Secular apparition: The resurgence of liberal-democratic intellectual discourse in post-revolutionary Iran

The important contribution of secular intellectuals in post-revolutionary Iran to the formation of a post-Islamist political trend that emphasizes Iranian nationalism and liberal democratic values has not been evaluated. In post-revolutionary Iran, secular intellectual have criticized the ideological foundation of the state by consistently challenging the intellectual justification of the Islamic state. They have persistently refuted the claim that the "Islamic Government" and its ideological foundation "Velayat-e Faqih" constitute the only legitimate source of power in Islamic Iran. The political philosophers, Seyed Javad Tabatabai and Ramin Jahanbegloo, have contributed significantly to the theoretical debates on the nature of political thought in Iran. Examination of their works reveals the importance of their contribution to the rise of a new intellectual discourse distinguished by its emphasis on modernity and its attendant political ideologies. Tabatabai has persuasively argued that the supremacy of despotism and the rigidity of Shari'a minded jurists has undermined philosophical speculations that may have encouraged political thought concerned with temporal issues. He rejects the earlier intellectuals' anti-modernism masquerading as anti-westernism and promotes a philosophical appreciation of the promise of modernity for greater freedom. Ramin Jahanbegloo has introduced western philosophers through translations, writings, and lectures and has found a highly receptive audience among young educated Iranians. He declares that time for philosophical ideas has come and philosophy represents a window to an open society and to the idea of democracy. These two influential secular intellectuals have contributed greatly to the resurgence of liberal democratic ideas in Iran.