The Sirat Model in Ali Shariati&#039;s Political Thought: Explaining the Crisis of Tradition and Modernity and the Idea of Return to the Self

Lotfi, Mostafa

doi:https://doi.org/10.22034/priw.16.2.1

Volume 16, Issue 2 (Political researches of the Islamic world, summer 2026) Political Research In Islamic World (Priw) 2026, 16(2): 1-20 | Back to browse issues page

‎ https://doi.org/10.22034/priw.16.2.1

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Lotfi M. The Sirat Model in Ali Shariati's Political Thought: Explaining the Crisis of Tradition and Modernity and the Idea of Return to the Self. Political Research In Islamic World (Priw) 2026; 16 (2) :1-20
URL: http://priw.ir/article-1-2079-en.html

The Sirat Model in Ali Shariati's Political Thought: Explaining the Crisis of Tradition and Modernity and the Idea of Return to the Self

Mostafa Lotfi ^*

Ph.D. Department of Graduate in Political Thought, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran , m_lotfi@atu.ac.ir

Abstract: (307 Views)

Introduction and Problem Statement

The encounter of non-Western societies with modernity has been one of the most significant intellectual and political challenges of the past two centuries. In Iran, this confrontation has led to a fundamental conflict between tradition and modernity, engaging various thinkers who have offered diverse explanations and solutions (Bashiriyeh, 2003: 20-27). Among these thinkers, Ali Shariati (1933-1977) occupies a prominent position. He neither inclined toward the complete negation of tradition and unconditional acceptance of modernity nor defended a static, ahistorical tradition. Rather, he sought, through a critical rereading of the Islamic heritage and selective utilization of modern achievements, to present a model for reconstructing the identity of Iranian-Islamic society (Shariati, 1996: 15-30; Rahnema, 2002: 45-60).
In this framework, concepts such as "ideology," "Ummah" (community), "Imamate" (leadership), and "Return to the Self" constitute fundamental elements of his intellectual system. However, the majority of existing research has focused on the independent examination of these concepts, with few attempts to explain their internal and systematic relationships within a unified analytical framework (Jamshidi, 2011; Rahnema, 2002). The central question of this research is whether it is possible to identify a coherent logic behind these concepts that explains Shariati's approach to the crisis of tradition and modernity. This article argues that the metaphor of "Sirat" (the Straight Path) possesses the necessary capacity to explain such coherence. The innovation lies in reconstructing the relationship among these concepts and presenting the "Sirat Model" as an analytical framework for understanding the internal coherence of Shariati's political thought.

Methodology
This research is classified as fundamental research in the field of Islamic political thought, conducted with a qualitative approach. The primary method is conceptual analysis and textual interpretation of Shariati's original works (Firhi, 2019: 45-52; Barzegar, 2021: 71-85). Data were collected from primary sources including Ummah and Imamate (1979), Return to the Self (1996), Islamology (1982), The Method of Knowing Islam (1998), and Revisiting Iranian-Islamic Identity (2007), as well as secondary sources on Shariati's thought and Islamic political thought.
The analysis was conducted in four stages: (1) coding and extraction of textual evidence related to "movement," "guidance," "identity," and "path"; (2) identification of the central metaphor based on Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 3-12); (3) morphological analysis of relationships using Freeden's theory of political concept morphology (Freeden, 1996: 47-75); and (4) reconstruction of the Sirat Model. To ensure validity, three strategies were employed: repeated reference to primary sources, triangulation with existing interpretations, and transparency of the analytical process.

Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework is based on the premise that political thought responds to fundamental societal crises (Strauss, 1959: 9-18). Three complementary theories are employed: (1) Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor for identifying the central metaphor organizing Shariati's political concepts; (2) Freeden's morphology of ideologies for analyzing internal relationships among concepts and determining which concepts are core, functional, or teleological; and (3) Barzegar's conceptual geometry approach for contextualizing the analysis within Islamic political thought and its relationship with identity and civilization (Barzegar, 2010: 45-62; Barzegar, 2013: 115-132).

Findings: The Sirat Model in Shariati's Political Thought
Rationale for Selecting Sirat as an Analytical Model
The selection of the "Sirat" metaphor is based on three components: (a) its conceptual capacity in Islamic tradition, where it symbolizes purposeful movement, divine guidance, and practical commitment (Qur'an, Surah al-Fatihah, Verse 6); (b) the frequent use of movement metaphors in Shariati's works, where words such as "migration," "becoming," "movement," and "return" indicate a dynamic and purposeful process (Shariati, 1982: 212-225); and (c) its superiority over alternative metaphors such as "revolution" or "awakening," which lack the simultaneous capacity to explain the path, guide, travelers, and destination.

