Naser Jamal Zade; Hamed Kiani Mojahed; Mohammad Hakimi
Abstract
"Soft power" is an essential keyword in contemporary political science vocabulary and its meaning has a long history, and in the conduct of the infallible Imams, there are often examples ...
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"Soft power" is an essential keyword in contemporary political science vocabulary and its meaning has a long history, and in the conduct of the infallible Imams, there are often examples of attention and application. In the meantime, Imam al-Riḍā's (as) individual and state conduct is full of cases that show his particular interest in this fateful concept whether in the crown prince period or after. The present article is an attempt to explain the principles, tools, and examples of the application of soft power in Imam Riḍā's (as) conduct, which has tried to illustrate the comprehensiveness of this concept in his words and action. The findings show that monotheism, imamate and justice along the prophecy form the basic principles of Raḍavī's soft power, and taqīyya (reservation), debate and miracle are among the most important tools used by the Imam in the area of enforcing the soft power. Also, based on these principles and tools, and within the framework of the roadmap, the application of the Raḍavī’s soft power to the Imamiyyah Shiites, scholars of other religions, theologians, and the government of Mamūn ‘Abbāsī can be illustrated as illustrative examples for describing the Raḍavī’s soft power system, and by analyzing them, the supreme position of the use of soft power from the point of view of Imam Riḍā (as) based on historical evidence while using a descriptive-analytical method can be shown; an application that illustrates the extent of Riḍā's (as) soft struggle with the caliphate.
