Iran's Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and Narratives of the Enlightenment by Ali M. Ansari

Author:Ali M. Ansari [Ansari, Ali M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781909942912
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Gingko Library
Published: 2017-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Kermani anticipates the complicated legal issue that, a few years later, would emerge within several modern states with a Muslim majority which were established following the end of the First World War and then the fall of the Ottoman and Persian empires. He highlights how a modern national State, in the event that the Shari‘a had to be fully implemented, would face some constitutional limits that would damage some sectors of society, such as the non-Muslim citizens. In a modern constitutional state, the issue of belonging to the umma should not exist, according to Kermani but instead a modern concept of rights should be developed. A concept that would then be included under the principle of citizenship rights: the idea of belonging to the nation should thus prevail over being affiliated with a particular faith. These ideas would certainly influence the first draft of the Iranian constitution in 1906.

The political thought of Kermani is based on natural law as the foundation of modern political philosophy. Concerning the right to freedom Kermani argues that all individuals, since their birth, enjoy absolute freedom that encompasses both moral and physical freedom. Moral freedom – according to Kermani – has been long subjected on the Persian people by the clergy, while physical freedom has been subjected for centuries to the rule of the despotic monarchy of that time.

Then Kermani takes into consideration the freedom of thought and expression, reaffirming how the social evolution of man is deeply connected to the principle of freedom: ‘There is no development without freedom’. Development emerges under the idea of a modern civilisation in which progress and stability are both present. such a virtuous system can only be achieved if each individual has freedom of speech and action without fearing the rulers. Therefore we must encourage the people to develop a critical awareness towards their rulers in order to freely express their opinions within a society19. Regarding freedom of thought he points out:

In terms of civil rights, Kermani demonstrates the inadequacy of the shari‘a in the context of a modern parliamentary state. Unlike the reformists, who want to Islamize modernity, Kermani wants to separate Islam from modernity. At the same time he recognizes that Islam ascribes an important role in the community of believers. Therefore he urges the experts of Islamic law to modernize Islam in order to make this religion suited to the modern era, while still maintaining the separation of religion from the political arena.

Kermani’s political thought exerted a major influence on the political and institutional evolution of Persia, both during the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, based on modernism, nationalism and secularism. Kermani, following his notable predecessor Akhundzadeh, elaborates, on the one hand, Persian nationalism and, on the other hand, examines the issue of the secular state, laying the foundations of constitutionalism in Iran.20 In other words Kermani succeeded in spreading Akhundzadeh’s ideas, also adding his own personal reflections, thus acting as a bridge between his thought and those

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