Ali Akbar Rashad

Ali Akbar rashad
Born 1955[1]
Era 20th-century philosophy
Region Islamic philosophy
School Islamic jurisprudence
Main interests
Philosophy of religion, Islamic theology
Notable ideas
Ibtina Theory
Logic of understanding religion

General information

Nationality: Iranian; Birth Date: 1955; Field of study: Philosophy of Religion, Religion Studies, Philosophy, Islamic studies, Islamic Philosophy, Islamic Studies; Special Field of study: Methods and Logic of Understanding Religion, The Holder of a New Theory on the Method of Understanding Religion (Ibtina Theory) in the field of Philosophy of Religion[2]

Current position

Education

Ali Akbar Rashad is a graduate of Tehran and Qom Islmaic seminaries; he completed his introductory and first grade (studies based on textbooks) of Islmaic seminary education under the supervision of Kamali, Mohammadzadeh Mazinâni, Ali Afkhami (Afkham Rezâyi), Ayatollah Zanjani Najafi, Ayatollah Abd-os-Samad Khooyi in Tehran between 1967 and 1970. Then, he went to Qom to further his education in 1970, and was admitted to Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani Islamic Seminary school, which was considered the first scheduled educational center conducted on the new seminary methodology.

He completed the basics of the second grade being a student of great masters Bakooyi, Hâj Hasan Agha Tehrani, Mokhtar Aminian Gilani, Sayyed Javad Ahmadi Taleghani, Eshtehardi, Mahmoodi-e Eshtehardi, and Salavati-e Araki in this seminary school. He also took Ayatollah Shabzendehdar Shirazi's exegesis and Islamic doctrine lessons, and religions (Judaism, Christianity, Bahá'í Faith and the sect of Wahhabism, ) lessons presented by Abd-ol-Gha'em Shooshtari during the very same period.

Rashad completed the Third seminary grade being a student of Ayatollahs Hâj Sheikh Alipanah Eshtehardi, Mohsen Harampanahi Qomi, Morteza Moghtadayi Esfahani, Mostafa E'temadi khâjavi Tabrizi, Sayyed Abolfazl Moosavi Tabrizi (Reyhani), Morteza Banifazael, Agha Rasool Moosavi Tehrani, Sotoode-ye Araki, Ghafi-ye Yazdi, Sayyed Ali Mohaghegh Dâmâd, and Ja'far Sobhani Tabrizi. Having completed all the ternary grades of the seminary, he attended Khârij and the principles of jurisprudence classes of Grand Ayatollahs Vahid Khorasani, Ali Meshkini, Hosein Ali Montazeri (all in Qom), and Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Tehrani (in Tehran) for a total of twenty five years. He acquired mastery of the various levels of philosophy, while simultaneously acquiring principles of jurisprudence, by attending classes of Magisters and Ayatollahs, Dr. Ahmad Beheshti, Dr. Morteza Mutahari, Dr. Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani.[3]

Academic activities

Professor Rashad has been teaching higher levels of principles of jurisprudence, philosophy of religion, philosophy and mysticism in the "Islmaic seminary of Tehran" as well as the philosophy of religion and discourse and logic of Understanding Religion at university of Tehran and university of Mashhad for the past thirty years. He has also published more than thirty book volumes and fifty articles on philosophy, philosophy of religion, discourse, Quranic sciences, political thoughts, jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence(Usul Al-Fiqh), and philosophy of principles.

Rashad is the founder and chair of IICT, which is considered one of the most prominent non-governmental religious and academic research institutes. The institute is composed of five research centers and five affiliate institutes as well as twenty scientific departments in the fields of philosophy, epistemology, mysticism, Quranic research, philosophy of religion, discourse, logic of Understanding Religion, ethics, jurisprudence, politics, economics, Islamic management, occidental studies, history and civilization, cultural studies, Islamic revolution, contemplative literature, and so forth.

IICT, having been established with the impetus towards contributing to the contemporary intellectual debates and towards attempts to criticize and theorize in the aforesaid fields and areas in the spring of 1994, and is currently publishing nine different scientific magazines with the following titles, in addition to eight hundred other publications all being the outgrowth of the researches and investigations carried out by its departments: ‘Qabasat’ (specialized in philosophy of religion/ ISI ranking), ‘Zehn’ [the Mind] (specialized in epistemology), ‘Eqtesad-e Eslami’ (Islamic Economics) (ISI ranking), ‘Hoqooq-e Eslami’ (Islamic Law) (ISI ranking), ‘Ketab-e Naqd’ (the Book of Criticism) (on thoughts and thoughts criticism), the International Journal of Philosophy of Religion (in English), ‘Qabasat’ International Journal on Islamic social systems (in Arabic), ‘Zamaneh’ [Era] monthly (specialized in contemporary history and political sociology of Iran), and ‘Hashieh’ [the Gloss] monthly (for seminary students and learned youth).

