Sümeyra Yakar

The Islamic Republic of Iran presents itself as Islamic, first and foremost, regarding sharī‘a (Islamic law) which is theoretically the political and social centre of the state. The actual practices within the legal system reveal distinct interpretations and reflect individual understandings of Islamic law. The legal system and the interpretation of legal sources inevitably demonstrate influences from the social, political, cultural spheres. The first part of the article aims to identify how Islamic law is understood in Iran by referring to the interpretative methods of scholars in their respective jurisdictions. The critical description regarding the diversity of understanding Islamic law sheds lights on the connection between different interpretations and socio-cultural environment of Iran. This necessitates a brief exploration of Iran’s historical background which provides a detailed understanding of ideological and political influences. The main purpose of the second section is to offer a clear explanation regarding the process of adopting religio-governance theory in the current system of Iran to formulate solutions of governance in accordance with Islamic law. This section simultaneously provides knowledge regarding how religious education is pursued especially in Qom to instruct official scholars and to control the religious movements. The article gives a broad exploration of the connection between the educational background of scholars and legal methodologies which they are frequently applied to produce appropriate legal solutions and justifications.
Keywords: Shi’i Jurisprudence, Seminaries (hawza), Qom, Legal Reasoning (ijtihād), Context.