The Theory of Max Weber’s Religious Rehabilitation And Analyzing the Shi‘i Scholars’ Performance In the Period of the Interregnum of the Afghans and Afshars

Religious sociology is one of the important interdisciplinary branches in the sphere of religious studies which views religion from different social angles. Max Weber is among the greatest theorists of religious sociology, and religious rehabilitation is one of his important theories. In short, this theory refers to the fact that sometimes, due to various political or social conditions or even other external factors, a religion or a denomination with a high level of popularity and power in a society is forced to roll back from its dominating position due to animosity from the ruling class and undergo hard impairments. With certain tactics by the special individuals of that religion or denomination, however, its political power and performance is revived in another form or in another region. In this article, we investigate the measures taken by the Shiite scholars in the interregnum period after the Safawids, i.e. the Afghans and Afshars periods, in Iran by adducing that theory. It is worth noting that this article is not seeking to state the causes for Afghans’ and Nader Shah’s actions towards the Shiites; rather, it investigates the reactions of the Shiite scholars to the certain actions of those governments in order to get out of the impasse of those deadly actions. The important finding of this article is that contrary to researchers’ opinion that Shiism was completely out of affluence in that period, it could, using considered plans by the Shiite scholars and prominent authorities get out of recess and weakness and spread its territory of influence to other areas in Asia such as India and China.