Mohsen Kadivar | Scholars@Duke

Mohsen Kadivar
Research Professor in the Department of Religious Studies

Mohsen Kadivar is a research professor of Islamic studies at the department of Religious Studies, Duke University since 2009. He is a leading public intellectual and a theologian trained in Islamic seminaries in Iran, having earned the certificate of Ijtihad (the highest degree of Islamic studies) from the theologian seminary of Qom and received a PhD of Islamic Philosophy and theology from Tarbiate Modarress University in Tehran. His criticism of the Iranian regime led to his imprisonment (1999--2000), the banning of his publications, and finally to his exile from Iran in 2008. His interests span both classical and modern Islamic thought with a special focus on Islamic philosophy, theology, law, ethics, Qur'anic studies, Shi'i political thought, Islam and modernity (specially democracy and human rights), religion and science, religion and politics, comparative medieval philosophy and comparative religious studies. Author of dozens of books in Persian and Arabic, his forthcoming books in 2021 are /Human Rights and Reformist Islam/ and /Blasphemy and Apostasy in Islam: Debates in Shi’a Jurisprudence/ (both Edinburgh U. Press), and /Islamic Theocracy in the Secular Age: Revisiting Shiʿite Political Thought of Islamic Republic of Iran/ (UNC Press). You can find more information about Kaivar’s recent works on his website: http://kadivar.com/

Office Hours

By appointment

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Research Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, Religious Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2015

Contact Information

403 Chapel Drive, 118 Gray Bldg., Box 90964, Durham, NC 27708
Room 216 Gray Building, Durham, NC 27708
mohsen.kadivar@duke.edu (919) 660-3521
Mohsen Kadivar Official Website

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Tarbiat Modares University (Iran) 1999
- Certification of Ijtihad, Qom Seminary (Iran) 1980 - 1997
- M.A., University of Qom (Iran) 1993
- B.A., University of Qom (Iran) 1989
Duke Appointment History
- Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Religious Studies, Religious Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2010 - 2015
- Visiting Instructor in Religion, Religious Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2009 - 2010
Academic Positions Outside Duke
- Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, US. 2008 - 2009
- Tenure position, Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Tehran, Iran. 2008 - 2011
- Tenure position, Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Tehran, Iran. 2007 - 2008
- Tenure position, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran. 2005 - 2007
- Tenure Track position, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran. 2002 - 2005
- Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran. 2000 - 2002
- Instructor, Department of Philosophy, Mufid University, Qom, Iran. 1993 - 1997
- Visiting Lecturer, Imam Sadeq University, Beheshti University, & Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran. 1992 - 1999
- Instructor of Islamic Law and its methodology, Ayatollah Golpayegani Madrasa, Qom Seminary, Iran. 1986 - 1995
- Instructor of Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Ethics, Feyziyeh School & Qom Seminary, Iran. 1985 - 1998
- Instructor of Arabic Literature, Razawiyeh Madrasa, Qom Seminary, Iran. 1982 - 1986
Recognition
In the News
- FEB 24, 2016 The Guardian
  
  Moshsen Kadivar comments: Iran's clergy view upcoming elections with wariness
- NOV 14, 2014 Al-Monitor
  
  Mohsen Kadivar comments: Iran lobbies to revoke Saudi Shiite cleric's death sentence
- AUG 25, 2014
  
  Kadivar to Explore Iranian Culture, History at Duke and UNC
- JUL 16, 2014 Al-Monitor
  
  Mohsen Kadivar comments: Iran may legalize vigilantes to combat 'corruption and filth'
- NOV 20, 2013
  
  A New Iran?
- NOV 8, 2013
  
  Duke and UNC Experts Discuss the "New Politics" of Iran Nov. 14
- AUG 14, 2013 Australian Broadcastings The World
  
  Exiled Iranian dissident Mohsen Kavidar on unrest in the Middle East
- AUG 5, 2013 Bloomberg News
  
