God and Man in Tehran: Contending Visions of the Divine from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic Contributor(s): Kamaly, Hossein (Author) |
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ISBN: 0231176821 ISBN-13: 9780231176828 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $64.35 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: May 2018 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Middle East - Iran - Religion | Islam - History |
Dewey: 202.110 |
LCCN: 2017031095 |
Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.3" W x 9.1" (1.05 lbs) 256 pages |
Themes: - Religious Orientation - Islamic - Cultural Region - Middle East |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In God and Man in Tehran, Hossein Kamaly explores the historical processes that have made and unmade contending visions of God in Iran's capital throughout the past two hundred years. Kamaly examines how ideas of God have been mobilized, contested, and transformed, emphasizing how notions of the divine have given shape to and in turn have been shaped by divergent conceptualizations of nature, reason, law, morality, and authority. The book analyzes official government policies, modern textbooks, and university curricula; popular beliefs and ritual practices; and philosophical and juridical attitudes toward theological questions in traditional institutions. Kamaly considers continuity and change in religiosity under the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties; the significance of outbreaks of messianic expectations; why a modernizing nation took a sudden turn toward state religiosity; and how the Islamic Republic deploys visions of God against foreign enemies and domestic critics. Beyond the majority Shia Muslim population, the book includes minority and suppressed voices. With a focus on the diversity of ideas of the divine, God and Man in Tehran offers a novel perspective on the intellectual movements that have shaped Iranian modernity. |