Shariati seminar underway at Hosseinieh Ershad
TEHRAN, June 18 (MNA) -- A three-day seminar in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the death of Ali Shariati, entitled "Shariati: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", opened at the Hosseinieh Ershad on June 17.
Five lectures and three round-table discussions were held on the first day.
The first round-table discussion was on the theme "Shariati and Sociology", Sara Shariati, the daughter of Ali Shariati, and Gholamabbas Tavassoli, were among the speakers.
Sara Shariati mentioned that although her father is renowned as an intellectual critic rather than a sociologist, his theories about society are still applicable today.
She added that many of his social theories including those on societal disharmony, transitional society and his triple theories on religion, government and classes are now widely accepted and are being used by scholars without even reference to the source.
Gholamabbas Tavassoli commented that people should pay attention to the scientific consistency of his works and ideologies rather than concentrate on their emotional reactions to his philosophy.
Latif Pedram, an Afghan scholar, Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, and Ehsan Shariati, Ali Shariati's son, will give lectures at the closing ceremony on June 19, when the will of the late Shariati will also be read.
The event is cosponsored by the Hosseinieh Ershad Institution and the Shariati Foundation.
Born in Mazinan, a village near Sabzevar in northeastern Iran's Khorasan region, Shariati was the son of a progressive nationalist preacher and Islamic scholar.
Shariati, who earned a Ph.D. in the history of Islam and sociology at the University of Paris, is regarded as one of the most influential ideological leaders of pre-revolutionary Iran. The impact and popularity of his thought continues to be felt throughout Iranian society many years later.
He was popular among students from all social classes due to his revolutionary tendencies. The authorities in Iran prevented him from teaching, publishing, or holding gatherings, whether public or private.
Shariati rejected these restrictions and went to England. Three weeks later he died, allegedly of a heart attack. The accepted belief among Iranians is that the secret police, Savak, was responsible for his death. His grave is in Damascus, Syria, beside the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (SA). -- Yoshie