  Mohsen Kadivar comments: Rohani's clout in Iran corridors of power may help nuclear deal
- JUN 21, 2013 Informed Comment
  
  Mohsen Kadivar: Irans new president is on a collision course with the supreme leader
- MAY 30, 2013
  
  Duke News Tip -- Exiled Dissident Says Iran's Election Won't Be Free, Fair or Competitive
Awards & Honors
- Recognized as "one of the top 5% of all undergraduate instructors in Trinity College for a small class. Duke University, Durham, NC. August 2016
Expertise
Subject Headings
- Ethics
- History
- Islam
- Law
- Philosophy
- Political science
- Religion
Global Scholarship
- Teaching
  - Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Islamic Theocracy in the Secular Age awarded by National Humanities Center 2019 - 2020
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin awarded by Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin 2017
- A Human Rights and Islamic Law Program awarded by Open Society Institute, New York 2013 - 2014
Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants
- Fellowship of National Humanities Center awarded by Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 2019 - 2020
- Fellow of Wissenschaftskolleg: awarded by Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany 2017
- Nannerl O.Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professor, awarded by Department of Religious Studies: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University at Durham, NC 2014
- Global Ethics Fellow awarded by Carnegie Council: The Voice of Ethics in International Affairs, New York, NY 2012 - 2014
- Visiting Scholar awarded by Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, US 2002
- Hellman-Hammett Grant awarded by Human Rights Watch "to recognize the courage of writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution" 2000
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. Governance by Guardianship: Rule and Government in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Edited by Mahmoud Sadri. Translated by Roy Mottahedeh, Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi, and Banafsheh Madaninejad. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. Blasphemy and Apostasy in Islam: Debates in Shi'a Jurisprudence. Translated by Hamid Mavani. Edinburgh University Press, UK, 2021.
    Link to Item
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. Human Rights and Reformist Islam. Translated by Nikky Akhavan. Edinburgh University Press, UK, 2021.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. Islamic Theocracy in the Secular Age: Revisiting Shi’ite Political thoughts of Islamic Republic of Iran. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2021.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. Nour-Afshani bar Tarik-khaneh-ye Khobreghan (Shedding Light on the Covert Assembly of Experts: The Abortive Supervision of the Assembly of Experts upon the Leader and the Catastrophe of Separating the Religious Authority from Political Leadership! (1982-1989). Vol. I. Essen, Germany: New Thought PRESS, 2020.
    Link to Item
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. ANIMOSITY TOWARDS WISDOM AND MORALITY: A Critique of The Collected Works of Āqā ‘Ali Modarres-e Zonouzi: The Philosopher of Tehran [1818-1889], (edited by Majma’-e ‘Āli-e Hekmat-e Eslami, Qom: Entesharat-e Hekmat-e Eslami, 2018). Essen, Germany: New Thought Press, 2020.
    Link to Item