Components of the Sirat Model
Ideology as the Path: Shariati defines ideology as "directional consciousness" and "the compass of movement" that saves humans from "inertia and bewilderment" (Shariati, 1982: 148-150), and as a "roadmap that tells humans where they have come from, where they are, and where they should go" (Shariati, 1998: 86-87). The concept transforms into the "Path" because ideology is the condition for the formation of the Ummah.
Ummah as the Travelers: Shariati defines Ummah as "a community that moves toward a single goal with shared consciousness, collective will, and historical responsibility" (Shariati, 1979: 25-27). He distinguishes between the Ummah and the passive masses, emphasizing that the Ummah is the "subject of change" and without it, ideology remains an abstract theory (Ibid: 41-42).
Imamate as the Guide: Shariati explains Imamate as "conscious guidance, not mere political leadership," with the Imam serving as the "lamp of the Ummah's path" who "prevents slipping and deviation" (Shariati, 1979: 95-96). Imamate serves two functions: protection of the path and consciousness-raising, positioning it as the third link in the causal chain (Ibid: 120-122).
Return to the Self as the Destination: Shariati describes the ultimate goal as "the recovery of historical and cultural identity; liberation from alienation caused by petrified tradition and imitative modernity; and the achievement of collective self-consciousness" (Shariati, 1996: 22-24). This concept becomes the "Destination" because it is teleological, representing liberation from alienation and the creation of a future based on authentic identity.

Causal-Processual Reconstruction
A causal-conditional chain exists among the four concepts: Ideology is the condition for the formation of the Ummah ("Without ideology, the Ummah is not formed"); the Ummah requires Imamate to protect the path ("Without Imamate, the Ummah becomes bewildered"); and Imamate is the condition for society to achieve Return to the Self ("The purpose of Imamate is to bring the Ummah to its historical self") (Shariati, 1979: 50, 120, 132). All links serve the final destination, as "all movements, if they do not reach this destination, are futile" (Shariati, 1996: 40).
Comprehensive Function of the Sirat Model
The Sirat Model provides a concrete response to both aspects of the crisis: (a) It addresses the crisis of petrified tradition by emphasizing movement toward the future rather than fixation on the past; (b) It corrects the crisis of imitative modernity by emphasizing "Islamic ideology" as the Ummah's specific path; and (c) Imamate plays a crucial role in maintaining balance, preventing both petrification and deviation.

Discussion and Theoretical Contribution
Theoretical Contribution
The primary innovation lies not in discovering new concepts but in reconstructing the causal-processual relationships among the four fundamental concepts. Unlike previous studies that examined these concepts syntagmatically or paradigmatically, the Sirat Model represents them in a teleological causal chain where each concept is the condition for the realization of the subsequent one (Freeden, 1996: 47-75; Barzegar, 2010: 48-55).

Generalizability and Limitations
The Sirat Model can serve as a generalizable analytical framework for studying other Muslim thinkers who have formulated their thought in response to the crisis of identity and development (Barzegar, 2011; Saffari, 2017). However, limitations include the absence of normative concepts such as "justice" and "freedom," the absence of epistemological concepts such as "consciousness" as an independent component, and the methodological limitation of focusing on only five of Shariati's major works. Future research should integrate absent normative concepts, conduct comparative studies with other Muslim thinkers, expand the epistemological layer, and broaden the scope of texts.

Discussion and Conclusion
This research demonstrates that the Sirat Model possesses significant capacity for explaining the internal coherence of Ali Shariati's political thought. By reconstructing the logic of movement from "alienation and passivity" toward "self-consciousness and historical agency," the model reveals that Shariati's thought is not a scattered collection of concepts but a teleological system in which ideology serves as the "Path," the Ummah as the "Travelers," Imamate as the "Guide," and Return to the Self as the "Destination." Each component is a necessary condition for the realization of the subsequent component. The main contribution extends beyond the rereading of a single thinker to the presentation of a "method" for seeing the hidden structures of identity-oriented political thought—a method in which concepts are understood not as frozen objects but as links in a dynamic chain, deriving their scientific value from their relationship to other links.

Keywords: Ali Shariati, Islamic political thought, Sirat model, tradition and modernity, Ummah and Imamate, return to self, conceptual metaphor.

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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2026/06/22 | Accepted: 2026/08/30 | Published: 2026/09/1