b. 1945 · Iran · Philosopher, theologian, Rumi scholar, reformist
Photo: Hessam M.Armandehi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Archived 14 October 2026 · Biography sources: en.wikipedia.org · drsoroush.com · drsoroush.com
An early polemic against Marxist and materialist ideology, written in the first years after the revolution.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Satanic Ideology. 1980. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-satanic-ideology
Soroush's best-known theory: religion itself is constant, but human understanding of it is historical and fallible, expanding and contracting with the rest of human knowledge.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. The Theoretical Contraction and Expansion of the Shariah. 1991. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-the-theoretical-contraction-and-expansion-of-the-shariah
Essays arguing that religion is richer than any political ideology and that turning Islam into a state ideology harms both faith and freedom.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Sturdier than Ideology. 1993. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-sturdier-than-ideology
Essays on religious democracy, tolerance and the limits of clerical authority.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Tolerance and Governance. 1996. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-tolerance-and-governance
A defence of religious pluralism holding that several religious paths can be authentic and salvific.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Internet Archive (Arabic translation, borrowable)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Straight Paths: An Essay on Religious Pluralism. 1998. Internet Archive (Arabic translation, borrowable), https://archive.org/details/alirrtalmustaqma0000surs. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-straight-paths-an-essay-on-religious-pluralism
Essays treating revelation as the Prophet's religious experience, shaped by his time and growing over his mission, and separating essential from accidental elements of religion.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: library.arce.org
Soroush, Abdolkarim. The Expansion of Prophetic Experience. 1999. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-the-expansion-of-prophetic-experience
Lectures on the relationship between Rumi and Shams of Tabriz and on mystical love.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Amorous Gamble. 2000. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-amorous-gamble
Eleven essays in English translation on interpretation, the evolution of religious knowledge, tolerance and the compatibility of Islam and democracy.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Internet Archive (English translation, borrowable)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush. 2000. Internet Archive (English translation, borrowable), https://archive.org/details/reasonfreedomdem0000surs. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-reason-freedom-and-democracy-in-islam-essential-writings
Essays on ethics, distinguishing the morality of the powerful from the morality of ordinary people.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: not yet recorded
Soroush, Abdolkarim. The Ethics of the Gods. 2001. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-the-ethics-of-the-gods
A lecture summarising his theory that interpretations of scripture are always shaped by the interpreter's prior knowledge and assumptions.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Text in Context. 1995. Author's official website, https://drsoroush.com/en/text-in-context-lecture-delivered-at-mcgill-university/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-text-in-context
An interview applying his hermeneutic theory to women's rights in Islamic law.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website (English translation)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Contraction and Expansion of Women's Rights. 2000. Author's official website (English translation), https://www.drsoroush.com/English/Interviews/E-INT-20000200-Contraction_and_Expansion_of_Womens_Rights.html. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-contraction-and-expansion-of-womens-rights
Argues that a democratic religious government must rest on human rights, justice and accountable power rather than clerical guardianship.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website (English translation)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Islamic Democracy and Islamic Governance. 2000. Author's official website (English translation), https://www.drsoroush.com/English/By_DrSoroush/E-CMB-20001121-Islamic_Democracy_and_Islamic_Governance.html. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-islamic-democracy-and-islamic-governance
Distinguishes pragmatic, discursive and experiential forms of religiosity and their social consequences.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website (English translation)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Types of Religiosity. 2000. Author's official website (English translation), https://drsoroush.com/en/types-of-religiosity/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-types-of-religiosity
A long interview explaining and defending the theory of revelation set out in The Expansion of Prophetic Experience.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website (English translation)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Islam, Revelation and Prophethood. 2002. Author's official website (English translation), https://drsoroush.com/en/islam-revelation-and-prophethood/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-islam-revelation-and-prophethood
Keynote address to the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy on the place of reason and freedom in the Islamic intellectual tradition.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Reason and Freedom in Islamic Thought. 2002. Author's official website, https://drsoroush.com/en/reason-freedom-in-islamic-thought/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-reason-and-freedom-in-islamic-thought
Essay published on the award of the 2004 Erasmus Prize, grounding tolerance in epistemic humility and religious pluralism.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website (English translation)
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Treatise on Tolerance. 2004. Author's official website (English translation), https://drsoroush.com/en/treatise-on-tolerance/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-treatise-on-tolerance
A lecture arguing that justice has played too small a role as an independent criterion in classical Islamic jurisprudence.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Justice as a Redundant Concept in Islamic Jurisprudence. Author's official website, https://drsoroush.com/en/justice-as-a-redundant-concept-in-islamic-jurispridence/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-justice-as-a-redundant-concept-in-islamic-jurisprudence
A lecture contrasting the duty-based language of traditional jurisprudence with the rights-based language of modern political thought.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website
Soroush, Abdolkarim. Language of Rights and Language of Obligations: An Islamic Perspective. Author's official website, https://drsoroush.com/en/language-of-rights-and-language-of-obligations-an-islamic-perspective/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-language-of-rights-and-language-of-obligations-an
Interview in which Soroush argues that the Qur'an is in a sense the Prophet's own word, inspired by God, which provoked strong reactions in Iran.
Archived 14 October 2026 · Source: Author's official website
Soroush, Abdolkarim. The Word of Mohammad. Author's official website, https://drsoroush.com/en/the-word-of-mohammad/. Archived 14 October 2026 in Islamic Internet Archives: Archive of Modern Islamic Thought. https://islamicarchives.org/authors/soroush/#soroush-the-word-of-mohammad
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