Author: Dr. Fazl Ahmad Ahmadi
Fascism in the Form of Political Thought (Part 4)
1. The Concept of Politics and Political Thought
Concerning the history of political thought in Islam, various thinkers have approached the issue from an external perspective, examining the relationship between knowledge, power, and legitimacy during the Middle Ages. They emphasize the priority of “action” over opinion and the supremacy of will over thought, asserting that political knowledge is dependent on the structure of political power.
These thinkers argue that in the political thought of the Islamic world, power and will play a major and fundamental role, while reason and knowledge serve merely as intermediaries in the realization of power. Additionally, they identify commonalities among the three main currents of political philosophy: Sunni jurisprudence, Shia political jurisprudence, and Islamic political thought. They also highlight some sub-currents, such as “mystical reflections and political Sufism,” which represent significant commonalities and illustrate either positive or negative connections to the power system.
Farabi, the founder of Islamic political philosophy, plays a fundamental role in addressing and attempting to answer this issue. According to Farabi’s perspective, true knowledge is a unique and attainable entity that can be achieved through two pathways: reason and revelation. He elaborates on these two pathways by describing the powers of speech and imagination in human existence. The power of speech distinguishes human beings from other creatures; Aristotle refers to man as a “political animal by nature,” emphasizing that through speech, humans think, acquire knowledge, and differentiate between good and evil. In contrast, the power of imagination enables individuals to divide and combine the meanings and forms stored in human memory. Consequently, speech has two components: theoretical and practical. The theoretical component facilitates thought and knowledge acquisition, while the practical component allows for the differentiation between good and evil.
According to Farabi, the power of speech is one of the most important faculties in human existence, enabling various perceptions for individuals in different situations. He asserts that “what is achieved in the first case for him is a delegation in the matter, which is preparation for accepting the customs of the rational.” Therefore, it embodies the potential of reason; reason is formidable and is also potentially rational. The next stage is actual reason. He states, “the intellect becomes actual when reasonable things are achieved in it, and potential reasonable things become actual when the actual reasonable things become reasonable.”
Farabi believes that this actualization occurs through the active intellect and wisdom; thus, knowledge is a heavenly aid. He proposes that different intellects in the realm above the moon do not directly influence the human intellect. Instead, divine grace flows from the highest order to the lowest through a downward and gradual process in a regular and predetermined cycle. Farabi interprets the active intellect as the final intellect in the series of ten intellects, located above the moon (Malakut/heavenly), which disseminates true grace and knowledge to the world below the moon (Nasut/terrestrial) after receiving it from the first source. In some of his works, Farabi refers to it as “Wahb al-Soor,” while in others, he refers to it as “Ruh al-Amin” and “Ruh al-Quds.”
After a brief review of political thought and different approaches to political issues, we can now delve into the seemingly political thought of fascism. As mentioned in the introduction, fascism has been one of the most detrimental political ideologies, resulting in the destruction of countless innocent lives. Examining this belief enables us to better understand irrational thoughts.
Continues…
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