ABSTRACTS

 

The Interaction Between Religion and Media from a  Legal perspective

 Dr.  Mohsen  Esmaeeli

The mutual effects of media and religion make a major concern of our time. The media put a long – lasting and deep effect on religion and ethics in society, and at the same time they have to be careful not to enter the zone forbidden by religion. This is a fact one can witness in today’s world, which has of course its own opponents. There are some who take the religious and value- based approach to the issue as detrimental to the raison – d’etre of this modern phenomenon, and call it a violation of human rights. There are also some who consider the media as a novel reality which stays outside the domain of religious decrees so they deny any existing  interaction between religion and media. Law, however, cannot be indifferent towords these facts and has endeavored to clarify the nature of the interaction. This article is a modest step taken by an Iranian Moslem jurist to contribute to this clarification.

Key expressions: media – religion – Law – free flow of information,  professional ethics

 

The Cultural and Communicative Approaches of the prophet in Mecca Times

  Dr.  Mohsen  Alviri

The article first discusses briefly the porpagation jargon and resources. Then there is a survey of the prophet’s propagative activities in Mecca under three main topics :  1) Stages of the call 2) Methods of the call and orientations 3) Achievements.

The stages of prophet’s call in Mecca were: 1) The outset of the mission 2) Restricted call and individual or face to face contact 3) Extensive call till emigration to Abyssinia 4) From group emigration to Abyssinia till mass emigration to Medina. The major cultural and communicative means and methods were: The Holy Koran, novel communicative institutions, logical introduction of the new faith, contacting the newcomers to Mecca at Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca), oration, etc.

The propagative orientation and achievements of 13 years of  prophet’s efforts in Mecca consisted of the following: spiritual and mental training of people and cultural development in society, proving the universality of the call, extending the call to outside Mecca, and proving the necessity of flexibility in utilizing means and propagative methods.

Key expressions:  call – propagating – prophet

 

Communication in a Multicultural Islamic Society

Dr. Nasser Bahonar

Cultural multiplicity is a topic of discussion in cultural studies. Its impact on social relations and the way it is tackled in the path of achieving shared cultural goals is a singnificant issue in the field of communication and culture. The article presents some Islamic guidelines about communication in multicultural Islamic societies in order to answer to some of the current questions about how to create the best relationship among ethnic and cultural groups as well as with religious minorities within an Islamic society. It also refers to the basic aspects of cultural unity in Islamic societies. then after a survey of the definition of culture and an analysis of the influential factors on cultural unity, some consideration is given to cultural multiplicity and its consequences. The ultimate end of this study is to draw out the features and principles of a sound communicative model from the societies under investigation in order to utilize them in native policy making and interpretation of the existing situation.

Key  expressions:  Islam – Intercultural relations – Islamic  society – religious minorities

 

Journalistic Ethics in Islam

 Dr. Peyman Jebelli

Norms, values and ethics are some of the old forms of mass media challenges. The kind of media, their audience, their broadcasting zone and targets, channels and organization and all the elements somehow connected to mass media are in one form or another dealing with those concepts. News is part of those media messages that are defined by considering their normative, ethical and evaluative aspects. Islam, in its turn, by giving importance to the role of ethics, values and ideals in all aspects of human life and individual and social interactions, has clear instructions in news. Among those ethical standards ruling over news broadcasting, one can refer to the following: the social responsibility of the journalists with due observance of the society’s general interests, attending to people’s right of receiving useful information, courage in relating truth, emphasizing the genuineness of the news and avoiding any sort of fabrication, verifying the authenticity of the resources, shunning deceptive and tricky stories, respecting the social and individual privacy, and at the same time making sound criticism by feeling committed to society’s trust.

Though, at times, there may occur some discrepencies in adjusting the norms and values, the overall Islamic instructions provide clear notions in this regard.

Key expressions:  Ethics – norms – news and journalism –

mass media - Islam

 

Major Categories of Forbidden Messages

  Dr.  Ahmad Ali Ghane’

In his studies, the writer has come up with the fact that the title “ improper publications” in jurisprudential literature implies all kinds of messages whose propagation is forbidden by both reason and scripture. The article tries to extract the general precepts of this impropriety from Islamic texts to pave the way for the recognition of their implications and concrete examples. A number of eitht general categories are inferred in this regard: 1) To slander God, Holy prophets and Imams or common people and to manipulate their utterances 2) To make people disappointed of God’s grace or forget His wrath 3) To disclose private, group or state secrets 4) To arouse lust and licentiousness in people 5) To renounce the fundamental precepts of religion and faith 6) To use offensive language against God and His devout servants 7) To propagate forbidden trades such as witchcraft and magic arts 8) To use different kinds of sophistry.

Key expressions: mainstream – forbidden message – improper publications – convey messages

 

“Ghena” According to Shiite Jurisprudents

M.S. Mahdavi Kani

Is “Ghena” (singing) absolutely forbidden in Islam? If not, what kind of it is not allowed? What’s the cause of its being so controversial in “Figh” (Islamic jurisprudence)?

Is there any way out of this ambiguity? The article intends to show that the unelaborate decree is the result of that ambiguity and tries to render the roots of this condition in religious precepts. It then offers some solutions to the problem.

Key expressions:  topic –  based-Figh  – Figh of communications -

Ghena (singing) – convention

 

The Development of the Notion of Propagating Faith from Imam Khomeini to Ayat. Khamenei

  Dr. M.H.   Homayoun

To propagate faith is a major issue that has drawn the attention of a lot of scholars in both universities and seminaries after the Islamic Revolution. A striking point here is the fact that Iranian top leaders are both holding high positions in policy – making and possessing invaluable judgements in this regard. At the top of these are the thoughts of Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei.

A survey of the development of this notion from the late Imam to Ayat. Khamenei, especially during the leadership of the latter can shed light on some of the dark points of this phenomenon. The present study deals with instructions from the two eminent figures and then gives a definition of the propagating goals and the place of  “propagators” and their “effects” in this regard.

Key expressions: propagating – call – religious  propagating – Islamic propagating – Imam Khomeini – Ayat. Khamenei

 

Culture, Communication and Foreign Policy

 Dr.   Hessamoddin Ashna

It is doubtless that foreign politicy is part of international relations deliberations , but it can also be discussed from other viewpoints. This article takes a communicative approach to foreign politicy and stresses the role of international relation management in this regard. Thus a new outlook is offered which consists of  four basic issues that are necessary for comprehending the nature of interaction between culture, communication and foreign policy. They consist of the role and effect of national identity on foreign policy, cultural and communicative tools in foreign policy, and the way of utilizing these tools in order to develop cultural contact among the powerful countries at the center and the peripheral ones, and the probable effects of this cultural contact on the target country.

A model of general diplomacy is offered in the final section of the article.

Key expressions: culture – communication and foreign policy – general diplomacy -  cultural diplomacy – international communication – intercultural  communication.