62 Facts About Ali Shariati

Ali Shariati Mazinani was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who focused on the sociology of religion.

Ali Shariati is held as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century and has been called the "ideologue of the Iranian Revolution", although his ideas did not end up forming the basis of the Islamic Republic.

Ali Shariati was born in 1933 in Mazinan, a suburb of Sabzevar, in northeastern Iran.

Ali Shariati's father, Mohammad-Taqi, was a teacher and Islamic scholar.

Ali Shariati's mother was from Sabzevar, a little town near Mashhad.

Ali Shariati attempted to explain and offer solutions for the problems faced by Muslim societies through traditional Islamic principles interwoven with, and understood from, the point of view of modern sociology and philosophy.

Ali Shariati received his bachelor's degree from the University of Mashhad in 1955.

Ali Shariati then managed to get a scholarship for France, where he continued his graduate studies at University of Paris under the supervision of the Iranist Gilbert Lazard.

Ali Shariati left Paris after earning a PhD in Persian language in 1964.

Ali Shariati was arrested in Paris on 17 January 1961 during a demonstration in honour of Patrice Lumumba.

Ali Shariati came to know the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre that same year, and published Jalal Al-e Ahmad's book Gharbzadegi in Iran.

Ali Shariati then returned to Iran in 1964, where he was arrested and imprisoned for engaging in subversive political activities while in France.

Ali Shariati was released after a few weeks, at which point he began teaching at the University of Mashhad.

Ali Shariati next went to Tehran, where he began lecturing at the Hosseiniye Ershad Institute.

Ali Shariati's continued success again aroused the interest of the government, which arrested him, along with many of his students.

Ali Shariati died three weeks later in a Southampton hospital under "mysterious circumstances", but in Ali Rahnema's biography of Shariati, he is said to have died of a heart attack.

Ali Shariati is buried next to Sayyidah Zaynab, the granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the daughter of Ali, in Damascus, where Iranian pilgrims often visit.

Ali Shariati referred to his brand of Shiism as "red Shiism" which he contrasted with non-revolutionary "black Shiism" or Safavid Shiism.

Ali Shariati's ideas have been compared to the Catholic Liberation Theology movement founded in South America by Peruvian Gustavo Gutierrez and Brazilian Leonardo Boff.

Ali Shariati was a prominent philosopher of Islam, who argued that a good society would conform to Islamic values.

Ali Shariati suggested that the role of government was to guide society in the best possible manner rather than manage it in the best possible way.

Ali Shariati believed that the most learned members of the Ulema should play a leadership role in guiding society because they best understand how to administer an Islamic value system based on the teachings of the Prophets of God and the 12 Shia Twelver Imams.

Ali Shariati is said to have adopted the idea of Gharbzadegi from Jalal Al-e Ahmad and given it "its most vibrant and influential second life".

Ali Shariati sought to translate these ideas into cultural symbols of Shiism that Iranians could relate to.

Ali Shariati believed Shia should not merely await the return of the 12th Imam, but should actively work to hasten his return by fighting for social justice, "even to the point of embracing martyrdom," saying "every day is Ashoura, every place is the Karbala".

When he was writing the three letters to Fanon, unlike him, Shariati believed that it is not true that one must put away religion to fight imperialism.

Ali Shariati felt that people could fight imperialism solely by recovering their cultural identity.

Ali Shariati believed that Marxism could not provide the Third World with the ideological means for its own liberation.

Ali Shariati believed that in the modern era, the appearance of the machine was the second most fundamental change in the human condition.

However, Ali Shariati gave a critique of the historical development of religion and the modern philosophical and ideological movements and their relationship to both private ownership and the emergence of the machine.

Ali Shariati developed the idea of the social, cultural and historical contingencies of religious knowledge in sociology.

Ali Shariati believed in the earthly religion and in the social context in which the meaning of society is construed.

Ali Shariati emphasized that he understood religion historically because he was a sociologist.

Ali Shariati said he was concerned with the historical and social Tawhid, not with the truth of the Quran or of Muhammad or Ali.

Completely contrary to Hegel and his philosophy of history, Ali Shariati believed that it is not true that the civilized human is less conscious than modern people but rather there is a difference between them.

Ali Shariati pointed out that there is a direct relationship between democracy, liberalism and the plundering of nations.

Ali Shariati believed that liberal democracy is the enemy of humankind.

Ali Shariati referred to the fact that the ruling economic system of liberal democracy is unjust and contrary to the rights of people.

Ali Shariati maintained that in such a society, someone who is weak is already subjected to defeat and annihilation.

Ali Shariati explained history, society and humanity according to a monistic worldview.

Ali Shariati explained liberalism as something with inequality and discrimination.

Shariati believed that the government of Imam Ali could be considered the best form of democracy.

Ali Shariati believed that one of the basic problems of western democracy is demagogy.

Ali Shariati maintains that the western democracy based on gold, cruelty and tricking is an anti-revolutionary regime that is different from ideological Guidance.

Ali Shariati believes that Imam is alive everywhere and every time.

Ali Shariati added that Imam has to guide people not according to his desire like a dictator but to Islamic ideology and authentic values.

Ali Shariati called the theoretical foundation of the West as civilization and called its appearances as Tajadod [Renewal].

Ali Shariati believed that civilization has to be considered as something deep.

Ali Shariati highly acknowledged the importance of empirical science and knowledge.

Ali Shariati criticized traditionalism for its disregard for scientific methodology.

Ali Shariati insisted on the concepts of knowledge and time along with the holy book and tradition and stressed the important role of methodology and changing of viewpoint.

Ali Shariati, who was the fan of Georges Gurvitch in his analysis of sociology, believed that there was no special pattern for the analysis of social affairs and historical events.

Ali Shariati thought that there was no unity of religion and society, but rather there were many religions and societies.

Ali Shariati referred to the active role of the scholar of human science during investigation and scientific research.

Ali Shariati believed that there was a relationship between the values of scholarship and the effects of those values on the conclusions of an investigation.

Ali Shariati believed that it was not necessary to extend the other conclusions of other Western scholars to our society.

Ali Shariati maintained that there was conformity and correspondence between the Western philosophy and Iranian society.

Ali Shariati explained that the first stage, collectivity, was concerned with social equality and spiritual oneness.

One of the positive sides of Ali Shariati was his ability to explain his thoughts with suitable and simple language for his generation.

Beheshti believes that Ali Shariati's work was fundamental to the Islamic revolution.

Enayat believes that Shariati can be considered the founder of Islamic socialism.

Ali Shariati began to work on the translation of Franz Fanon's A Dying Colonialism.