  - Kadivar, M. Enqelab va nezam dar buteye Naqd-e Akhlaqi (Testing the Revolution and Regime with Ethical Criticism: Ayatollah S. Muhammad Rouhan, Slander and Authority),. Vol. 3. self-published e-book, 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. Sug-Name-ye Faqih-e Pakbaz (A Tribute of the Virtuous Theologian Ayatollah Montazeri). self-published e-book, 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. Dar Mahzar-e Faqih-e Azadeh (In the Presence of a Noble Theologian Ayatollah Montazeri (1922-2009) A Collection of Exchanges between the Mentor and the Disciple). self-published e-book, 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. Al-Hokumat al-Wila’yyai (The Government of the Guardian Jurist). Beirut: Mu’sasi al-Intishar al-Arabi (Arab Diffusion Company), 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. Ebtezal-e Marja’iyyat-e Shi’a (The Trivialization of Shi’i Authority: Impeaching Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Claim to Religious Authority). self-published e-book, 2015.
    Open Access Copy
  - Kadivar, M. Asnadi az Shekaste Shodan-e Namous-e Enqelab (Evidence of Dishonoring the Revolution: Examining the last years of Ayatollah Shari’atmadari’s life). self-published e-book, 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. Nedaye Sabz: Rawayati as Jonbesh-e Sabz-e Mardom-e Iran (The Green Call: A Narrative of the Iranian Green Movement). Vol. 1. self-published e-book, 2014.
  - Kadivar, M. Mujazat-e Ertedad wa Azadi-ye Mazhab: Naqd-e Mujazat-e Ertedad wa Sabb al-Nabi ba Mawazin-e Feqh-e Estedlali (Apostasy, Blasphemy, & Religious Freedom in Islam: A Critique Based on Demonstrative Jurisprudence). self-published e-book, 2014.
    Open Access Copy Link to Item
  - Kadivar, M. Hokumate Entesabi (Appointive /Non-Elective State). self-published e-book, 2014.
  - Kadivar, M. Estizah-e Rahbari (Impeaching Iran’s Supreme Leader on his Political Authority). self-published e-book, 2014.
  - Kadivar, M. Faraz wa forud-e Azari Qomi (The Rise and Fall of Azari Qomi: The Evolution of Ayatollah Ahmad Azari Qomi's Thought). self-published e-book, 2014.
  - Kadivar, M. Al-Qara’at al-Mansiyya (Forgotten Interpretation of Leadership in Shi'i Islam). Beirut: Mu’sasi al-Intishar al-Arabi (Arab Diffusion Company), 2011.
  - Kadivar, M. Shari’at va Siyasat: Din dar ‘Arse-ye ‘Umumi (Shari’a and Politics: Religion in Public Sphere, A Case Study of Contemporary Iran). self-published e-book, 2008.
  - Kadivar, M. Haqq al-Nass (The Right of People in Islam). Tehran: Entesharat-e Kavir, 2008.
  - Kadivar, M., ed. Siasat-Nameh-ye Khorasani (Political Works of Akhond-e Khorasani). Tehran: Entesharat-e Kavir, 2006.
  - Kadivar, M. Nazariat al-Dawlah fi al-Fiqh al-Shi’i (The Theories of State in Shi’ite Law). Beirut: Dar al-Hadi, 2004.
  - Kadivar, M. Daghdagheh-haye Hokumat-e Dini (Torments of Religious Rule). Tehran: Nashr-e Ney, 2000.
  - Kadivar, M. Ma’khadh-shenasi-ye Ulum-e Aqli (A Bibliography of Rational Sciences in Iran since the beginning of modern publication in the 19th century until 1996). Vol. 1–3. Tehran: Entesharat-e Ettella’at, 2000.
  - Kadivar, M. Nazariat al-Hukm fi al-Fiqh al-Shi’i (The Theories of State in Shi’ite Law). Beirut: Dar al-Jadid, 2000.
  - Kadivar, M. Hokumat-e Wila’i [The Government of the Guardian Jurist]. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney, 1999.
  - Kadivar, M. Baha-ye Azadi: Defa’iyat-e Kadivar dar Dadgah-e Vizheh-ye Ruhaniat (The Price of Freedom: Kadivar’s Defense in the Special Clerical Court). Edited by Z. Roodi. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney, 1999.
  - Kadivar, M., ed. Majmu’ah-ye Mosannafat-e Hakim-e Mo’asses Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani (Collected Works of the Pioneer Philosopher Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani), volume 1. Tehran: Entesharat-e Ettela’at, 1999.
  - Kadivar, M., ed. Majmu’ah-ye Mosannafat-e Hakim-e Mo’asses Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani (Collected Works of the Pioneer Philosopher Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani), volume 2. Tehran: Entesharat-e Ettela’at, 1999.
