Note: The Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudence Studies, in its 56th “Method on Sundays” session, with the presence of Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Hamid Parsania, a member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, explored the “Methodological Requirements for Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture.” This specialized session, attended widely both in-person and online by enthusiasts, saw Dr. Parsania introduce methodology as the key to operationalizing and institutionalizing religious knowledge in society. He highlighted the distinction between methods of cognition and the dissemination of knowledge, underscoring the critical role of tools such as rhetoric, dialectic, and poetry in cultural transmission. Additionally, the session addressed topics such as cultural authority, the relationship between truth and social constructs, and the challenges of agency within the cultural hegemony of the West. This scientific session provided a valuable opportunity for rethinking approaches to promoting religious culture and enhancing religiosity in the public sphere.

The Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudence Studies, in collaboration with the Office of Islamic Propagation’s Desk for the Development and Empowerment of Islamic Sciences, held the “Method on Sundays” scientific session on Sunday, September 7, 2025, with the presence of Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Hamid Parsania. The topic of this session, the 56th in this summer series, was dedicated to examining the “Methodological Requirements for Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture.” The session was attended by 80 participants, both in-person and online, and was warmly received.

At the beginning of the session, Hujjat al-Islam Mohammad Kazem Haqqani Fazl, Director of the Contemporary Jurisprudence Encyclopedia and session moderator, expressed devotion to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ja’far Sadiq (AS), offering congratulations for the upcoming auspicious occasions. He emphasized the importance of methodology in achieving the goals of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic system, stating: “The most significant challenge of the Islamic Revolution in the cultural sphere is the promotion and institutionalization of religious beliefs and behaviors in society. This overarching goal requires precise planning, and in the first step, methodology, which has not yet been adequately addressed.”

Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Hamid Parsania, a member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and the session’s presenter, began his remarks by emphasizing the necessity of methodology for promoting and institutionalizing Islamic knowledge in public culture. He elaborated on the triad of religion, society, and governance, stating: “Religion and its cognition, society and social relations, and governance as the third component in the Islamic Republic system all play a role in this process.”

The member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution began his speech by emphasizing the role of methodology in any purposeful knowledge and practice: “Without methodology, achieving goals, whether in understanding Islamic knowledge or disseminating it in public culture, is impossible. Methodology in science is noble and sublime, typically examining the paths taken after the formation of knowledge, but in some cases, methodology can precede the science itself.”

He then distinguished between methodological topics in two domains: understanding truth and disseminating knowledge in public culture, asserting: “It is possible for someone to thoroughly understand knowledge but fail to have it penetrate public culture. Therefore, there are two distinct goals: understanding knowledge and disseminating it in culture. These two goals require distinct and specific methods.”

Dr. Parsania, referring to Avicenna’s books Al-Shifa and Al-Qanun, provided a historical example of the distinction in methods across sciences and the importance of methodology, adding: “The book Al-Shifa, alongside various sciences, dedicates half of its content to logic and methodology, demonstrating the historical significance of methodological rigor in Islamic sciences, contrary to the assumptions of some, which has deep roots.”

He also introduced the concept of three worlds:

• First World: The realm of reality and truth;

• Second World: The world of the human mind and individual understanding;

• Third World: The world of public culture where knowledge must be disseminated and established.

According to the member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, transferring knowledge from the second world to the third requires different methods related to rhetoric, dialectic, and poetry. He stated: “Rhetoric is used for persuasion and acceptance, dialectic for defending and strengthening knowledge against rivals, and poetry for evoking emotions and social action, each having its own specific methodology.”

He further referred to the historical background of teaching methods in religious seminaries, stating: “The practical and theoretical teaching of rhetoric, the deployment of missionaries, and religious propagation institutions have been among the significant capacities of seminaries and other religious centers in promoting Islamic knowledge.”

In the concluding part of his presentation, Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Parsania, while offering congratulations on the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Unity Week, noted: “Truth and falsehood interact in the cultural sphere, but preserving proper methods for disseminating knowledge is the key to the sustainability of religion and Islamic culture.”

He emphasized the importance of maintaining the cultural hegemony of the concept of monotheism in Islamic history, referring to the role of the Infallible Imams, particularly Imam Ali (AS), and said: “The authority of religious culture is the main stronghold for preserving and establishing religion in society. If this authority is lost, not only the rituals but also future generations will be deprived of this heritage.”

Dr. Parsania concluded, while again congratulating the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Unity Week, by stating: “Truth and falsehood interact in the cultural sphere, but preserving proper methods for disseminating knowledge is the key to the sustainability of religion and Islamic culture.”

In the second part of the session, Hujjat al-Islam Mohammad Kazem Haqqani Fazl, the scientific moderator, summarized the key points of Dr. Parsania’s presentation and elaborated on some critical themes. Referring to the distinction between “methods of understanding truth” and “methods of disseminating truth,” he emphasized that one-sided focus on understanding, without addressing methods of dissemination, leads to cultural disconnection and failure to achieve religiosity in the public sphere. He also criticized the recent decline in attention to rhetoric, dialectic, poetry, and other tools of cultural transmission in the Islamic tradition.

Subsequently, a question-and-answer session took place with both in-person and virtual attendees. One participant, referring to Dr. Parsania’s remarks on the nature of truth, asked about the relationship between truth and social constructs. The member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, rejecting the prevalent relativistic perspective in modern contexts, emphasized that if religion is merely considered a social construct, it loses its truth. He added: “Although such a view exists in the sociology of religion, we believe in a transcendent truth that must be examined not only from a social perspective but also from the standpoint of truth and falsehood.”

In another question, the relationship between authority and obligation to Sharia was addressed. Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Parsania, distinguishing between “methods of disseminating knowledge” and “coercive policies,” explained that authority in religious culture is based on legitimacy and cultural capacity, not merely physical enforcement. He added: “In cases of conflict, the criterion should be truth and true benefit, not personal interests or mere power.”

Another attendee asked about the nature of the authority Dr. Parsania referred to, inquiring about the difference between cultural and political authority. In response, the member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution described authority as rooted in the cultural context, stating: “No political authority can survive without cultural backing. Even non-religious political systems must derive legitimacy from cultural concepts.”

He also pointed to the cultural hegemony of Islam throughout history as the primary factor in the expansion of Islamic civilization, a civilization that extended from the Balkans to East Asia under its conceptual framework. He added: “Despite occasional distortions, religious concepts carried capacities that fostered cultural authority and cohesion in Islamic history.”

In the final part of the session, a participant raised a fundamental question about “agency” in the current context of Western cultural hegemony and asked the professor to elaborate on the possibility of changing the existing conditions. Dr. Parsania, emphasizing the principle of human free will and agency, stated: “In every historical period, although humans are situated in specific contexts, they can design a way out by understanding the conditions. The Prophet of Islam (PBUH), in a challenging environment without political authority, gradually established the monotheistic culture.”

Referring to the triadic concept of truth, mind, and culture, he emphasized the importance of creating a connection between knowledge and social life, stating: “If culture aligns with the solidity of truth, it is a sign of achieving the ultimate movement of history. The interaction between humans and culture is the primary driver of historical transformations, and religiosity will remain sustainable only if it is formed and strengthened in this context.”

At the conclusion, the session’s moderator thanked Professor Parsania for his scholarly presentation and precise responses to questions and expressed gratitude to the attendees for their active participation in the session.