Ali Akbar Rashad


Ali Akbar Rashad is an Iranian philosopher and Islamic scholar who pioneered the Ibtina Theory, a theory for explaining the process and mechanism of "religious knowledge" formation.

Current position

Ali Akbar Rashad is a graduate of Tehran and Qom Islamic seminaries; he completed his introductory and first grade of Islamic seminary education, under the supervision of Kamali, Mohammadzadeh Mazinâni, Ali Afkhami, Ayatollah Zanjani Najafi, Ayatollah Abd-os-Samad Khooyi in Tehran between 1967 and 1970. Then, he went to Qom to further his education in 1970, and was admitted to Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani Islamic Seminary school, which was considered the first scheduled educational center conducted on the new seminary methodology.
He completed the second grade with the help of; Bakooyi, Hâj Hasan Agha Tehrani, Mokhtar Aminian Gilani, Sayyed Javad Ahmadi Taleghani, Eshtehardi, Mahmoodi-e Eshtehardi, and Salavati-e Araki in this seminary school. He also took Ayatollah Shabzendehdar Shirazi's exegesis and Islamic doctrine lessons, and religions lessons presented by Abd-ol-Gha'em Shooshtari during the very same period.

Rashad completed the Third seminary grade being a student of Ayatollahs Hâj Sheikh Alipanah Eshtehardi, Mohsen Harampanahi Qomi, Morteza Moghtadayi Esfahani, Mostafa E'temadi khâjavi Tabrizi, Sayyed Abolfazl Moosavi Tabrizi, Morteza Banifazael, Agha Rasool Moosavi Tehrani, Sotoode-ye Araki, Ghafi-ye Yazdi, Sayyed Ali Mohaghegh Dâmâd, and Ja'far Sobhani Tabrizi. Having completed all the ternary grades of the seminary, he attended Khârij and the principles of jurisprudence classes of Grand Ayatollahs Vahid Khorasani, Ali Meshkini, Hosein Ali Montazeri, and Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Tehrani for a total of twenty five years. He acquired mastery of the various levels of philosophy, while simultaneously acquiring principles of jurisprudence, by attending classes of Magisters and Ayatollahs, Dr. Ahmad Beheshti, Dr. Morteza Mutahari, Dr. Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani.

Academic activities

Professor Rashad has been teaching higher levels of principles of jurisprudence, philosophy of religion, philosophy and mysticism in the "Islamic seminary of Tehran" as well as the philosophy of religion and discourse and logic of Understanding Religion at university of Tehran and university of Mashhad for the past thirty years. He has also published more than thirty book volumes and fifty articles on philosophy, philosophy of religion, discourse, Quranic sciences, political thoughts, jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, and philosophy of principles.
Rashad is the founder and chair of IICT, which is considered one of the most prominent non-governmental religious and academic research institutes. The institute is composed of five research centers and five affiliate institutes as well as twenty scientific departments in the fields of philosophy, epistemology, mysticism, Quranic research, philosophy of religion, discourse, logic of Understanding Religion, ethics, jurisprudence, politics, economics, Islamic management, occidental studies, history and civilization, cultural studies, Islamic revolution, contemplative literature, and so forth.
IICT, having been established with the impetus towards contributing to the contemporary intellectual debates and towards attempts to criticize and theorize in the aforesaid fields and areas in the spring of 1994, and is currently publishing nine different scientific magazines with the following titles, in addition to eight hundred other publications all being the outgrowth of the researches and investigations carried out by its departments: ‘Qabasat’, ‘Zehn’ , ‘Eqtesad-e Eslami’ , ‘Hoqooq-e Eslami’ , ‘Ketab-e Naqd’ , the International Journal of Philosophy of Religion, ‘Qabasat’ International Journal on Islamic social systems, ‘Zamaneh’ monthly, and ‘Hashieh’ monthly.

In the past ten years, IICT has compiled, or has been compiling, four different encyclopedias under professor Rashad’s supervision:
  1. The Encyclopedia of Imam Ali
  2. The Encyclopedia of Qur'an
  3. The Encyclopedia of the Holy Prophet’s Conduct.
  4. The Encyclopedia of Fatimah Culture .
Professor Rashad is also the founder and chair of Imam Reza Islamic seminary. This seminary, comprising four religious colleges, is a comprehensive Islamic seminary complex offering all the Islamic seminary levels and courses as well as related special majors.
Dr. Rashad is currently a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, chair of the Board of Supporting Theorizing Platforms, and chair of the council of the Islamic seminaries of the province of Tehran; in addition, he has founded the International Institute of the Islamic Philosophy, and is a founding member as well as the head of the Academic Association of the Principles of Jurisprudence at the Islamic Seminary.
Professor Rashad was entitled the eminent theorizer by Farabi International Festival in 2009, and was awarded prizes and certificates of appreciation by UNESCO, ISESCO, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Presidency, and Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.
He has presented articles and delivered speeches at conferences and scientific and philosophical conventions and conferences in different countries including Germany, United States of America, Austria, Spain, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, England, Italy, Bosnia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, France, Cyprus, Lebanon, Vatican, India, Greece, etc.

Persian works

a. Books:
b. Articles:

Ongoing research

  1. Principles of Logics in Exploring Religious Doctrines and Propositions
  2. Criticism on John Hicks Pluralism
  3. Research in Tradition
  4. The Function of Ration in Establishment of Religion

    Teaching experience