Ali Shariati Quotes
Ali Shariati was an Iranian sociologist and Islamic political philosopher, trained at the Sorbonne under Louis Massignon and Jacques Berque, who became the most influential intellectual ancestor of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. His Religion versus Religion distinguished the religion of the oppressed from the institutional religion of the powerful, while his many lectures, gathered in volumes such as What Is to Be Done? The quotes below are attributed to Ali Shariati, organized by topic.
Browse Ali Shariati by topic
Ali Shariati on God
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Attributed to Ali Shariati:
“Tawhid is not only metaphysics; it is the political principle of human unity.”
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Attributed to Ali Shariati:
“Each generation must rediscover its faith for itself, or lose it.”
Ali Shariati on Knowledge
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“Since Ummah is a society on the move, a society not in place, but on the way, towards an objective, having a direction, [then we need an Imam (from the same root as umma) to lead us toward that objective].”
Ali Shariati, in: The Islamic Quarterly, Vol. 27-29, (1983), p. 215. -
“The sky was dark, the night was black, obscurity reigned, the gleam of the wolves eyes was the only light that came to sight, the howling of the jackal was the only sound to be heard, conspiracies were in the making while slanderers and the malicious were busily chattering”
Quote in: Ali Rahnema An Islamic Utopian: A Political Biography of Ali Shariati. (2000), p. 258 | Rahnema commented that "Shariati did not believe he had any chance of returning to Ershad and evaluated his situation in a poetical and macabre fashion". -
“Rahnema commented that "Shariati did not believe he had any chance of returning to Ershad and evaluated his situation in a poetical and macabre fashion".”
The sky was dark, the night was black, obscurity reigned, the gleam of the wolves eyes was the only light that came to sight, the howling of the jackal was the only sound to be heard, conspiracies were in the making while slanderers and the malicious were busily chattering -
“In the tradition of Abudhar, who is my mentor, whose thought, whose understanding of Islam and Shi'ism, and whose ideals, wants, and rage I emulate, I begin my talk with the name of the God of the oppressed (mustad'afan). My topic is very specific.”
Where Shall We Begin,1997-2013 | p. 1 Lead sentence.
Ali Shariati on Mind
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“Islam is the first school of social thought that recognizes the masses as the basis, the fundamental and conscious factor in determining history and society not the elect as Nietzsche thought, not the aristocracy and nobility as Plato claimed, nor great personalities as Carlyle and Emerson believed, not those of pure blood as Alexis Carrel imagined, not the priests or the intellectuals , but the masses.”
p. 49; as cited in: Ali Mirsepassi (2000) Intellectual Discourse and the Politics of Modernization, p. 126.
Ali Shariati on Nature
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“Party ,' in the general vocabulary of world intellectuals, is basically a unified social organization with a ' world-view ,' an ' Ideology ,' a 'philosophy of history,' and 'ideal social order,' a 'class foundation,' a 'class orientation,' a 'social leadership,' a ' political philosophy ,' a 'political orientation,' a 'tradition,' a 'slogan,' a 'strategy,' a "tactic of struggle," and … a "hope" that wants to change the "status quo" in man, society, people, or a particular class, and establish the "desired status" in its stead.”
Ali Shariati, in: The Islamic Quarterly, Vol. 27-29, (1983), p. 215; as quoted in: Ali Mirsepassi (2000), Intellectual Discourse and the Politics of Modernization, p. 126. -
“In the world view of tauhid , man fears only one power, and is answerable before only one judge. He turns to only one qibla, and directs his hopes and desires to only one source. And the corollary is that all else is false and pointless all the diverse and variegated tendencies, strivings, fears, desires and hopes of man are vain and fruitless.”
p. 97; partly cited in: John L. Esposito (1996) Islam and Democracy. p. 25.
Ali Shariati on Politics
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Attributed to Ali Shariati:
“There is the religion of the oppressed, and there is the religion of the oppressor; do not mistake them for each other.”
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Attributed to Ali Shariati:
“Islam is a movement before it is a creed.”
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Attributed to Ali Shariati:
“The intellectual must descend from the academy to the street.”
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“Party ,' in the general vocabulary of world intellectuals, is basically a unified social organization with a ' world-view ,' an ' Ideology ,' a 'philosophy of history,' and 'ideal social order,' a 'class foundation,' a 'class orientation,' a 'social leadership,' a ' political philosophy ,' a 'political orientation,' a 'tradition,' a 'slogan,' a 'strategy,' a "tactic of struggle," and … a "hope" th”
Ali Shariati, in: The Islamic Quarterly, Vol. 27-29, (1983), p. 215; as quoted in: Ali Mirsepassi (2000), Intellectual Discourse and the Politics of Modernization, p. 126. -
“Islam is the first school of social thought that recognizes the masses as the basis, the fundamental and conscious factor in determining history and society not the elect as Nietzsche thought, not the aristocracy and nobility as Plato claimed, nor great personalities as Carlyle and Emerson believed, not those of pure blood as Alexis Carrel imagined, not the priests or the intellectuals , but the m”
p. 49; as cited in: Ali Mirsepassi (2000) Intellectual Discourse and the Politics of Modernization, p. 126.
Ali Shariati on Time
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“The enlightened soul is a person who is self-conscious of his "human condition" in his time and historical and social setting, and whose awareness inevitably and necessarily gives him a sense of social responsibility.”
Where Shall We Begin,1997-2013 | p. 1; as cited in: Robert Deemer Lee, Overcoming tradition and modernity: the search for Islamic authenticity, (11997), p. 127.