Spektrum Iran

Abstract The cemetery Ğannat al-Baqi’ in Madīna has been one of the most important locations in the religious geography of Muslims. It has also been the site of an ongoing struggle for competing interpretations, especially between the Saudi-Wahhabi alliance on one side, and Shiʻa and Sunni Muslims on the other. The cemetery, which hosts a number of burial sites of paramount importance for Muslims, has been destroyed twice by the Saudi government in the past. This paper argues that the reason for this behavior is a spatial one; and Islam indeed should be read as a spatial religion. This reading of Islam clarifies the connection between space, identity, and memory. Adapting theories of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari leads to observe three overlapping processes of spatialization, despatialization and respatialization in Baqīʻ. Spatialization indicates the creation and expansion of the cemetery, along with centuries of shrine building and their renovations. Despatialization points to the repeated destruction of those shrines; and respatialization is visible most clearly in the strict control of the spatial arrangements and practices at the cemetery by the Saudi-Wahhabi authorities today. The Saudi-Wahhabi did not remove signs and symbols solely to evacuate the cemetery of its traditional meaning, but to implant a new, alternative meaning onto Baqiʻ.

Abstract The word Ṣeddīqīn has been derived from Ṣādeq, which refers to a person who always says the truth. There are different approaches to the Ṣeddīqīn proof of God in the Islamic Philosophy, which are presented and discussed in this paper. In the Western philosophy, Anselm of Canterbury, is regarded as the founder for the ontological proof of God. In his work, Proslogion, Anselm defined God as a being that nothing greater than it can be thought. Since this being exists in the mind of everyone, it must also exist in reality. In this paper the Ṣeddīqīn proof of God in the Islamic Philosophy is discussed and compared with Anselm‟s proof in the Western philosophy.

Abstract Cosmogonic myths are fundamental symbolic narrations of the creation of the universe and all its components, which provide ideal contexts for basic beliefs in many religions. Through their symbolic expressions, these myths also present basic patterns for rituals and structures of meaning and value in cultures. The cosmogonic myths are categorized in a number of basic types, such as creation by a transcendental and almighty god, by cosmic parents or pairs, emergence from the earth and so on. Studying the main themes of the cosmogonic myths of Ahl-e ḥaqq of Iran and Alevi Bektashis of Anatolia shows that they both belong to the same category of cosmogonies, which is creation from the cosmic ocean/ cosmic egg. These kind of myths usually begin with a primordial sea, ocean or chaos in which gradually and during a long period of cosmic time a shell, an egg, a pearl or jewel, or various other beings appear. Cosmogonic myths of these two sects also show some parallelism in details due to their common historical and cultural background, and some differences which is related to their different emphases on the status and role of Muhammad and Ali.

Abstract This paper tries to review one of the written sources of Ahl-e ḥaqq, Šāhnāme-ye Ḥaqīqat. The author Neʻmatollāh Ğeyhūn-Ābādī mokri claims to have a thorough understanding of the beliefs and rituals of Ahl-e ḥaqq (dīn-e yārī). This critical review is based on comparing the content of the book with other official sources of Ahl-e ḥaqq. It is concluded that on the contrary to the claims of the author, his perspective is not the reflection of yāresān beliefs; and personal opinions have been combinated with the original beliefs in this book. This conclusion is based on a sentence-by-sentence comparison of Šāhnāme-ye Ḥaqīqat with the original texts and references of Yāresān such as Dīwān-a gowra and Daftar-e nowrūz, which are preserved in Kermānšāh, gahvāre, Tekye-ye ḥeydarī.
 

Abstract This paper studies the approach of Hafez towards the problem of moral judgment, according to current ethical terms. It is shown that Hafez‟s verses confirm a moral approach in normative ethics, which can be identified as virtue-based ethics. This approach is opposed to deontologism and consequentialism, and it emphasizes on the virtues, or moral character. In moral judgment, one should theoretically consider moral character instead of rules, duties or consequences of actions. The paper discusses that the Hafez‟s virtue ethics approach, in itself, makes moral judgment practically impossible or very difficult; and avoids moral judgment, at least, for three reasons: a) the problem of moral judgment is an epistemological gap; b) the purpose of morality is to act correctly, which opposes moral judgment. Hence, according to Hafez, self-purification is prior to attempt to enjoin others; c) human life is totally under domination of fatality.

Abstract From 1915 to 1930, a number of Iranian intellectuals who lived in Berlin, published several journals, and put forward ideas and subjects which are important in contemporary Iranian studies (language, religion, and Iranian culture). Seyyed Hassan Taghizadeh, Mirza Mohammad Khan Qazvini, Hossein Kazemzadeh Iranshahr and Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh are among prominent Iranians who published Kaveh and Iranshahr journals in the Kaviani Printing House. Another magazine, which belonged to the second generation of the Iranians living in Berlin, was Nāme-ye Farangestān. These three journals are studied in the present paper, as well as ʻElm wa Honar, which was founded by Abol-qasem Wosuq. The aim of this study is to take a glance at these four magazines, regarding Iranian culture, history, linguistics and religion.

Abstract Zhale Amouzgar’s Von der Vergangenheit Irans is a concise yet profound contribution to Iranian studies, particularly focused on the pre-Islamic period. Drawing on Middle Persian sources and Zoroastrian religious concepts, Amouzgar examines how historical memory and cultural identity were shaped in ancient Iran.
She resists any ideological homogenization of the past, emphasizing instead its layered and often discontinuous character. Her interpretation of Sasanian religious policies and mythical kingship is grounded in a nuanced understanding of history as a dynamic process of cultural self-definition.
Amouzgar’s approach is primarily cultural-hermeneutic. Religious and political ideas are not analyzed in isolation but as symbolically interwoven. Ancient Iranian kingship is thus interpreted as a manifestation of cosmic order, legitimized by the unity of religion and rule.
The book offers not only an introduction to ancient Iranian thought but also a meaningful intervention in present-day debates on Iranian cultural identity. Through critical clarity and scholarly precision, Amouzgar reclaims the past as a living resource—beyond myth-making or ideological appropriation