Ali Rahnema is Professor of Economics at the American University of Paris, France.

This is an outstanding book for its erudition, balance and perception, and a worthy study of an outstanding intellectual figure. Professor Vanessa Martin, Bulletin of SOAS - Rahnema's excellent study deserves the attention of every student of modern Iran. Professor Ali. M. Ansari, The University of St Andrews 'Ali Rahnema's excellent political biography of the radical Iranian intellectual Ali .Shari 'ati...follows the development of his thought skillfully - Rahnema is to be thanked for providing such a readable account of this complex and important man.' Charles Tripp, Times Literary Supplement Ali Rahnema balances sympathy for his subject with scholarly objectivity. He writes with a fluency and charm rare in academic books, sweeping the reader along with his enthusiasm and energy.' Shusha Guppy, Times Higher Educational Supplement

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsThe Political and Religious settingThe Tudeh PartyThe Kasravi Tendency2.Mohammad Taqi Shari’ati: Father and TeacherThe Centre for the Propagation of Islamic TruthsThe Centre and the Oil Nationalization MovementThe Influence of the Centre3.The Movement of God-Worshipping SocialistsThe SplitThe Homespun Ideology4.From Child to AdultAli’s Primary SchoolSecondary SchoolThe Adult ChildContradictory MoodsAli and his Books5.The Young Intellectual and Political ActivitstThe League for the Freedom of Iranian PeopleThe Political AgitatorTranslationsThe Median Schools of IslamKhorasan6.The University YearsPolitical DiscontentNew Sparks, Friends, TeachersA Patron of Modern PoetryImprisonment, Marriage and Graduation7.ParisObservation, Introspection and AdjustmentPolitical Revival and Radicalization (1960-1964)Discrete PresencePenmanshipThe Congress of the World Federation of Iranian Students8.Looking to the FutureThe PenSocio-political activitiesThe death of Ali’s motherBeyond the National FrontIran-e-AzadThe Lausanne Congress9.Schooling in ParisA Classical EducationThe Genuine Foundation of KnowledgeMassignonGurvitchBerqueFanonSartreTheoretical Bridge-buildingThe Islamic Alternative10.Homeward BoundSalman-e-PakA Guide to KhorasanApplying to Mashhad University11.Mystical MurmersShari’ati’s retreatThe Need for GodShari’ati’s GnosticismMystical ExperiencesAnnihilation and Assimilation of God Gnosticism and Politics12.Fictive MindShari’ati, Sham, ChandelChandel and ChapelleShari’ati and SolangeSolange’s death and resurrectionThree epids of the fictive mind13.At Mashhad UniversityThe JacobinsThe MediumA Patron of Cultural ActivitiesThe Relief WorkerA Diversion : Shari’ati and Jalal-e Al-e Ahmad14.Shari’ati’s Audience and Discourse at the University of MasshadEslamshenasi The intellectual left and Shari’atiThe revolutionary left and Shari’atiThe religious establishment reacts15.A Cat and Mouse GameInterrogationsThe ban on public lecturesA mind under pressure16.Hosseiniyeh ErshadThe First PhaseThe Second PhaseThe Hejazi AffairShari’ati’s first taste of ErshadThe return to Ershad17.ErshadA Disturbing IconoclastThe BacklashThe struggle for ErshadAn unexpected reinstatement18.RestorationThe Nascent Iranian Guerrilla MovementShari’ati’s ErshadThe clerical opposition to Shari’atiMosaddeqist CriticismThe challenges of the revolutionaries19.The WordEducational lectures: The History and Mastery of ReligionsA Radical Islamic Ideology20.Insurrectionary DiscourseReligious subversionPolitical subversionThe complete Shi’i party21.Cultivating MartyrsErshad: the revolutionary beehiveThe closer of Ershad22.ImprisonmentThe Komiteh PrisonA New DayFreedom and ConfusionRevisionism: by choice or freedom?23.The Curtain FallsRationalization or radicalization? Hejira and DeathEpiloguseNotesSelect BibliograhyIndex