The solution to the problem is not to change the fatwa. In my opinion, we should seek creativity to adapt art to jurisprudence by preserving these correct and practical fatwas. For instance, for years in our country, female actresses have worn headscarves even in the presence of their in-laws in plays. This is so common that no one asks anymore why this woman wears a headscarf at home? Because everyone is used to it. This is a kind of creativity. Or recently, I saw in a movie that when two female and male actors wanted to hug each other, they showed the same part in animation, and this creativity also made the scene funny. In some other films, to show the touching of the actors playing the roles of husband and wife, they used actors who were actually husband and wife.
Mustafa Durri has been teaching and writing in the field of jurisprudence, especially contemporary jurisprudence, for more than two decades. He has also been seriously involved in the field of art and media for a few years now and has written books and articles in this field. In this interview, the director of the School of Jurisprudence of Art discusses the challenges of media jurisprudence. In his opinion, the citation of some fatwas to jurisprudence and jurists is not only incorrect, but also the result of the complexities of opponents of jurisprudence. He believes that in order to solve the challenges of jurisprudence of art, before we give up on fatwas, we must preserve both art and jurisprudence through artistic creativity. The details of the exclusive interview on contemporary jurisprudence with this teacher and researcher at the Qum Seminary are given below:
Contemporary Jurisprudence: What is Media Jurisprudence and What Are lts Requirements?
Mr. Durri: Media jurisprudence, as its name suggests, also discusses the transmission of messages. This is the generality of the issue, but in order to understand it accurately, let us explain the difference between this jurisprudence chapter and similar jurisprudence chapters in order to clarify the exact meaning of media jurisprudence. One of the chapters that is similar to media jurisprudence is art jurisprudence. For example, in the case of the performing arts, there is always this dispute as to whether it should be discussed in art jurisprudence or media jurisprudence? Culture jurisprudence is also one of the jurisprudence chapters similar to media jurisprudence, which intersects in issues that have both the transmission of messages and the creation of culture. Cyberspace jurisprudence is also one of the chapters similar to media jurisprudence. If we believe in the existence of a jurisprudential branch called “communication jurisprudence,” this jurisprudence branch would be the most similar to media jurisprudence, and those who advocate it would have to explain the exact difference between it and media jurisprudence. In any case, to put it briefly, discussions related to the message, whether the recipient of the message, the sender, the place of the message, the time of the message, etc., are related to media jurisprudence.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: Can we conclude from the fatwas of jurists regarding the use of satellites, video, video calls, etc., that they have a certain pessimism towards the media?
Citing such fatwas to jurists is an old thing. Since ancient times, those who wanted to make the jurisprudential system and jurists appear weak or ridiculed would find a fatwa and use it as a means of discrediting jurisprudence. This is while the origin of many of these alleged fatwas is not known at all. For example, it has been said that some jurists said that traveling by plane is forbidden because it is usurping people’s homes; but so far I have not found a fatwa that a jurist has adhered to. Yes, a pulpit in a village or somewhere or a jurisprudence scholar may have said something; but citing it to jurisprudence and jurists is incorrect. What is meant by jurists is eminent teachers and authorities of imitation. Even if a jurist issues a fatwa, it cannot be attributed to all jurists or the jurisprudential system. For instance, in the case of video calling, when the Rightel company was providing this service, I remember that only Ayatullah Shubair Zanjani issued a fatwa to ban it. Now, is it correct to attribute this fatwa to all jurists of Qum, Najaf, Tehran, Mashhad, etc. and say that the jurisprudential system or jurists have banned video calling? In these cases, it is correct to base the fatwa on a jurist and say that he said so.
Considering this explanation, it should be said that some jurists have long been skeptical of new things. This is not exclusive to jurists, and even many religious people have been like this. It seems that one of the important reasons for this is the confusion between religion and tradition, and that every ancient matter is sacred. Some of the religious people’s resistance to removing treasures from public baths has also been due to this confusion. This idea is not even exclusive to religious people, but in general, people have difficulty coping with change. The late martyr Sadr refers to this approach of people as the “istisahabi approach.” This approach makes it difficult for people to change their place of residence, change their personal belongings, change their jobs, etc.
In any case, such pessimism has existed and continues to exist among some jurists regarding emerging media, but it is incorrect to generalize it to all jurists, since many of our current and past religious authorities have been pioneers in creating satellite networks, websites, and social networks.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: Considering the fatwas of the jurists regarding music, looking at non-mahrams, sculpture, playing musical instruments, etc., is it possible to have an effective Islamic media? For example, is it possible to produce a drama series without music, to express romantic sentences between actors playing the roles of a husband and wife, to have non-mahram actors not look at each other, etc.?
Mr. Durri: There are two points here. The first point is that part of this fatwa is very good and should not be changed at all, even if it leads to the rejection of a part of the media. For example, currently, there is an industry in the world called the porn industry, the turnover of which is greater than that of Hollywood. Now, if someone asks us whether, considering the fatwas of the jurists regarding sexual intercourse, it is possible to have a porn industry at all? Well, our answer is that no, we cannot have one and it would be very good not to have one. This is not something to say, no, we will change the fatwa so that this industry does not collapse! Regarding the media, the part of the fatwa that tries to protect the privacy of male-female relationships is also very good. Now you see that divorce and family breakdown are common among actors and performers who experience freer communication in their work. Despite this fatwa, the situation of our performing arts is like this; now, if this fatwa did not exist, it is unclear where the situation of the actors in this industry would have ended in terms of morality and family.
Therefore, the solution to the problem is not to change the fatwa. In my opinion, we should seek creativity to adapt art to jurisprudence by preserving this correct and work-oriented fatwa. For instance, for years in our country, female actors have been wearing headscarves even in the presence of their in-laws in performances. This is so common that no one asks anymore why this woman is wearing a headscarf at home? Because everyone is used to it. This is a kind of creativity. Or I recently saw in a movie that when they wanted two male and female actors to hug each other, they showed the same part in animation, and this creativity also made the scene funny. In some other movies, to show the touching of the actors playing the roles of a husband and wife, they used actors who were actually husband and wife.
Of course, there is another part of the fatwa that we need to reconsider. For instance, regarding the issue of music, the Supreme Leader correctly did not apply the title of prohibition to “lahu” but considered “mudil” music to be forbidden. This revision of the fatwa is both disciplined, as well as practical and precise. He correctly realized that what makes a piece of music incorrect is not just the singing and melody; rather, it is the misleading nature of it, which can be in the music, in the poetry, and in the way it is read.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: What are the most important challenges facing research in media jurisprudence?
Mr. Durri: The first challenge of media jurisprudence, which is also common to many emerging branches of jurisprudence, is the challenge of lack of resources. Currently, media jurisprudence does not have the resources and writings necessary to form a jurisprudential chapter. Basically, the approach of these writings is not important, but the first issue is to increase the number of these writings and theorizing to a level that can claim to create a new jurisprudential chapter.
The second challenge is the simplification of media jurisprudence issues. This challenge is evident in some books that have been written in this field.
The third challenge is the lack of sufficient methodological research. Many books that have been written in this jurisprudential chapter either lack a disciplined method or, despite their name, have a promotional and non-scientific approach.
The fourth challenge, which is very important, is the lack of close communication between jurists and artists. It seems that with close communication between these two groups, many of the misunderstandings that exist between the parties will be resolved.