| Abstrakt: |
The constitutional revolution set the stage for introducing new concepts in the socio-political field. Since only a handful of prominent figures of the Qajar period were conscious of the meanings of these concepts, it became necessary to enlighten and explain them. The concept of equality was one of the most challenging notions that called into question earlier teachings. Until then, the meaning of equality in Islamic jurisprudential literature was explained by the concept of justice. Nevertheless, there was no clear relation between the criteria of justice and the concept of equality. This caused a great deal of controversy, especially between Mashroeh Khah (The religious traditionalists) and Mashroteh Khah (The radical constitutionalists). In this way, the definition of equality and its relation to justice became necessary. The principal purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the constitutionalists' ideas, meanings, and interpretations regarding the concept of equality. While examining this concept, the author found that the constitutionalists' logic in defining equality was somewhat exaggerated and was due to the failure to take into account the social context, the circumstances, and the political literacy of the people; to the extent that it led to confusion in the relationship between equality and justice. The research method in this paper is descriptive-analytical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
