Mirza Malkam Khan and Position of the Clergy in the Modernization of Iran

Mirza Malkam Khan known as Nazem-Al-Dole is among the thinkers who has written numerous notes and writings about the clergy and their position in the future of Iran. His most important work was Qanun newspaper which from the viewpoint of most experts, it played a very important role in developing the Constitutional Revolution. The present study intends to examine the motivations and intentions of Mirza Malkam Khan in terms of his attention to religion and specially its missionaries, and it also answers the following question: “What was the position of Shia Ulama (scholars) in the analysis of Malkam about the modernization of Iran?” to answer this question, researchers believe that “Malkam’s attitude towards the Ulama should be based on two “motivations” that are the increasing power of the Ulama and the opportunistic character of Malkam (background and context) in line with two “goals” known as modernization and his taking revenge on Qajar court (intention).” In this regard, the paper will distinguish three attitude towards the clergy in Malkom’s political and intellectual career. To analyze the hypothesis of the present study, Content analysis methodology and the conceptual framework of Political Modernity by Maurice Barbie were used.