Dr. Emad Afrough

Preface

Globalization, like the concepts of economic and political development, has recently emerged as a subject of interest and has attracted diverse reactions and commentaries. Unlike the previous concepts, the subject of globalization has been taken up by a wide range of religious scholars, centers and communities. In this respect, we observe the efforts made to clarify the issue to make it more comprehensible and possible to get the conceptual capabilities for spreading our own globalization, which is in a close relationship with the Islamic nation in general and ‘Mahdism’ in particular.

I hope by entering this issue, unlike the other concepts that were not discussed completely and abandoned halfway, we face a deeply, patiently and scholarly deliberation. I hope, by understanding the dimensions, variables and roots completely and the critical analysis of paradoxes and examining the possibilities of the existence of current globalization and making use of its conceptual capabilities, we can introduce a desirable model that is logically compatible with all that.

The goal of this paper is that, through showing an outlook of current globalization and by the separation of its conceptual capabilities, we may discuss the paradoxes and the possibility of its existence in philosophical and theoretical dimensions, and then talk about the religious capabilities and capacities of a desirable globalization. In this respect, it is necessary to bring up the necessities of conceptual globalization that is related to universalism, recognize the current globalization and then discuss the application of this with an ideal globalization.

In other words, primarily it must be clarified that what the characteristics, variables and exigencies of real globalization are, and then decide whether or not this current and claimed globalization conforms with the real globalization. This comparison is definitely not possible without understanding the variables, elements and the dimensions of the current globalization.

The next step is to understand the global status quo and its conformity with the claims of current globalization and then to measure the conformity of the claims of the supporters of this globalization with existing realities. The final step is to understand the capacity of religions and especially Islam for globalization and universalism on the one hand, and its conformity with real globalization and real global status quo and current globalization on the other hand.