In the past ten years, IICT has compiled, or has been compiling, four different encyclopedias under professor Rashad’s supervision:

  1. The Encyclopedia of Imam Ali (published in 13 volumes)
  2. The Encyclopedia of Qur'an (six out of twenty five volumes completed)
  3. The Encyclopedia of the Holy Prophet’s Conduct (fifteen volumes; in press).
  4. The Encyclopedia of Fatimah Culture (six volumes).

Professor Rashad is also the founder and chair of Imam Reza Islamic seminary. This seminary, comprising four religious colleges (Reza’iyeh, Thameniyeh, Mohammadiyeh, and a higher education institute), is a comprehensive Islamic seminary complex offering all the Islamic seminary levels and courses as well as related special majors (philosophy, discourse, public law, private law, penal law, etc.).

Dr. Rashad is currently a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, chair of the Board of Supporting Theorizing Platforms, and chair of the council of the Islamic seminaries of the province of Tehran; in addition, he has founded the International Institute of the Islamic Philosophy, and is a founding member as well as the head of the Academic Association of the Principles of Jurisprudence at the Islamic Seminary.

Professor Rashad was entitled the eminent theorizer by Farabi International Festival in 2009, and was awarded prizes and certificates of appreciation by UNESCO, ISESCO, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Presidency, and Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (Iran).

He has presented articles and delivered speeches at conferences and scientific and philosophical conventions and conferences in different countries including Germany, United States of America, Austria, Spain, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, England, Italy, Bosnia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, France, Cyprus, Lebanon, Vatican, India, Greece, etc.

Persian works

The Cover of the Book: Encyclopedia of Imam Ali in Persian Language; 13 volumes

a. Books:[4]

[5]

b. Articles:

Translated works

Title Language Format
Philosophy of Religion Arabic Book
Sacred Democracy Arabic Book
Philosophy of religion English Book
Sacred Democracy English Book
Philosophy of religion Malay Book
Violence and Tolerance French Book
Sacred Democracy Spanish Book
Philosophy of Religion Azeri Book
A Critique on John Hick’s Religious Pluralism English Book
The Necessity of the Provision of Philosophy of Religion, Logic of Exploring Religion, etc. English Article
The Expanse of the Functionality and Practicability of Reason in Intellection and Actualization of Religion English Article
Sense Devoid of Sense English Article
Philosophy of Religious Insight English Article
Is Rumi a Religious Pluralist? English Article
Religion and Democracy Arabic Article
Investigating tradition Arabic Article
The Expanse of the Functionality and Practicability of Reason in Intellection and Actualization of Religion Arabic Article
Principles of Tolerance Arabic Article
Philosophy of Principles Arabic Article
Ibtina Theory (1) Arabic Article
Ibtina Theory (2) Arabic Article

Ongoing research

The program set out in 1999 with its aim being designing and offering a “comprehensive logic of understanding religion” based on “Ibtina Theory”. The program includes:
  • Fundamentals and Universals of logic of exploring religion
  • The methodology for inferring religious beliefs
  • Methodology for inferring Shari’a (obligatory rules of religion)
  • Methodology for inferring ethics (moral rules of religion)
  • Methodology for inferring religious knowledge
The aim of the program, carried out cooperatively, is to infer humanism from the Holy Qoran
It is an attempt to design and codify the philosophy of the science of principles
This project is an extension of Professor Rashad’s argumentation with John Hick to criticizes Hick’s general theory
The encyclopedia is being compiled with the assistance of a group of researchers
The encyclopedia is being compiled with the assistance of a group of researchers
The encyclopedia is being compiled with the assistance of a group of researchers
Codification of Ayatollah Mojtaba Tehrani’s moral teachings
Codification of Ayatollah Mojtabi Tehrani’s mystical teachings
Ten philosophical questions on philosophy of religion will be asked of two hundred contemporary philosophers, and after their opinions and inputs have been categorized and analyzed, they will be codified and published in four different languages.

Theories and ideas

  1. Principles of Logics in Exploring Religious Doctrines and Propositions
  2. Criticism on John Hicks Pluralism
  3. Research in Tradition (Definition, Categorization, Methodology)
  4. The Function of Ration in Establishment of Religion

Teaching experience

International conventions and conferences (overseas)

National and international conventions and conferences (domestic)

References

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