Oliver Scharbrodt
Researcher
Divine Sovereignty and Clerical Authority in Early Shi‘i Islamism : Bāqir al-Ṣadr (1935–80) and Taqī al-Mudarrisī (b. 1945) on the Islamic State
Author
Summary, in English
Divine sovereignty (ḥākimiyya)—as conceived by Abū al-A‘lā Mawdūdī (1903–79) and popularised by Sayyid Quṭb (1906–66) - has been a central component of Islamist thought. This article investigates the reception of the concept within Shi‘i Islam. As case studies, the article choses two prominent actors in the formative period of Shi‘i Islamism in Iraq: Muḥammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr (1935–80) and Muḥammad Taqī al-Mudarrisī (b. 1945). By discussing their reflections on the nature of an Islamic state, the article pursues three objectives: first, it overcomes a trend in academic scholarship that disregards Sunni influences on the development of Shi‘i Islamism. Second, the article highlights the role that the Iraqi Shi‘i intellectual milieu played in incorporating key Islamist concepts into Shi‘i political thought. Finally, the article demonstrates the different receptions of ḥākimiyya. Bāqir al-Ṣadr uses the ideological repertoire of Islamism to explore in pragmatic terms the parameters that define the state as Islamically legitimate. In contrast, Taqī al-Mudarrisī uses ḥākimiyya to redefine the sovereignty of the state in Islamic terms. He operationalises the concept in a Shi‘i context by arguing that the state must be led by a just jurisconsult (al-faqīh al-‘ādil) who becomes the sole agent of divine sovereignty in the state.
Publishing year
2022
Language
English
Pages
311-332
Publication/Series
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Volume
32
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Religious Studies
- History of Religions
- Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
Keywords
- Islamic state
- Islamism
- ḥākimiyya
- Bāqir al-Ṣadr
- Taqī al-Mudarrisī
Status
Published
Project
- Alterumma - Creating an Alternative umma: Clerical Authority and Religio-political Mobilisation in Transnational Shii Islam
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1474-0591