Ali Shariati: Teacher, Preacher, Rebel By

Ali Rahnema’s article, titled “Ali Shariati: Teacher, Preacher, Rebel” explores the life of one of the more prominent Iranian thinkers of the 20th century. The title of Rahnema’s article, concisely, presents the trajectory of Ali Shariati’s life. Shariati was born to a religious family, however he ended up following in his father's footsteps. Ali shariati’s father, Mohammed Taqi, was the founder of “The Center of Propagation of Islamic Truth” which was set up as an attempt to reinvigorate the Islamic intellectuals, which were believed to have lost their place in society. Muhammad Taqi’s extensive political knowledge, was ultimately bound to influence his son’s future endeavours. Ali Shariati goes on to describe his father as “ instrumental in shaping my soul and spirit.” Therefore, from a young age, Shariati was highly involved in various political movements, namely the National Resistance Movement (NRM) as well as the Movement of God-Worshiping Socialists (MGWS).
Especially, The Movement of God-Worshiping socialists who supported the idea that “Islam’s socioeconomic system was that of scientific socialism based on monotheism.” Those socialist ideal would remain highly influential throughout Shariati's political career. Shariat was also influenced by his short stay in paris in which he had various conflicting expenses. Ali Rahnema describes Shariati’s stay in paris “as both enlightening and agonizing.” During his time in Paris, Shariati grew disillusioned by various western society; which he described as “Materialistic”, “consumerist” and “Hedonistic”, which reinforced his disdain for capitalism. During his time in Paris Ali Shariati also encountered two types of “Third-world intellectuals” which he categorised