Pragmatic Dogma
Understanding the Ideological Continuities in Iran's Response to the Charlie Hebdo Attacks
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12264174 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Barry (0000-0002-8965-5665, Deakin University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 77-93 |
| Publication date | 2016-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-6410 • E-ISSN: 1469-9311 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09596410.2015.1088746 |
| OpenAlex | W2276014776 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa against Salman Rushdie cemented Iran's space within Western discourses surrounding blasphemy and Islam. The fatwa has earned its place within the polarizing debate between free speech and religious tolerance, which fundamentally serves the political ambitions of those involved. This article therefore argues that, in order to understand accusations of blasphemy in Iran, one must address the political concerns in which the accusation takes place since these reveal Iran's tendency towards pragmatic dogma – the practice of meeting the needs of the state in a way that accords with its religious ideology. The responses of Iranian officials to the Charlie Hebdo killings in 2015 provide a useful case study for the analysis of this pragmatic dogma, since the Islamic Republic pursued a different approach to the Charlie Hebdo “blasphemy” from that which it had followed with Rushdie. Instead of condoning the killings, Iran's political and religious elite chose to condemn the actions of both the cartoonists and the gunmen, without outlining a punishment. The article will argue that this case demonstrates many of the continuing themes in Iran's approach to blasphemy, since the Charlie Hebdo cartoons have largely been used to reinforce the Islamic Republic's overall worldview
Blasphemy · Elite · Ideology · Islam · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |