Reproduction of Islamic Identity for Transcendent Governance: An Analysis of the Rhetorical Mechanisms of Religious Orators and Maddahs

Document Type : reserch

Authors

1 PhD student in Strategic Cultural Management, National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Strategic Cultural Management, Faculty of Strategic Management, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran

3 PhD in Cultural Systems Engineering, Imam Hossein (AS) University. Tehran. Iran

4 Associate Professor, Department of Strategic Cultural Management, Faculty of Strategic Management, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the role of religious orators and meddahs in linking Islamic identity with transcendent governance and to analyze the rhetorical mechanisms influencing this process. Employing the Grounded Theory method, data were collected through interviews with 35 orators and meddahs and field observations of hey’ats, coded within a paradigmatic model (causal conditions, context, intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences). The findings reveal three structural gaps: a theory-practice divide in governance, fragmented rhetoric, and threats to legitimacy, necessitating the reproduction of Islamic identity. Effective strategies include pattern-based narrative construction (reinterpreting the governance model of the Imams), internalization of values (transforming justice into a criterion for evaluating rulers), and connective discourse-building (linking religious concepts to contemporary issues), contingent upon orators’ expertise in the jurisprudence of governance and institutional support. The study concludes that systematic application of these mechanisms aligns identity with governance, producing an indigenous governance model, while neglect of this approach may exacerbate legitimacy crises.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Exalted Governance
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Serial Number 22
Vol. 6, No. 2, Summer 2025
October 2025
Pages 97-116

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics