Coming to Grips with Rationality

This chapter, similar to Chap. 6 , explores a pathway of incorporating Shiism adopted by converts. The issue of rationality and the approach to it emerges as one of the challenges within “Italian Shiʿism”. The approach to rationality is shaped by the imperatives that have led converts down this path. Shiʿism has drawn newcomers due to its perceived potential to disrupt the norms of the modern world. Consequently, the “minor Islam” is expected to embody tendencies that stand in contrast to the modern world and its derivatives, such as secularism and social equality. As a result, converts, in their written and digital publications, revive those principles that Shiʿa rationalists or Usuli scholars have redefined, eliminated, or relegated to the realm of heterodoxy or heresy. These “problematic” elements have been adjusted over the centuries to facilitate the development of the Shiʿa legal framework and the involvement of the Shiʿa clergy in politics. Examples of these magical tenets that converts present within Shiʿism through their digital and written works include cyclical time, the divine nature of the Imams, apocalyptic eschatology, and the culture of secrecy. Shiʿism reverts to its original state, characterized by a lack of jurisprudence and an emphasis on esotericism. This religion is valued and celebrated for its inner profundity at the expense of its exoteric and normative aspects. However, when it comes to practicing Shiʿism, newcomers grapple with the complex issue of authority responsible for establishing religious norms. Who will serve as the authority to issue legal rulings for converts? The Marajiʿ, or traditional Shiʿa authorities, are not readily accessible to Italian converts for two primary reasons. The first reason pertains to the language used in their juridical elaborations, while the second relates to the content of these elaborations. The websites of internationally renowned Marajiʿ do not yet offer an Italian version, making them inaccessible to converts who are not proficient in the available languages or who cannot directly connect with the Marajiʿ. Efforts have been made to establish seminaries in Milan and Carpi to train indigenous Shiʿa religious authorities in Italy. Nevertheless, these seminaries have a long way to go before becoming fully established centers of Shiʿa scholarship. Another initiative, undertaken in 2013, involved the translation and publication of a compendium of 467 fatwas (legal opinions) from Ayatollahs Khamenei and Sistani, in response to various questions. Here, the second and more significant challenge related to religious authority comes to the forefront. Despite the time dedicated to this compendium, some of the rulings are not applicable in Italy. Therefore, Marajiʿ are not inaccessible to converts solely due to language barriers; the content of their elaborations also presents challenges. The presence of Traditionalism, alongside Italy’s contemporary cultural and socio-political trends, does not facilitate converts’ relationship with traditional Shiʿa religious authority. A consequence of the absence or inadequacy of traditional Shiʿa authority is the emergence of new forms of religious reference points among converts, who tend to decentralize ijtihad (independent juridical reasoning) by resorting to personal reasoning. In this context, converts generate new interpretations of ijtihad while reinterpreting the role of religious authority.