The Position of ‘Ali b. Abi Taleb in Twelver Imami Shi’ism (Ithnā ‘Asharīyya) : The Image of ‘Ali among Iranian Muslims

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  • 12イマーム派シーア主義におけるイマーム・アリーの位置について : イラン人ムスリムの場合
  • 12 イマームハ シーア シュギ ニ オケル イマーム アリー ノ イチ ニ

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One of the most important characteristics of a religious symbolis its plasticity or flexibility. This functions in homo religiosus, enablinghim to comprehend the meaning of life in the way most fitting to him.Religious men, who belong to various social strata and differ in theirlevel of education, understand the meaning of symbols according totheir own experience, so that they can obtain the satisfaction to feelthemselves "real" (Eliade). Sometimes a religious symbol might beinterpreted in a highly illogical and passionate manner, but, in othercases, interpretation may be quite logical and rational. In each case,however, interpretation should be that most fitting to the interpreter.In this paper, through the examination of 'Ali b. Abi Taleb, afigure of crucial significance in the Shi'i tradition in general and inthat of the Twelver Imami Shi'ism in particular, I attempt to demonstratethose contentions. To do this I examine; (I) how this figurebecame so important among Shi'i believers (particularly amongIranians) ; (2) how he has been accepted by them; (3) how thosebelievers (i.e., theologians, traditionists, secular intellectuals and ordinarymass believers, among others) have interpreted him; and lastly(4) how we can appreciate his importance in religic-is, societal andpolitical terms.

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