The Influence of Muhammad Mojtahed Shabestari’s Interpretations of Religious Texts from German Hermeneutic Theories

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Theological Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jqopv.2025.19365.1400

Abstract

The interpretation of religious texts has long been a subject within the Islamic intellectual tradition. Religious intellectuals such as Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari are among the pioneers who, through acquaintance with European views on hermeneutics, have sought to localize this method and apply it to understanding Islamic texts. Like many religious modernists, Shabestari, when confronted with the tension between religion and modernity, operates under the assumption of the primacy and superiority of modern Western thought, endeavoring to reinterpret and rearticulate religious propositions in favor of modernity. This study, utilizing a descriptive-analytical approach and based on documentary research, seeks to elucidate the issues Shabestari has addressed under the influence of hermeneutical scholars. It examines the question: from which thinkers and in what areas has Shabestari drawn in formulating his hermeneutical ideas? A reexamination of Shabestari’s thought reveals that he has been influenced by figures such as Schleiermacher, Paul Tillich, Rudolf Bultmann, Rudolf Otto, and Gadamer in the fields of religious text interpretation and related debates. This article aims to explicate these influences. The results indicate that Shabestari has drawn upon Schleiermacher regarding religious experience, Tillich on the concept of faith, Bultmann in the area of demythologization, Otto concerning the essence and externals of religion, and Gadamer on the human and historical nature of sacred texts. 

Keywords

References

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The Qur’an from Orientalists Point of View
Volume 20, Issue 38
March 2025
Pages 131-160

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  • Receive Date: 17 March 2025
  • Revise Date: 09 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 02 May 2025

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