Mohsen Kadivar (; born 1959) is an Iranian mujtahid, Islamic theologian, philosopher, writer, leading intellectual reformist,Esposito, John L. (editor in chief); Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, Oxford University Press, New York, 2009); the entry on Wilāyat al-Faqīhby Roy P. Mottahedeh, Joseph A. Kéchichian, and research professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. A political Iranian dissident, Kadivar has been a vocal critic of the doctrine of clerical rule, also known as Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist),Impeaching Iran’s Supreme Leader and a strong advocate of democratic and liberal reforms in Iran as well as constructional reform in understanding of shari'a and Shi'a theology. Kadivar has served time in prison in Iran for his political activism and beliefs.
Education and career Born in Fasa (Fars province) to a politically active family, Mohsen Kadivar completed his primary and secondary education in Shiraz before being admitted into electronics engineering at Shiraz University in 1977. He became politically active as a student and was arrested by the Shah's police in May 1978 for his political activities. In 1980 he switched his focus to religious education and began attending Shiraz Seminary. He moved to Qom in 1981 to pursue his studies in fiqh and philosophy. In Qom, he was taught by prominent teachers like Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. Kadivar graduated with a degree in ijtihad in 1997. He got his Ph.D. in Islamic philosophy and theology from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran in 1999.
Kadivar started his career as a teacher teaching fiqh and Islamic philosophy at Qom Seminary for fourteen years. He began teaching Islamic philosophy and theology at Imam Sadegh University, Mofid University, Shahid Beheshti University, and Tarbiat Modarres University for seven years. He started as an assistant professor of philosophy at Tarbiat Modarres University in 2000. In 2007 political pressures forced Kadivar to leave his teaching appointment for a position at the Research Center of the Iranian Institute of Philosophy. As an associate professor of Islamic Philosophy Kadivar was fired from his academic job in 2011 because of his political critiques. He was visiting scholar at the Islamic Legal Studies Program of Harvard Law School in 2002, visiting professor of Islamic studies at the University of Virginia (2008–2009), and at Duke University (fall 2009 – spring 2014). He held the fall 2014 Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professorship of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kadivar is currently a research professor of Islamic Studies in the department of religious studies at Duke University.
Personal life Kadivar married Zahra Roodi in 1981 and has four children. Jamileh Kadivar is his sister.
Dissent Kadivar is a prominent critic of the Islamic Republic system in Iran, and wrote a detailed criticism of Ayatollah Khomeini's theory of Islamic government as rule by Shia clerics, Government by Mandate (see below). As punishment for his criticism, Kadivar was sentenced to eighteen months in prison after being convicted by the Special Clerical Court in 1999, on charges of having spread false information about Iran's "sacred system of the Islamic Republic" and of helping enemies of the Islamic revolution, or as another observer put it, "for commenting on the contradiction between the revolution's aims to serve the people and the subsequent concentration of power in the hands of clerics."Christopher de Bellaigue, The Struggle for Iran, New York Review of Books, 2007, p. 10 He was released from Evin Prison, on July 17, 2000. Kadivar was unrepentant on his release and is currently active in the various reform movements of Iran. His publications including books, articles, and interviews were banned in Iran since 2009, and he was fired from his job in 2011. Kadivar has been in exile since 2007.
In a 2004 interview, Kadivar told a journalist, "Every member of society and every member of government is subject to the law. No one can be above it. Everyone has the same rights, yet the root of the faqih is inequality. He assumes he is above it. ... It is time for the supreme leader to be subject to the constitution too. After all, the Supreme Leader doesn't come from God!"Wright, Robin, Dreams and Shadows : the Future of the Middle East, Penguin Press, 2008, p.296
On the issue of clerics in government, he has said: "Our job as religious people is not politics. ... They are taking Iran backward, not toward the future."
Books Kadivar is a prolific author and has published thirteen books by 2009, and eleven books since 2009, when his publication was banned in Iran. He has also been writing extensively in various Iranian journals and has over 200 articles to his name. One of his books is Human Rights and Reformist Islam (In Translation: Contemporary Thought in Muslim Contexts), 2021.
