The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

Explaining the social factors of the transformation of the Islamic city in the contemporary period with emphasis on the city of Tehran

Author
Hassan Bakhshizadeh
Department of History and Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
10.22059/jrd.2025.396327.668926
Abstract
The problem and aim of the present study is to explain the social factors of the evolution and development of Tehran, with an emphasis on the components of the Islamic city in the Qajar and Pahlavi periods (1304-1321), which, according to the qualitative research method, historical analysis and interpretative hermeneutic analysis have been used in parallel. According to the research findings, the most important and fundamental social changes in Tehran were experienced in the Qajar period, a period when the city's population tripled and social changes (such as changes in the lifestyle of residents and the influx of Western elements and symbols) led to architectural changes and the formation of a style called Tehran style in the eyes and minds of the people. On the other hand, following the modernist policies of the years 1304-1321, we are witnessing an unprecedented increase in the entry of Western culture in Tehran. In fact, the most important social changes and the confrontation with the most unknown urban issues among the people, are manifested and manifested in Tehran as an Islamic city (and a social reality) during this period. According to the research results, the creation and evolution of social factors in Tehran, with the influence of political agencies and factors (internal and external) and the one-sided interaction of individuals in the city with these structures, has advanced on the most important criteria and components of the Islamic city, such as order (disrupting the traditional social order and presenting a new and unconscious order), Islamic body (adapting Western criteria and ignoring Islamic and indigenous criteria), and the existence of monotheistic identity (challenging traditional-religious identity with modern and plural identity), and has confronted the urban community with numerous micro and macro challenges.
Keywords
Explaining the Social Factors of the Transformation of the Islamic City in the Contemporary Period with Emphasis on the City of Tehran
  • Abu-Lughod, J. L. (1987). The Islamic City-Historic Myth, Islamic Essence, and Contemporary Relevance. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 19(2), 155-176. Cambridge University Press.
    • Aghvami Ghadam, A. (1999). City, Urbanization and Modernism in Iran 1299-1320 AH. Master's Thesis, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. Supervisor: Dr. Seyyed Mohsen Habibi. (In Persian)
    • Anbari, M. (2016). Symbolism of Urban Identity in Iran with Emphasis on the City of Tehran. Tehran: City Studies and Planning Center. (In Persian)
    • Arvey, P., Hambly, G., & Melville, C. (1992). The Pahlavi Dynasty and Religious Forces in Relation to Cambridge. Translated by: Abbas Mokhbar. Tehran: Tarh-e-No. (In Persian)
    • Ashraf, A. (1973). Historical Features of Urbanization in Iran during the Islamic Period. Social Sciences Journal, 1(4), 7-49. (In Persian)
    • Ashraf, A. (1979). Historical Obstacles to the Growth of Capitalism. Tehran: Zaman. (In Persian)
    • Babaei Salanqouch, E., Masoud, M., & Mohammadi, M. (1994). Explaining a conceptual framework for the "Islamic city". Methodology of the Humanities, 20(80), 109-140. (In Persian)
    • Bemanian, M. R. (2006). Factors affecting the formation of architecture and urban planning in the first Pahlavi period. Art Teacher, 1(1), 1-8. (In Persian)
    • Bamat, N. (2014). Islamic city. Translated by: M. H. Halimi. Tehran: Publication Organization of the Endowment and Charity Affairs Organization. (In Persian)
    • Bavar, S. (2010). A look at the emergence of new architecture in Iran. Tehran: Faza. (In Persian)
  • Berndtsson I, Claesson S, Friberg F, Öhlen J (2007). Issues about thinking phenomenologically while doing phenomenology. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 38(2), 256-277.
  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
  • Castelles, M. (1977). The urban question. Cambridge, the MIT Press.
