. The scientific participation of the elites through writing, teaching, and scientific debates attracted local rulers and expanded the political power of the Fatimid state. This research intends to identify and study the religious and scientific status of the Iranian elites in the court of the Fatimid Caliphate with a descriptive-analytical approach. Their scientific status with the index of writing, teaching and scientific debates along with the chairmanship and management of Da'wah organization stabilized the Fatimid beliefs in the country and abroad. The statistical population of the Iranian elites in the Fatimid court includes the elites who worked for the ideology and promotion of the Fatimid culture in the islands of Da'wah, including the da'i Abu Ya'qub Sajestani, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim Neyshabouri, Hamid al-Din Kermani, al-Mu'ayyid fi al-Din Shirazi and Nasser Khosrow. As members of the ruling elite, they were active in the religious structure as bureaucrats and agents of the Fatimid caliphs, in order to develop the religious and political legitimacy of the Imam-Caliph. The results of the study indicated that due to the opposition of the Abbasids and other Islamic sects to the views and ideas of the Fatimids, it is difficult to identify their claimants in the Islamic land. Therefore, little information is available on understanding the religious and scientific status of the Iranian elites of the Fatimid Caliphate. It seems that the Iranians had a significant presence in the Ismaili community from the very beginning of the formation of the Ismaili movement. However, with the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt, the Iranian elites in the Da'wah organization, as the ruling elites, gained religious status as Da'is al-da'at and Hojjat, and were responsible for managing other Da'is of the Ismaili community. In addition to their religious status, the scientific status of Iranians with characteristics such as writing, teaching, scientific debate and training of students were important factors in strengthening the Fatimid religious-political authority in the Islamic East and West. According to sources of the researcher, the role of the Iranian claimant became a factor in attracting local rulers and elders of the Islamic community to the Fatimid caliphate. If, with the help of Abu Ya'qub Sajestani, the Da'i of Khorasan and Sistan, most of the Qaramata of Iran were absorbed by the Fatimids. The Fatimid ruling elites played an active and prominent role in the critical stages of the Ismaili community. Like Kermani's scientific performance in resolving the crisis of Da'wah and explaining the Imamate of the ruler to Bamra. It is important that she reconsidered the theory of the Imamate by writing theological-philosophical works. In this regard, we can mention the prominent religious, political and scientific role of Al-Muwayyad Fi Al-Din in proving the Fatimid Imamate and the conquest of Baghdad in the era of Al-Mustansarba. As the cultural elite of the Fatimid court, he took over the executive management in the Divan section. Also, he was one of the important factors in the conquest of Baghdad by carrying out a political mission. On the other hand, with the efforts of Al-Muayyid, the valuable works of the Fatimids were sent to Yemen by Lamak bin Malik to protect the destruction of the Fatimid works by the opposition. By training his students, he became a factor in spreading Fatimid beliefs in the Muslim community. Among the influential students, we can mention Nasser Khosrow, Hojjat of Khorasan. He was one of the important factors in expanding the invitation in Khorasan and eastern Iran.