The Islamic Revolution Approach

The Islamic Revolution Approach

Strategies of the Islamic Revolution for the rapprochement of religions in Iran with emphasis on Kurdistan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD student in Islamic Denominations Approximation, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran
3 Mohammad Hadi Far Instructor and Faculty Member, Department of Sustainable Security, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Reconciliation of religions is another way of achieving unity in the Islamic society, the necessity of which is to adopt desirable, efficient strategies that are at the same time far from religious prejudice and beliefs and to prevent the creation of religious divisions and divisions in the society. Therefore, in order to achieve rapprochement of religions, it is important to pay attention to religious issues and topics, axes of social division and connection, decisions in the political arena, and the interaction of the political system with religious groups in important and strategic points of the country. In general, the strategy of de-escalation seeks effective communication and interaction, as well as the creation of favorable conditions for the life of social, cultural, religious, and political groups, which, given the plurality of groups mentioned in Iranian society, this strategy is essential. In the meantime, considering the dominance of Sharia law over Iranian society after the Islamic Revolution, the creation of a transparent and operational mechanism that can unite religious groups in different parts of the country around one axis is an undeniable necessity. This necessity in the Kurdistan region, where Sunnism and Shiism are the two major religious movements, shows us the need to address strategies for the rapprochement of religions. Accordingly, extracting the desired strategies inspired by the thought and discourse of the Islamic Revolution in the Kurdistan region that can overcome limitations and challenges and, at the same time, create unifying mechanisms based on the idea of ​​the rapprochement of religions is a regional and national necessity. The Kurdistan region in Iran, which is known for its centrality in the Kurdistan province and some neighboring Kurdish cities, encompasses a range of the western and northwestern parts of the country, which have settled in the border and strategic areas of the country, and also belong to the Sunni religion and live alongside other religions. However, this ethnic and religious diversity has faced problems arising from religious conflicts or security and political threats arising from religious beliefs, which have created problems at the provincial and national levels. Given that the discourse of the Islamic Revolution in general and the thought of the founder of the Islamic Revolution in particular are based on unity and alliance between different religions, including Sunnis and Shiites, using this discourse to solve problems and challenges can raise the idea of ​​rapprochement between religions as a strategy. Based on these necessities, this article, which focuses on the pathology of rapprochement between religions in the Kurdistan province and adopts appropriate strategies to achieve the goal of rapprochement, first seeks to find possible harms in the rapprochement between Islamic religions in the Kurdistan province (one of the western provinces of the country), and then proposes strategies appropriate to the discourse of the Islamic Revolution. In fact, the question addressed by the present study is: what are the strategies of the Islamic Revolution for rapprochement between religions in Kurdistan?
 
Materials and Methods
 The present article is of a qualitative and applied type. The method of the article is descriptive-analytical and the research tools are also library and documentary.
 
Discussion and Findings
The strategies of the Islamic Revolution in the field of religious rapprochement are aimed at the roadmap and ideas that can provide the basis for the further connection of religions and sects in the country, including in the Kurdistan region and province in Iran. In this framework, religious rapprochement, which is aligned with Islamic unity, requires effective functioning in various fields in order to utilize existing capacities such as: accepting differences in the theoretical and practical arenas, the Kurdistan Islamic University, repelling common threats against territorial order and Islamic beliefs. In addition, utilizing elites and managers at the national management levels and the administration of Kurdish provinces will play an important role in operationalizing the idea of ​​rapprochement from the perspective of providing social conditions and popular satisfaction. Creating an interactive network between scholars, sympathizers, and influential ethnic and religious figures in the Kurdistan region and moderate and pluralist clerics or politicians at the macro level is an important factor in demonstrating a connection at the macro and regional levels, while preserving religious and ethnic plurality in Kurdistan, while utilizing the capacity of the elders and influential figures to solve the province's economic, social, and cultural problems. In this context, utilizing the capacity of the great Islamic center in the west of the country, whether in interacting with religious institutions at home or learning tolerance and tolerance at the regional and international levels, is an important factor in advancing the project of rapprochement of religions in Kurdistan. Therefore, the path to rapprochement is to accept religious differences and adopt a peaceful coexistence with groups that continue their activities based on the constitution and the discourse of the Islamic Revolution. The effective function of accepting differences is to prevent the processes and goals from becoming opaque, because if the demands of religious groups in Kurdistan are expressed clearly and within the framework of existing laws, differences and divisions will not be a threat, but an advantage that will gradually marginalize extreme prejudices and intolerance of other religions. Considering the efforts of the Islamic Republic regime in the Kurdistan province to achieve the goal of rapprochement between Islamic religions, it has not yet reached its original position, which leads to Islamic civilization, and the obstacles and harms facing it must be overcome by establishing and establishing joint cultural, scientific, and research institutions. In this context, based on the discourse of the Islamic Revolution, it is very important to use the capacities of local and national media to address the issues of the Kurdistan province with a realistic approach. In addition, implementing and initiating changes in the administrative system in appointing middle and senior managers in the province from Sunnis, establishing joint institutions, including universities with comparative sciences, etc., could be a special solution to achieve this goal in the Kurdistan province.
 
Conclusion
Religious rapprochement is a strategy for peaceful coexistence of different religious groups and beliefs in the Islamic society, which has been used after the Islamic Revolution and in sensitive and religiously plural areas. Given the existence of different religious groups in the Kurdistan province and Kurdish-populated areas in the west of the country, the aim of the present study is to examine the strategies of the Islamic Revolution in the field of religious rapprochement in the Kurdistan province. The question of the present article was what the strategies of the Islamic Revolution in the field of religious rapprochement in Kurdistan include? The results of the study have shown that accepting religious differences is the basis and fundamental element of the rapprochement of Islamic religions in Kurdistan. After that, using the capacity of institutions, including the University of Islamic Religions, using the border capacity of Kurdistan to transform Arbaeen as another part of the rapprochement of religions is also considered. Enlightenment to ward off common threats, whether in the field of Islamic religious beliefs or in the field of the borders of Iran, are the axes of achieving the rapprochement of Islamic religions in Kurdistan. In addition, using the capacity of Sunni clerics and elites in managing the affairs of Kurdish regions and even at high levels of the country plays an important role in strengthening the idea of ​​​​the rapprochement of Islamic religions in Kurdistan. Using the capacity of the large Islamic center in the west of the country and the interaction of scholars and intellectuals in the Kurdistan province with clerics and scholars from other religions plays an important role in promoting a culture of tolerance and the formation of rapprochement of religions in Iran, which has always been emphasized by Imam Khomeini (RA). The method of the present article is descriptive-analytical and the research tools are also library and documentary.
 
Keywords

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