The parallel power system as an alternative to revolution and passivity

Mohammad Fazlhashemi

pp. 237-259

in: Elena Namli (ed), Future(s) of the revolution and the reformation, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

Abstract

Is it possible for Muslim theologians and scholars in jurisprudence to use theological and judicial arguments to find a model for cooperation with worldly rulers? The idea of the parallel power system within Shi"i political thinking is one of these religiously legitimized models. It emerged during the sixteenth century when Shiʿi legal scholars were presented with a possibility to influence the judiciary, educational, and social welfare systems. In exchange, they were expected to justify the political power of the Safavid rulers. This power distribution system lasted for 400 years, but was abandoned during the interwar period in early twentieth century. The author of the chapter argues that the abandonment of the traditional power division was one of the factors contributing to the revolution in Iran in 1979.