Philosopher: Enemy of the State in Iran

Abdolkarim Soroush is on of Iran's best-known intellectuals - and he is also considered an enemy of the state in Iran because of his ideas regarding the relationship between religion, government, and science. According to Soroush, science cannot progress very well or very far under totalitarian regimes - more interestingly, perhaps, is the his addition that this is an Islamic, not a Western, perspective.

New Scientist has an interview with him, where he says:

Totalitarianism is absolutely a modern phenomenon. In the past, kings were despots but they were not totalitarian. They weren't able to put their hands on science and philosophy. There was no widespread plan to limit scientists, philosophers and other academics. If there were restrictions, they came from religion or fellow philosophers rather than the political system.

Scientific revolutions and political revolutions are similar in many ways. You cannot plan them, they just happen, and you become wiser after the event. After the revolution there was no one dominant view. There were secular people, moderate Muslims, radical Muslims and so on. Revolutions tend to result in totalitarianism. People like me were in it to make it more moderate.

More Muslims like Soroush could do a lot to improve and advance both Islam generally and Muslim nations in particular. It's a shame that radical Islamists prevent people like Soroush from speaking and teaching.

Read More:

• Recent Books on Islam
• Islam
• Islamic Extremists
• Religion in Iran
• Shia Islam