Contemporary Jurisprudence

Dr. Seyed Hossein Hosseini: The issue must be analyzed more precisely, deeply, and with attention to the relationship between teachings and cultural context

In the fifty-ninth session of the “Method on Sundays” series, under the theme “Methodological Requirements for Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture,” Dr. Seyed Hossein Hosseini, a faculty member of the Research Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, emphasized the importance of precisely framing the issue, stating: “Until the issue is properly analyzed, any response may lead to error.”
🔹 He described Islamic knowledge as a multifaceted and diverse concept encompassing jurisprudence (fiqh), theology (kalam), ethics, and more, stressing that not all religious teachings can be transformed into public culture. Dr. Hosseini noted that the methodology in this field requires an interdisciplinary, philosophical, and cultural research perspective, stating: “The transformation process must be accompanied by intellectual persuasion, scientific critique, and attention to social structures.”
🏷 He also warned against the dangers of oversimplification, superficiality, and the lack of theorization in this area, emphasizing the need to design precise and actionable solutions within the context of contemporary civilization.
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The Fifty-eighth Specialized Session of "Method on Sundays" Was Held at the Research Institute for Contemporary Fiqh

Hujjat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin Mohammad-Taqi Sobhani Emphasized the Need to Redefine Knowledge Structures and Make Islamic Sciences Interdisciplinary

In a specialized session on the topic of “Methodological Imperatives for Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture,” Hujjat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin Mohammad-Taqi Sobhani, Head of the Center for Deepening Religious Faith and Countering Deviant Beliefs, emphasized the importance of the position of “method” in implementing religious knowledge in public culture. He considered this process a bridge between theorization and real life and spoke of the lack of attention to this field.
🔹The Head of the Center for Deepening Religious Faith identified the three main flaws of the traditional knowledge system as elitist and incomprehensible language for the public, a minimalist and conceptual view without explaining its practical application in life, and the dominance of a comparative-identitarian approach.
🏷With a critique of the linear system of religious education, he enumerated the networked system of religious knowledge, in which ethics, beliefs, and rulings are intertwined, and considered the redefinition of faith as a graded process, the distinction between the problem and the real needs of man, and the necessity of utilizing human sciences such as cultural studies, social psychology, and media studies as prerequisites for the application of knowledge.
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Research Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudence Studies Held

Specialized Session with Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Dr. Najaf Lakzaee and Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Dr. Reza Gholami, Examining the Role of Religious Governance in Promoting Public Culture and the Necessity of People-Centered Governance

The “Method on Sundays” session, originally scheduled for September 14, was postponed to September 18 due to unforeseen reasons. In this session, the significance of religious governance as a key factor in institutionalizing Islamic knowledge within the public culture of society was examined.
Through in-depth and expert discussions, the session highlighted the importance of people-centered, sound, and Islamic-principled governance in the process of institutionalizing religious knowledge in public culture and emphasized the need to redefine the role of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) in addressing society’s strategic issues to tackle complex social challenges.
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Scientific Session of Contemporary Jurisprudence Studies Institute's "Method on Sundays"

Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Hamid Parsania in Session 56: Methodology as the Key to Operationalizing Knowledge

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. Read more …

Scientific Session “Method on Sundays” at the Research Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudence Studies

The 51st session of the summer series “Method on Sundays” emphasized the necessity of expanding the responsibilities of jurists beyond traditional jurisprudence and the importance of religious culturalization to realize religion in society

The 51st session of “Method on Sundays,” focusing on the significant topic of “The Method of Transforming Religious Propositions into Social Constructs,” was accompanied by expert perspectives and constructive critique. The main discussions revolved around the necessity of expanding jurists’ responsibilities beyond traditional jurisprudence, the importance of interaction between science and religion, the challenges of socializing religion, and defining the boundary between jurisprudence and domains beyond it. Additionally, the importance of creating a dominant normative environment and religious culturalization as key steps toward realizing the establishment of religion was emphasized.
This session provided an important platform for initiating deeper discussions and developing effective methods in the field of socializing religion, with plans announced for continuing the discussions in future sessions.
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Scientific Session of the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies on Justice and Public Culture

The 55th session of “Methodology Sundays,” presented by Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Mahdi Shajarian and critiqued by Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Hassanali Aliakbarian, addressed the challenges of rationality and religious norms in contemporary society

The “Method on Sundays” session, organized by the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies and the Office of Islamic Propagation, took place on Sunday, August 31, 2025. In this specialized session, Dr. Mahdi Shajarian, Assistant Professor in the Social Justice Studies Department at the Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture, delivered a lecture on “The Impact of the Theory of Justice on the Methodology of Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture.”
Dr. Shajarian highlighted the significant challenge of the gap between jurisprudential norms, particularly social rulings, and public culture, identifying the differing perspectives on rationality in Islamic jurisprudence as a key factor contributing to this divide. He emphasized the need to move from a “narrow” rationality (aql-e maziq) to an “expansive” rationality (aql-e mowsa‘) capable of issuing rulings on specific cases, which could facilitate the transformation of religious norms into public culture.
Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Hassanali Aliakbarian, the session’s critic, offered a differing perspective, stressing that the public should be acquainted with religious norms through explanation and dialogue rather than reconstructing those norms to align with social perceptions.
This session was the fifth in the summer series of “Methodology Sundays” and was held in collaboration with the Office of Islamic Propagation’s Desk for the Development and Empowerment of Islamic Sciences. Read more …

The Method of Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture with a Focus on the Ministry of Education

Analysis of Challenges and Solutions for Culturalizing Religion in the Education System

Examination of Challenges and Solutions for Culturalizing Religion in Iran’s Education System at the Fifty-Third Session of the “Methodology Sundays” Scientific Series
The scientific session “The Method of Transforming Islamic Knowledge into Public Culture,” in collaboration with the “Development and Empowerment of Islamic Sciences” desk of the Islamic Propagation Office, provided an opportunity to elucidate the theoretical foundations and practical experiences of the Ministry of Education in teaching religious knowledge, while also examining the shortcomings and obstacles in the path of religious education in schools and proposing solutions for improvement.
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The Forty-Ninth Scientific Session of the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies

In the forty-ninth scientific session of the series of programs titled “Methodology Sundays,” the specialized session on “The Methodology of Transforming Theoretical Matters into Practical Ones, with Application to Jurisprudential Knowledge” was held virtually, organized by the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies in collaboration with the Office for the Development and Empowerment of Islamic Sciences of the Islamic Propagation Office.
In this session, Dr. Seyed Hossein Shahrastani, a faculty member of the Research Institute of Islamic Culture and Art, analyzed the relationship between theory and practice in the history of philosophy, particularly in Islamic philosophy and its contemporary developments. Emphasizing the lack of attention to practical wisdom in the tradition of Islamic philosophy and the need for its redefinition, he explored various dimensions of this topic across four key areas: the integration of philosophy and religious tradition, the theory of credit-based knowledge, the contributions of contemporary philosophers, and the theory of innate disposition (fitra).
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