Historical and Sociological Characteristics of Talebof\'s Political Thought

Document Type : Research Paper

Abstract

Abdurrahim Taleboff Tabrizi is a intellectual of the Constitutional Revolution era in Iran who, in contrast to many other intellectuals of that period, did not address rulers and kings and wrote for the people. He had well diagnosed scientific backwardness of the country and inefficiency of Qajar rule and was keen on finding a solution to save the country. Dwelling on Thomas A. Spragens\' theoretical framework that links the emergence of political thoughts to social and political crises, this article intends to highlight Talebof\'s political thought by exploring the answers he provided for the following questions: (1) How could the society be saved from scientific backwardness and the government from despotism and disorder? (2) What form of government is desirable? (3) How should one deal with Western civilization? (4) What is the meaning of liberty? (5) How should one deal with religion and existing social traditions? Talebof\'s original books and writings will serve as my main source of documentation of social and political context of his time.

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