  - Kadivar, M., ed. Majmu’ah-ye Mosannafat-e Hakim-e Mo’asses Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani (Collected Works of the Pioneer Philosopher Aqa Ali Mudarres Tehrani), volume 3. Tehran: Entesharat-e Ettela’at, 1999.
  - Kadivar, M. Nazariyeh-haye Dowlat dar Fiqh-e Shi’a (The Theories of State in Shi’ite Law). Tehran: Nashr-e Ney, 1998.
  - Kadivar, M. Daftar-e Aql (The Book of Intellect). Tehran: Entesharat-e Ettella’at, 1998.
- Academic Articles
  - Kadivar, M. “Democracy and ethical values from Islamic perspective.” Philosophy and Social Criticism 46, no. 5 (May 1, 2020): 563–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0191453720909583.
    Full Text
  - Kadivar, M. “Ijtihad in Usul al-Fiqh: Reforming Islamic Thought through Structural Ijtihad.” Iran Nameh: A Persian English Quarterly of Iranian Studies 30, no. 3 (November 2015): XX–XXVII.
  - Kadivar, M. “La naissance du «souverain juriste». Généalogie de la théorie de l’État shi’ite (The Birth of Guardianship Jurist: The Genealogy of Shi’ite Theory of Governance).” Les Temps Modernes 70, no. 683 (June 2015): 110–28.
  - Kadivar, M. “The birth of the "Sovereign Jurist". Genealogical theory of the Shi'ite state.” Temps Modernes 70, no. 683 (April 1, 2015): 110–28.
  - Kadivar, M. “From traditional Islam to Islam as an end in itself.” Welt Des Islams 51, no. 3–4 (December 1, 2011): 459–84. https://doi.org/10.1163/157006011X611632.
    Full Text
  - Kadivar, M. “Ibn Sina va Tabaqebandieh Hekmat (Avicenna & The classification of Philosophy).” Edited by M. Kadivar. The Journal of Sapiential Wisdom and Philosophy (Sophia Perennis) 1, no. 1 (February 2009): 35–106.
  - Kadivar, M. “Ibn Sina va Tabaqebandieh Hekmat (Avicenna & The classification of Philosophy).” Edited by M. Kadivar. The Journal of Sapiential Wisdom and Philosophy (Sophia Perennis) 1, no. 1 (February 2009): 35–106.
  - Kadivar, M. “Qara'at-e Faramoush Shode (The Forgotten Interpretation, Re-Construction of Theory of Virtuous Scholars, First Approach to Shi’ite Islam on Divine Guide).” Madrese (Quarterly) 1, no. 3 (May 2006): 92–102.
  - Kadivar, M. “Freedom of thought and religion.” Current History 104, no. 678 (December 1, 2005): 43–44.
  - Kadivar, M. “Political Innovative Ideas and Influences of Mulla Muhammad Kazim Khorasani.” Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies (Ajames) 21, no. 1 (September 2005): 59–73.
    Link to Item
  - Kadivar, M. “God and his guardians.” Index on Censorship 33, no. 4 (October 1, 2004): 64–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/03064220408537409.
    Full Text
  - Kadivar, M. “An Introduction to the Public and Private Debate in Islam.” Social Research 70, no. 3 (September 1, 2003).
- Book Sections
  - Kadviar, Mohsen. “Toward Removing the Punishment of Apostasy in Islam.” In Freedom of Expression in Islam: Challenging Apostasy and Blasphemy Laws, edited by Muhammad Khalid Masud, Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen, and Christian Moe, 207–36. London: I.B. Tauris, 2021.
  - Kadivar, M. “Genealogies of Pluralism in Islamic Thought: Shi‘a Perspective.” In Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, 16:75–97, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66089-5_5.
    Full Text
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. “Islam and the State from a Shi'ite Perspective.” In Comparative Secularisms: A Panorama of Religion in Political Contexts, edited by Michael Waltzer, 2021.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. “Āqā 'Alī Mudarris Tihrānī.” In Philosophy in Qajar Iran, edited by Reza Pourjavady, 231–58, 2019.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. “Islam and Democracy: Perspectives from Reformist and Traditional Islam.” In The Politics of Islamism: Diverging Visions and Trajectories, edited by John L. Esposito, Lily Zubaidah Rahim, and Naser Ghobadzadeh, 23–45. Palgrave Macmillan, Switzerland, 2018.
