The Socio-political Functions of Intelligent Fools Based on the Tales of Attār

In the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.H., some intellectuals came to the scene who, because of the integrating of wisdom and madness in their words and actions, were called intelligent fools. This outward madness was an occasion for exceptional freedom, in a way that these apparently insanes went beyond the conventional and sacred concepts of their Time to propose different ways of interrelation between God/Human, Man/Society, and Man/Power institutions. The present article studies these interrelations through reading some tales of Attār, and is concerned with the following issues: Typology of Intelligent Fools and determination of madness as a resort for intellectuals; analysis of the socio-political functions of Intelligent Fools based on Bakhtin’s ideas; demonstration of the similarities between Intelligent fools in Islamic culture (Mathnavis of Attār) and Christian culture (Ideas of Erasmus).