نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
استادیار، رشته تاریخ اسلام، مجتمع آموزش عالی بنتالهدی، جامعة المصطفی العالمیة، قم، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
Given the demographic imbalance between the Imami Shi‘a and Sunnites populations in the strategically significant region of Greater Syria (al-Sham) during the critical period spanning the sixth to the tenth centuries A.H, and in light of the notable growth of the Shi‘a community—growth that increasingly alarmed their religious rivals—this study seeks to reevaluate the nature of Shiites and Sunnites relations in the region. The aim is to offer
a more nuanced analysis and systematic account of the discursive confrontations and relations between Imami Shi‘a and Sunnites during this era. To achieve this aim, the study adopts the discourse analysis methodology of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, a qualitative approach rooted in Saussurean structural linguistics and informed by the socio-political theories of figures such as Derrida, Marx, Foucault, and Gramsci. The rationale behind this methodological choice lies in the limitations of traditional historical approaches which often overlook deeper conceptual, ideological, and linguistic layers embedded within historical events and narratives. Discourse theory in the Laclau–Mouffe framework, due to its robust analytical capacity, has emerged as a powerful tool in the study of socio-political phenomena across the humanities and social sciences. It enables the construction of a theoretical lens through which the meaning of historical and political events can be clarified, especially by juxtaposing opposing discursive formations. Within this paradigm, discourse grants specific meanings to actions, speech acts, and symbols only within its own semantic structure—what is meaningful in one discourse may carry an entirely different
or even antithetical significance in another. Central to this analysis is the concept of the “Other,” as discursive identity is forged through processes of other and boundary-drawing. In this study, two primary discourses are identified and examined: the hegemonic Sunni discourse and the counterhegemonic Imami Shi‘a discourse. The Sunni discourse is organized around the central signifier of the Caliphate, buttressed by nodal points such as the elective nature of leadership, the justice of the Companions, the impermissibility of rebellion against the ruler, and the characterization of Shi‘ism as heretical innovation. In contrast, the Imami Shi‘a discourse centers on the Imamate, with key signifiers including divinely-designated leadership, belief in twelve infallible Imams, the authority of the sayings and actions of the infallibles, the legitimacy of revolt against unjust rulers, and the occultation of the twelfth Imam. The discursive strategies employed by each group-including deconstruction, marginalization, and emphasis on particular signifiers-are examined in detail. Findings from the study reveal that both groups, within the scope of their theological commitments, socio-political capacities, and the exigencies of the period and region, exerted significant efforts to hegemonize their discursive systems and marginalize their opponents. Nevertheless, the structural advantages enjoyed by the Sunni establishment-such as political patronage, institutional control, and access to coercive power- enabled it to more effectively delineate the Shi‘a as the “Other” and suppress their discursive influence. This included systematic measures such as criminalizing Shi‘a beliefs, execution, suppression, exile, imprisonment, and the issuance of enforceable governmental decrees. In such an environment, the Salafī trend, relying on these hegemonic discursive constructs, played a leading role in pushing the Shi‘a community to the margins of society and in solidifying the view—fostered by Sunni discourse-that questioned the very Islamic identity of the Shi‘a. Consequently, Shi‘a beliefs and practices were increasingly framed as heretical, their lives and property deemed licit, and their eradication seen as religiously justified.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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