  - Kadivar, M. “Human action within divine creation: A Muslim perspective.” In God’s Creativity and Human Action: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, 7–22, 2017.
  - Kadivar, Mohsen. “Marvels of Wisdom (Badayi’ al-Hikam) of Agha Ali Mudarris Tihrani (Zunuzi).” In An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, Vol. 5: From School of Shiraz to Twentieth Century, edited by S. H. Nasr and M. Aminrazavi, translated by M. Kadivar and Nicolas Boylston, 5:471–88. London, New York: I.B.Tauris, 2015.
  - Kadivar, M. “Revisiting Women's Rights in Islam: 'Egalitarian Justice' in lie of 'Meritocratic Justice'.” In Justice Through Equality: New Approaches to Muslim Family Law, edited by Z. Mir-Hosseini, L. Larsen, C. Moe, and K. Vogt, 213–34. London: I.B. Tauris, 2013.
  - Kadivar, M. “Routinizing the Iranian revolution.” In Islam in the Modern World, 351–68, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203736340.
    Full Text
  - Kadivar, M. “Wilayat al-faqih and Democracy.” In Islam, the State and Political Authority, Medieval Issues and Modern Concerns, edited by A. Afsaruddin, 207–24. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
  - Kadivar, M. “Human Rights and Intellectual Islam.” In New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition, edited by K. Vogt, L. Larsen, and C. Moe, 47–74. London: I.B.Tauris, 2011.
  - Kadivar, M. “Theories of Government in Shi’i Fiqh.” In Shi’ism, Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies Vol. 3: Law, Rite & Rituals, edited by P. Luft and C. Turner, 267–82. New York: Routledge, 2008.
  - Kadivar, M. “Freedom of Religion and Belief in Islam.” In The New Voices of Islam: Reforming Politics and Modernity – A Reader, edited by M. Kamrava, 119–42. London: I.B.Tauris, 2006.
  - Kadivar, M., and G. H. Ebrahimi Dinani. “The Ontological Initiations of the Inventive Philosopher Agha Ali Mudarres Tehrani: A Case Study of the Principality of Existence.” In An Anthology of Iranian Studies, 184–213. Tehran: Center for Cultural and International Studies, 2002.
  - Kadivar, M. “Political Rights of People in Islam.” In Islamic Views on Human Rights: The Viewpoints of Iranian Scholars, edited by E. Salami, 107–24. Tehran: Al-hoda International Publications, 2001.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Advising & Mentoring
- Arpan Bhandari, MA, Duke University, Fall 2018.
  
  Matthew Lynch, Dissertation Committee Member: “Rumi’s Masnavi and the Molding of the Religious Present. ”UNC at Chapel Hill, PhD, December 2018.
  
  Abdul Rahman Abdul Latif, Undergrad Honors Theses: “Muslim Perspectives of Evolution”, Duke University, anticipated April 2016.
  
  Daniel Spisak, MA, Duke University, Spring 2015.
  
  Lauren Wall, MA, Duke University, Spring 2014.
  
  Rose Aslan, Dissertation Committee Member: “From Body to Shrine: The Construction of Sacred Space at the Grave of `Ali ibn Abi Talib in Najaf.” UNC at Chapel Hill, PhD, May 2014
Teaching Activities
- RELIGION 377S / AMES 288S / POLSCI 379S / HISTORY 265 S: Religion and Politics in Post-Revolutionary Iran
  
  REL 527S / RIGHTS 527S: Islam and Human Rights

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

Academic Positions Outside Duke

In the News

Awards & Honors

Subject Headings

Global Scholarship

Teaching

Selected Grants

Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Recent Courses

Advising & Mentoring

Teaching Activities