The Necessity of Reviving the Subject of 'Socio-Political Tawhid' in the Discourse of Religious Intellectualism

"With an individual life and seclusion, in the name of spiritual wayfaring and ethics; burying one's head in one's own fabrications and weaving vain fantasies for oneself, neither does the path of wayfaring toward God open, nor does ethics find meaning, because this kind of self-centeredness is wayfaring toward the self, not God."

A Ray from the Qur'an, Surah al-Balad, Ayatollah Taleghani

"Shariati had said that if Socrates brought philosophy from the heavens to the earth, Muhammad did the same with religion. He believed that Tawhid is not merely that God is one and nothing more, but rather it has vast dimensions, such that when you believe God is one and all creatures belong to one God, and are equal before Him and brothers (and sisters) to one another; thus, philosophical and theological Tawhid transforms into social Tawhid and the removal of all distances and discriminations of race, gender, class, ethnicity, language, and so on. That is why the Prophet said all people are as equal as the teeth of a comb. In this way, he arrived from Tawhid at justice and the negation of all discriminations."

Reza Alijani

One of the projects of the first generation of religious intellectuals (Engineer Bazargan, Ayatollah Taleghani, Dr. Shariati, and the founding Mojahedin) in the arena of religious new-thinking, in addition to proposing a socio-political Islam, was the expansion of the discussion of Tawhid from individual and existential Tawhid to socio-political Tawhid.

Based on the experience of religious government, after post-revolution religious new-thinkers (Soroush, Shabestari, Malekian, and their students) retreated from socio-political Islam to individual Islam, the discussion of Tawhid also returned toward individual and existential discussions, so that the arena of religious new-thinking was emptied of multi-dimensional human beings (active in the domains of knowledge, politics, and society) like Chamran, Hanifnejad, and Hoda Sabers, in whose beliefs and actions socio-political Tawhid played a prominent role.

In the author's opinion, the school of religious new-thinking needs a revival of the subject of "socio-political Tawhid" and a re-reading of the first generation's works in this field, so that the entirety of religion is not transmuted into spirituality, ethics, and soothing, palliative rituals in the modern world, and by emphasizing the liberating aspects of religion in politics and society, grounds are created for the re-emergence of multi-dimensional monotheistic human beings (meaning monotheistic in all individual, existential, political, and social arenas, like the Chamrans and Hoda Sabers) from among those interested in this school.

The following writing is based on two presuppositions, to serve as an introduction to the discussion of reviving socio-political Tawhid:

A) The equality and sameness of all human beings with one another in "existence" before God.

B) The granting of free will, choice, and discretion to human beings by God in shaping their own "essence."

If we affirm the validity of these presuppositions, then the following beliefs can be conceived for a multi-dimensional monotheistic human being:

1

The world has a single Creator; He created human beings diverse and varied in physical appearance and form; with different genders, races, nationalities, and ethnicities, all of whom are equal and the same before God.

Consequently, a monotheistic human being is one who is not racist, chauvinist, or ethnocentric, does not consider any gender, race, nationality, or ethnicity superior to another, and regards all races, nationalities, and ethnicities as stemming from God's manifold creations and His will, and respects all of them. Hence, they are opposed to fascism, chauvinism, racism, and ethnocentrism, and to any ideology or system that promotes them.

2

This manifold creation of God has been coupled with the granting of free will to human beings, so that people with diverse physical appearances and geographical-cultural characteristics also have diverse cultures, beliefs, customs, and lifestyles. All these human beings, regardless of their type of beliefs and lifestyle, are encompassed by God's general mercy and are equal and the same in benefiting from God's all-embracing compassion.

Consequently, a monotheistic human being is one who respects the cultures, beliefs, lifestyles, and customs of others as long as they have not transgressed against their rights or caused them harm, and who, regardless of cultural, religious, and lifestyle differences, shows compassion towards them, and opposes any ideology or system that discriminates among different human beings in this domain and seeks cultural domination.

                     3

Human beings, by virtue of the free will, volition, and choice granted to them by God, are equal and possess fundamental human rights, including citizenship rights, the right to freedom of religion, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, freedom of dress, etc., and these rights must be recognized equally and uniformly for all human beings, regardless of religion, gender, nationality, etc.

Consequently, a monotheistic human being is one who respects the rights of other human beings, observes their rights, and opposes any ideology or system that deprives human beings of their power of free will, volition, and choice, and their fundamental rights.

                      4

Throughout history, some in religion, some in politics, and some in wealth have always sought, and continue to seek, lordship over and the management of the world and human beings by establishing a polytheistic lord-serf system. Any form of lord-serf and despotic system in the economy, politics, and religion that leads to the oppression of the people is in contradiction with the monotheistic worldview and is polytheistic.

Consequently, a monotheistic human being is one who, based on their monotheistic worldview, opposes a tyrannical and dictatorial system, whether religious or secular; an oppressive economic system, whether Marxist or capitalist and armed neoliberalism that profits from the exploitation of workers by mega-corporations and holding companies and from waging wars for arms sales, or cartels that grow fat on the profits of narcotics, sexual slavery, and human trafficking, and the like; and in religion, religious organizations in which a priest, clergyman, or mullah acts as a lord over the believers and, through hypocrisy and the justification of the tyranny of rulers and the exploitation of plutocrats, engages in the stupefaction of the people.

In a general conclusion, it must be said that a monotheistic human being, by virtue of the equality and sameness of all human beings with one another and the free will, choice, and volition of the human being, opposes all imposing, repressive, authoritarian, enslaving, choice-depriving, discriminatory, rights-trampling, and aggressor ideologies, systems, and human beings who have set out to oppress other human beings; opposes despotism, exploitation, stupefaction, colonialism, and domination; and strives for the realization of equality, parity, freedom, the observance of human rights, and justice for their fellow human beings. The vision of "socio-political Tawhid" will be the motivating force and the basis for the emancipatory efforts of the monotheistic human being in the realm of politics (political struggles for justice, freedom, and human rights) and society (alleviating the suffering of people through humanitarian activities).

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The Necessity of Reviving the Subject of 'Socio-Political Tawhid' in the Discourse of Religious Intellectualism

Author: Mohammad Ghotbi

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Part One of this Series of Writings:

The Necessity of Reviving the Subject of “Socio-Political Tawhid” in the Discourse of Religious Intellectualism

Part Two of this Series of Writings:

Socio-Political Tawhid in the View of Engineer Bazargan: The Role of Despotism and the Negation of Subjugation

Part Three of this Series of Writings:

Shariati and the Dual Functions of Socio-Political Tawhid

Part Four of this Article Series:

Taleghani and the Emancipatory Nature of Socio-Political Tawhid

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