The Analysis of Action to Power of Safavid Sufi Masters
Subject Areas :
1 - PhD of Sociology, Allameh Tabataba’i University
Keywords: Sufism, Safavid government, Safavid Sufis, Religious ideal types, Max Weber’s Sociology of religion,
Abstract :
In his study of world religions, Max Weber formulates his religious typology and presents two main ideal types in this respect. The first ideal type is inner-worldly asceticism, mainly Protestant Puritans, who are active in socio-political actions, and the second ideal type is world-flying mysticism, mainly followers of East-Asian religions and Islamic Sufis, who are passive in socio-political actions on the way to salvation. However, referring to the historical facts of the socio-political life of the Safavid Sufi masters in the process of development of Safavid government through archival research method and reviewing related historical texts, reveals cases contrary to Weber's views, and our problem emerges from this Inconsistency between scientific knowledge and historical reality. So, the main question is that according to Weber, can Sufism and Sufi Masters be included in ideal type of world- flying mysticism? Findings shows that the Safavid Sufi masters, in addition to paying attention to transcendental matters, also have taken role in worldly socio-political affairs. Therefore, they are not world-flying and passive, but their Sufism and Sufi beliefs, along with other possible effective factors, has taken an important role in the development of Safavid government.
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