Human rights and Islam Haqq al-Nass (The Right of People in Islam: Islam and Human Rights), Tehran, 2008, 439 pages. Mujazat-e Ertedad wa Azadi-ye Mazhab: Naqd-e Mujazat-e Ertedad wa Sabb al-Nabi ba Mawazin-e Feqh-e Estedlali (Apostasy, Blasphemy, & Religious Freedom in Islam: A Critique Based on Demonstrative Jurisprudence), 2014, 406 Pages Gottes Recht und Menschenrechte: Eine Kritik am historischen Islam, 2017
Islamic Political Thought Estizah-e Rahbari (Impeaching Iran's Supreme Leader on his Political Authority; Assessing the Supreme leader's 21 years in the Office: An Open Letter to the Head of the Assembly of Experts, and the Responses to the Letter), 2014, 418 pages. Ebtezal-e Marja’iyyat-e Shi’a: Estidhah-e Marja’iyyat-e Khamene’i Maqam-e Rahbari (The Trivialization of Shi’i Authority: Impeaching Iran's Supreme Leader's Claim to Religious Authority), 2015, 314 pages. MOHSEN KADIVAR God and his guardians Islam's 'Luther' talks of the democratic roots of Islam, Great Britain: HANS ZELL PUBLISHERS, 2004. Asnadi az Shekaste Shodan-e Namous-e Enqelab: Negahi be Salhaye Payani-e Zendegani-e Ayatollah Seyyed Kazim Shari’atmadari (Evidence of Dishonoring the Revolution: Examining the last years of Ayatollah S. Kazim Shari’atmadari's life, 1905–1986), (The Dissident Ayatollahs Confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran Series -1), 2015, 447 pages.
Resolving the conflict between traditional Islam and human rights: A comparative study of Mahmoud Mohammed Taha’s and Mohsen Kadivar’s views, Critical Research on Religion; December 2021, Vol. 9 Issue: 3 p284-299, 16p. doi:10.1177/20503032211015293
Faraz wa forud-e Azari Qomi: Seyri dar tahawwol-e mabaniy-e afkar-e Ayatollah Ahmad Azari Qomi (The Rise and Fall of Azari Qomi: The Evolution of Ayatollah Ahmad Azari Qomi's Thought, 1923–1999), (The Dissident Ayatollahs Confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran Series -2), 2014, 488 pages. Enqelab va nezal dar butoye Naqd: Ayatollah Rahani, Mobaheteh va Marja’iyyat (Testing the Revolution and Regime with Ethical Criticism: Ayatollah S. Muhammad Rouhan [1920-97], Slander and Authority), (The Dissident Ayatollahs Confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran Series -3), 2014, 226 pages. Nedaye Sabz: Rawayati as Jonbesh-e Sabz-e Mardom-e Iran (The Green Call: A Narrative of the Iranian Green Movement), Volume I, 2014, 478 pages. Sug-Name-ye Faqih-e Pakbaz Ustad Ayatollah Montazeri (A Memorial to Virtuous Theologian Ayatollah Montazeri), 2013, 406 pages. Dar Mahzar-e Faqih-e Azadeh Ustad Ayatollah Montazeri (In the Presence of a Noble Theologian Ayatollah Montazeri (1922–2009) A Collection of Exchanges between the Mentor and the Disciple), 2014, 382 pages. Daghdagheh-haye Hokumat-e Dini (Torments of Religious Rule, a collection of political papers and lectures,) Tehran, 2000, 883 pages. Shari’at va Siyasat: Din dar 'Arse-ye 'Umumi (Shari’a and Politics: Religion in Public Sphere, A Case Study of Contemporary Iran), 2008, 456 pages. Baha-ye Azadi: Defa’iyat-e Kadivar dar Dadgah-e Vizheh-ye Ruhaniat (The Price of Freedom: Kadivar's Defense in the Special Clerical Court), ed. Zahra Roodi (Kadivar), Tehran, 1999, 248 pages. Nazariyeh-haye Dowlat dar Fiqh-e Shi’a (The Theories of State in Shi’ite Law), (Political Thought in Shi’ite Islam Series -1), Tehran, 1998, 223 pages. Hokumat-e Wila’i [The Government of the Guardian Jurist], (Political Thought in Shi’ite Islam Series -2), Tehran, 1999, 2nd edition: 2002, 443 pages.. Hokumate Entesabi (Appointive /Non-Elective State), 2014, 316 pages. Siasat-nameh-ye Khorasani (Political Works of Akhond-e Khorasani, the spiritual leader of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906), Tehran, 2006, 382 pages.