    • Durkheim, E. (2014). Rules of Sociological Method. Translator: A. M. Kardan. Tehran: Tehran University Press. (In Persian)
    • Fazeli, N. (2017). Feminization of the City with Emphasis on the Spaces of Tehran City. Scientific and Cultural Publishing Company. (In Persian)
    • Ghasemi, I. (2013). Physical Spatial Consequences of the Challenge of Modernity and Modernization in Tehran City 1368-1388. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Supervised by Dr. Ahmad Poura Hamad. (In Persian)
    • Ghobadi, A. R. (2014). Characteristics of the City from the Perspective of Nahjul Balagha. Tehran. City Printing and Publishing Center. Tehran: Tehran City Studies and Planning Center. (In Persian)
    • Giddens, A. (1998). Sociology. Translated by: M. Sabouri. Tehran: Ney Publishing House. (In Persian)
    • Habibi, M. (2009). Government and Development of Tehran 1921-1925. Environmental Journal, 15(15), 11-22. https://dor.isc/dor/20.1001.1.10258620.1368.15.15.2.2 (In Persian)
    • Habibi, S. M. (2000). Urban spaces, eventful life and collective memories. Soffe Magazine, 28. (In Persian)
  • Harvey, D. (1985). The urbanization of capital. Oxford, UK: Blaclwell.
  • Harvey, D. (2003). The Right to the City. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 27(4), 939-941.
    • Hashemi, A., Azkia, M., & Mousavi, S. Y. (2012). A Sociological Study of Urban Poverty Strategies for Survival in the City (Case Study: Heads of Poor Households in Tehran). Local Development (Rural-Urban), 14(2), 511-528. https://doi.org/10.22059/jrd.2023.346654.668749 (In Persian)
    • Hassani, S. H. R. (2009). Hermeneutics of the Humanities: An Introduction to Wilhelm Dilthey's Hermeneutics. Islamic Education Journal, 1(1), 103-120. (In Persian)
    • Imani Jajarami, Hossein (1994). Articles on the Islamic City. Translated and compiled by: Tehran City Studies and Planning Center. (In Persian)
    • Institute of Social Studies and Research, University of Tehran (1969). Seminar on the Study of Social Issues in Tehran, 1969. Publications of the Institute of Social Studies and Research, University of Tehran. (In Persian)
    • Kalantari, A., & Bakhshizadeh, H. (2019). Social Changes in Tehran City during the First Pahlavi Period. Local Development (Rural-Urban), 11(2), 409-436. https://doi.org/10.22059/jrd.2019.76754 (In Persian)
    • Kalantari, A., & Bakhshizadeh, H. (2019). Criteria of Social Justice in the Islamic City. Journal of Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers, 10(1), 9-30. https://doi.org/10.22059/jstmt.2020.295303.1325 (In Persian)
    • Katouzian, M. A. H. (1995). Iran's Political Economy from Constitutionalism to the End of the Pahlavi Dynasty. Translated by: M. R. Nafissi & K. Azizi. Tehran: Markaz Publishing. (In Persian)
    • Katouzian, M. A. H. (No date). Society and Government during the Reza Shah Period. Kargozaran Newspaper. (In Persian)
  • Lindseth, A., & Norberg, A. (2004). A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived experience. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 18, 145–153. 
  • Miner-Romanoff, K. (2012). Interpretive and critical phenomenological crime studies: A model design. The Qualitative Report, 17(54), 1-32.
    • Naghizadeh, M. (2011). The Ideal City of Islam or the Space of Good Life: The Requirements for Realizing an Islamic City Based on Religious Texts. Tehran: Tehran Municipality Cultural and Artistic Organization, City Publishing Institute. (In Persian)
    • Piran, P. (2005). Iranshahr Thought. Mehr, Issue 6, winter. (In Persian)
  • Ricoeur, P. (1976). Interpretation theory, discourse and surplus of meaning. Fort Worth: University of Texas Press.
  • Ricouer, P. (1991). From Text to Action: Essays in Hermeneutics II. London: Athlone.
    • Safari, S., Yousefifar, Sh., & Sheikh Nouri, M. A. (2014). People's Protests against Urban Renovation in the First Pahlavi Period (Study of the Documents of the National Assembly's Petitions - the Sixth to the Eighth Legislative Assembly). Social History Research, 4(1), 29-60. (In Persian)
  • Weber, M. (1958). The City. Don Martindale and Gertrud Neuwirth, editors and translators. Glencoe, 111. Free Press.
    • Ziba Kalam, S. (2014). Political and Social Developments of Iran, 1322-1320. Tehran: Samt. (In Persian)