In the unveiling ceremony of Assessing Traditionalism, head of Iran’s Institute of Wisdom and Philosophy asserted that the Islamic intellectuality practiced by masters like Allameh Tabatabaei and Ayatollah Motahari makes the intellectual foundation of the Islamic Republic.

IBNA: Assessing Traditionalism is a title penned by Hujatoleslam Mansour Mahdavi. The book was unveiled in a ceremony held at the institute on June 5, 2012 in the presence of Hujatoleslam Abdolhussein Khosropanah, president of the institute, and Gholamreza Avani, head of Iran’s Community of Wisdom and Philosophy and a Martyr Beheshti University lecturer as the keynote speakers.

In his opening speech, Mahdavi offered a brief description of his book saying, “Seyyed Hussein Nasr is one of the avant-gardes of traditionalism in Iran before the 1979 revolution. After the Islamic Revolution, the movement kept going with numerous ups and downs.”

He asserted that traditionalism includes fields like theology, philosophy and art. “Traditionalism can be considered an ongoing discourse in each of these fields,” he added. “One of its major benefits is assessment and criticism of such fields. Critically assessing an ideology helps us locate its strong and weak points. Hence, such trends should be considered more serious in our country with its wide open area for research works. We should remain just in our assessments and never disregard the valued and strong aspects of an intellectual trend. I tried to write my book based on this view.”

He went on to say that the book contains assessments and examinations of traditionalistic standpoints. “Before its publication, I had the book reviewed by a number of scholars in traditionalism. I also asked Dr Hussein Nasr for assistance and he proposed Dr Gholamreza Avani for further supervision and edition of the final draft. Besides Mr. Avani, Gholamali Hadad Adel and Mahmoud Dinani Motlagh have reviewed the book as well.”

He further added that Islamic philosophy, Islamic mysticism and intellectuality are the means resorted for assessment of traditionalism. “I have made use of the philosophic views of Avicenna, Mula Sadra and Sohrevardi for completion of the book. ... A part of the book is a critique to traditionalism.”

He dedicated the book to Seyyed Hussein Naser and added, “It is a trend in the west to dedicate a criticism of a wit’s thinking to him in his final days as a present. I dedicate the book to both Seyyed Hussein Nasr and the traditionalism current.”

Later in the ceremony, head of Iran’s Institute of Wisdom and Philosophy asserted that Allameh Tabatabaei and Ayatollah Motahari are the forerunners of Islamic intellectuality.

He also added that traditionalism has benefited a lot from Islamic philosophy and mysticism.

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