Morteza Motahhari

Morteza Motahhari (31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) (مرتضی مطهری) was an Iranian cleric, philosopher, lecturer, and politician.

Motahhari is considered among the important influences on the ideologies of the Islamic Republic. He was a co-founder of Hosseiniye Ershad and the Combatant Clergy Association (Jāme'e-ye Rowhāniyat-e Mobārez). He was a disciple of Ayatollah Khomeini during the Shah's reign and formed the Council of Revolution of Iran at Khomeini's request. He was chairman of the council at the time of his assassination.

Biography

Motahhari was born in Fariman on 31 January 1919 although his family was originally from Herat, Afghanistan. He received primary education in Fariman. Then he attended the Hawza of Qom from 1944 to 1952 and left for Tehran. He joined the University of Tehran, where he taught philosophy for 22 years. Between 1965 and 1973 he also gave regular lectures at the Hosseiniye Ershad in Northern Tehran.

Motahhari wrote several books on Islam, Iran, and historical topics. As outlined by Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari in 1975, the phrase ‘equal rights’ means something different from what is commonly understood in the western world. He clarifies that men and women are innately different and therefore enjoy different rights, duties and punishments. His emphasis was on teaching rather than writing. However, after his death, some of his students worked on writing these lectures and manage them in order to publish them as books. As of the mid-2008, the "Sadra Publishings" published more than sixty books of Motahari. Nearly 30 books were written about Motahari or quoted from his speeches.

Morteza Motahhari opposed what he called groups who "depend on other schools, especially materialistic schools" but who present these "foreign ideas with Islamic emblems". In a June 1977 article he wrote to warn "all great Islamic authorities" of the danger of "these external influential ideas under the pretext and banner of Islam." It is thought he was referring to the People's Mujahideen of Iran and the Furqan Group (Guruh-i Furqan).

On 1 May 1979 Morteza Motahhari was assassinated in Tehran by gunshot by a member of the Furqan Fighters after leaving a late meeting at the house of Yadollah Sahabi. The group acclaimed the responsibility of the assassination. The alleged assassin was Akbar Goudarzi, who founded the group, leftist Islamic group.

Motahhari was the father in law of Iran's former secretary of National Security Council Ali Larijani. It was by Motahhari's advice that Larijani switched from computer science to Western Philosophy for graduate studies.

In honor of Motahhari, a major street in Tehran (formerly Takhte Tavoos--Peacock Throne in English) was named after him. Morteza Motahhari Street connects Sohrevardi Street and Vali Asr Street, two major streets in Tehran.

Publications:

• Tawhid (Monotheism)
• Adl -e- Elahi (Divine Justice)
• Nubuwwah (Prophet-hood)
• Ma'ad (The Return)
• Hamase -e- Husaini
• Seiry dar nahj al-balagha
• Seiry dar sirey'e a'emeye at-har
• Seiry dar sirey'e nabavi
• Insan -e- Kamel (The Complete Human)
• Payambar -e- Ommi
• Osool -e Falsafa va ravesh -e- Realism (The principles of Philosophy and the method of Realism)
• Sharh -e- Manzume (A description done by Motahari on Manzume which is an old philosophical poem written by Mulla Hadi Sabzevary)
• Imamat va rahbary
• Dah Goftar (A selection of 10 articles of Motahari)
• Bist Goftar (A selection of 20 articles of Motahari)
• Panzdah Goftar (A selection of 15 articles of Motahari)
• Azadi -e- Ma'navi
• Ashneya'ei ba Quran (Being familiar with the Qur'an)
• Ayande -e- Enghlab -e- Islami (The future of the Islamic Revolution)
• Ehyaye Tafakor -e- Islami (Giving Life to the Islamic thinking)
• Akhlagh -e- Jensi (Sexual Discipline)
• Islam va niazha -ye- Jahan
• Emdadhaye gheibi dar zendegi -e- bashar
• Ensan va sarnevesht
• Panj maghale (Five essais)
• Ta'lim va tarbiyat dar Islam (Education in Islam)
• Jazebe va dafe'eye Ali
• Jehad (The Holy War of Islam and Its Legitimacy in the Quran)
• Hajj (Pilgrimage)
• Hekmat-ha va andarz-ha
• Khatemiyat
• Khatm -e- Nobowat
• Khadamāt-e moteqābel-e Eslām va Īrān (The Contributions of Islam and Iran to each other)
• Dastan -e- Rastan
• Darshaye Asfar
• Shesh maghale (Six essais)
• Erfan -e- Hafez
• Elale gerayesh be madigary
• Fetrat
• Falsafe -ye- Akhlagh (Ethics)
• Falsafe -ye- Tarikh (Philosophy of History)
• Ghiam va enghelab -e- Mahdi
• Koliyat -e- olume Islami
• Goft o gooye chahar janebe
• Masaleye Hejab
• Masaleye Reba
• Masaleye Shenakht
• Maghalate falsafi (A selection of Philosophical articles written by Motahari)
• Moghadameyi bar jahanbiniye Islami (Consists of 6 different books written about this subject)
• Nabard -e- hagh va batel
• Nezam -e- hoghoghe zan dar Islam
• Nazari bar nezame eghtesadiye Islam
• Naghdi bar Marxism (A critic on Marxism)
• Nehzat-haye Islami dar 100 sale akhir
• Sexual Ethics in Islam and in the Western World (English)
• Vela'ha va velayat-ha
• Azadegi
• Ayineye Jam (Interpretation of poetry of Hafez)