Islamic Philosophy and Theology Daftar-e Aql: Madjmou’eh Maqalat-e Falsafi va Kalami (The Book of Intellect, a collection of the philosophical and theological articles), (Political Thought in Shi’ite Islam Series -3), Tehran, 1998, 483 pages. Majmu’ah-ye Mosannafat-e Hakim-e Mo’asses Aqa Ali Modarres Tehrani (Collected Works of the Pioneer Philosopher Aqa Ali Modarres Tehrani), 3 volumes, 1999: Vol. 1: Ta’liqat al-Asfar (Commentary on Asfar of Mulla Sadra), 782 pages; Vol. 2: Rasa’il va Ta’liqat (Arabic Treatises and Persian Commentaries), 578 pages; Vol. 3: Rasa’il-e Farsi (Persian Treatises and other works), 577 pages. Ma’khadh-shenasi-ye Ulum-e Aqli (A Bibliography of Rational Sciences in Iran since the beginning of modern publication in the 19th century until 1996, including 32,578 books), 3 volumes, co-authored with Mohammad Noori, Tehran, 2000: Vol. 1: 1196 pages; Vol. 2: 1276 pages; Vol. 3: Indexes, 946 pages.
Mohsen Kadivar, un clerc militant et réformiste
Research works and contributions Four of Kadivar's books focus on political theology. Of these, three comprise a trilogy – The Theories of State in the Shiite Jurisprudence, Government by Mandate, Government by Appointment. Two of his books focus on Islam and human rights. Four of his books and a couple of his articles were translated into Arabic.
The Theories of State in the Shiite Jurisprudence The first volume of this trilogy, The Theories of State in the Shiite Jurisprudence (Nazarrieh haye Doulat dar Fight'h e Shi'eh), which has been translated to Arabic, encompasses a broad typology of religious opinions on the desired or permissible types of government in Shiite theology. Every single instance in this typology is either proposed or endorsed by the highest authorities in Shiite jurisprudence.
According to Kadivar, "Velayat e Motlaghe ye Faghih" reflects a spectrum of authoritative options for Islamic society. There are not one, but "no less than nine distinct possible forms of government all proposed and supported by most revered religious scholars and texts."
A. Theories of State based on Immediate Divine Legitimacy Four theocratic types, in chronological order:
1. "Appointed Mandate of Jurisconsult" in Religious Matters (Shari'at) along with the Monarchic Mandate of Muslim Potentates in Secular Matters (Saltanat E Mashrou'eh) Advocates: Mohammad Bagher Majlesi, Mirza ye Ghomi, Seyed e Kashfi, Sheikh Fadlullah Nouri, Ayatollah Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi.
2. "General Appointed Mandate of Jurisconsults" (Velayat E Entesabi Ye 'Ummeh) Advocates: Molla Ahmad Naraghi, Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi (Sahib Javahir) Ayatollahs Borujerdi, Golpayegani, Khomeini (before the revolution)
3. "General Appointed Mandate of the Council of the 'Sources of Imitation' " (Velayat E Entesabi Ye Ammeh Ye Shora Ye Marje'eh Taghlid) Advocates: Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Shirazi
4. "Absolute Appointed Mandate of Jurisconsult" (Velayat e Entesabi ye Motlaghe ye Faghihan) Advocate: Ayatollah Khomeini (after revolution)
B. Theories of State Based on Divine-popular Legitimacy Five democratic types, in chronological order:
5. "Constitutional State" (with the permission and supervision of Jurisprudents) (Dowlat e Mashrouteh) Advocates: Ayatollahs: Sheikh Esma'il Mahallati, Mohammad Hosein Na'ini
6. "Popular Stewardship along with Clerical Oversight"