SHIITE STUDIES
Year:2011 | Volume:9 | Issue:3 (35)|Papers Count:8

Propaganda must be regarded as a concept related to the origins and basis of such fields as: culture, society, communications, politics, and publicity. In addition to having a theoretical richness, it has gained great application, especially in recent decades, in the arena of history. This is a noteworthy and controversial fact not only in western scientific circles, but also in the Islamic realm, particularly in certain historical ages. The somewhat short period of the Umayyad dynasty, particularly the period of Mu'awiyat Ibn Abu Sufyan, is very important to be investigated as a great deviation from pure and genuine prophetic and Alid Islam. The techniques of propaganda used by Mu'awiyah against the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of the prophet), especially Imam 'Ali, illustrate the ambiguous atmosphere of the Muslim nation and their exceeding ignorance of political, cultural, and social trends of that time. It also shows that propaganda was strongly influential in that atmosphere, because the ignorance of society and hegemony of propaganda are always the two sides of the same coin, making the importance of knowing and attending to this theme multifold.

The relationship between jurisprudents and mystics has been constantly a controversial topic among scholars. There have been scholars throughout the history of Islam who spent their lives challenging mysticism. Others, meanwhile, tried to support true mysticism; Shahid Thani (Shahid II) is among such scholars. Hence, this survey is going to review mystical ideas and thoughts of this honorable scholar. In this article, in addition to his fondness of mystics, the appearance of practical and theoretical mysticism in his works and demeanor will be shown both in content and method. His mystical interactions are also reviewed. This survey will show how a prominent jurisprudent was in agreement with Islamic mysticism and sophism, and despite some opposition, he was inclined to Islamic mysticism. This fact is a sign of the great and yet unknown capacity of Islamic mysticism. It is through these kinds of investigations that the real mysticism heeded by Shi'ah Imamite jurisprudents is introduced to those in quest of true mysticism.

The public interest or commonweal law in Shi'a jurisprudence is based on the jurisprudential theory of governmental rulings accepted by many jurisprudents in fulfilling "Deputational Imamate" during the occultation. To put it more accurately, Islam has offered origins, principles, values, and standard frameworks upon which we can formulate public interest in a general way. Public interest has been developed in Shi'a jurisprudence in three forms:1-Governmental rulings2-Primary rulings3-Secondary rulingsAlso, public interest in Sunni jurisprudence has been formulated under these categories: protecting Islam, protecting oneself, protecting the human race, protecting the mind, and protecting property (under the general title of al-masalih al-mursalah, i.e., matters of public interest).Considering the principles and basis of governmental rulings, public interest is recognized and determined in a lawful process and according to standards derived from Islamic law, which contribute to the resolution of administrative problems in Muslim society. In this article we will engage in analyzing governmental rulings and public interest.

Nayshabur, a city in northeastern Iran, was an important populous and scientific center of Sunni Muslims, but nowadays there is no sign of Sunnism in this city. This survey is in quest of finding the causes of the exchange of Sunnism for Shi'ism in this area. Undoubtedly, various factors have been effective in this regard. In this article the role of the "Alids" in spreading Shi'ism in Nayshabur is analyzed. In this regard, it is noteworthy that because of their high position in Islamic culture and subsequently, enjoying social popularity and prestige on one hand and their ample presence in Nayshabur and their fidelity to Shi'ism and its promotion on the other hand, the Alids played a great role in the spread of Shi'ism in this region.

Paying more attention to some centers of Hadith study by scholars has led to less awareness being given regarding other centers, or even forgetting them altogether. An example of these ignored centers is the scientific-geographical center of Samarkand and Kash in ancient Khorasan and Mawara' al-Nahr. The importance of this scientific center manifests when the scientific dependence of Shi'ite traditional centers on one hand and the training of certain prominent Shi'ite scholars over a long time on the other hand are precisely scrutinized. Keeping this point in mind, this article aims to fully introduce the various dimensions of this center and attempts to review and, using different rijali, traditional, historical and geographical sources, seeks to recognize its different dimensions, namely, its formation, the history of the scientific presence of the Shi'ah in this center, its rise and decline, and also its professors, disciples, and scientific works.

The clan of Ardalan is among other Kurd clans who ruled before the Safavids for a long time, till towards the end of the Qajar dynasty, over some Kurdish regions of Iran. Like other Kurdish clans, this clan was also initially Sunni, but in the middle of Safavid era and due to a marriage between Khan Ahmad Khan, a prince of the Ardalan clan, and the sister of Shah 'Abbas, by which their position was elevated from local governors to the position of Wali Nishin, an important position in the Safavid dynasty, the leaders of this family showed tendency to Shi’ism in order to share in power and get closer to the Safavid court. This conversion was superficial at first, however, after some time, the loyalty and commitment to Shi'ism became very deep among a number of their leaders and great figures, to the extent that most of them took up Shi'ism during the Safavid dynasty. This survey examines this trend and the causes of their inclination to Shi'ism by referring to authentic sources.