Hawzah News Agency- Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Hojatoleslam Ali Hemmat Banari, head of al-Mustafa International University’s Higher Complex of Humanities and chairman of the conference, underlined the growing strategic and civilizational significance of the resistance discourse in contemporary developments across the Muslim world.
Congratulating the audience on the anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the auspicious occasions of Sha‘ban, Banari said the press briefing was aimed at outlining the objectives and intellectual framework of the upcoming international conference, adding that a detailed academic report would later be presented by the conference’s scientific secretary, Dr. Seyed Mehdi Taheri.
Banari stressed that resistance has gone beyond being merely a concept or a political current, transforming into a comprehensive discourse with global reach.
“Today, the discourse of resistance is no longer confined to the Islamic Republic of Iran or even to the region,” he said. “It has become a global phenomenon whose importance has grown more evident in light of recent social and political transformations.”
He noted that the world is on the threshold of major changes, with clear signs of the rise of a new Islamic civilization and the increasing challenge to Western dominance.
“In this context, the resistance discourse has entered a new phase and has become the dominant framework in the civilizational confrontation between the emerging Islamic civilization and the Western model,” Banari said.
The senior cleric emphasized that the Muslim world is now witnessing a comprehensive confrontation with what he described as the front of global arrogance, both in hard and soft domains.
“The discourse of resistance constitutes the most fundamental component of the new Islamic civilization,” he said. “This civilization claims dynamism, transformative capacity, and the ability to guide humanity toward true prosperity—goals that no discourse can realize more effectively than the discourse of resistance.”
Banari further argued that resistance not only provides the foundation for standing up to hegemonic systems, but also prepares Islamic societies for the era of reappearance and the realization of an ideal global order.
“During the phase of preparation for the advent of justice, no discourse is as vital as the discourse of resistance,” he added.
Highlighting the role of humanities, Banari said these disciplines are directly concerned with human life, social management, and civilization-building.
“Unlike technical and natural sciences, which operate in limited spheres, it is the humanities that define the trajectory of human societies,” he said, describing them as the most suitable platform for explaining and institutionalizing the various dimensions of the resistance discourse.
He noted that if the goal is to turn resistance into a dominant, public, and global discourse, the humanities provide the most effective framework for achieving this objective.
In this regard, Banari pointed to al-Mustafa International University as a uniquely positioned institution, given its international and religious character and its active presence in numerous countries, to promote and expand the resistance discourse worldwide.
The conference chairman said the main goals of the event include theorizing the resistance discourse through the lens of humanities, producing knowledge in this field, and contributing to global discourse-building.
“So far, resistance has been addressed mainly in media and field contexts, while its theoretical and scientific dimensions have received far less attention,” he said. “This conference seeks to establish intellectual foundations and examine the legal, political, psychological, sociological, ethical, and educational aspects of the resistance discourse.”
Banari added that the conference has issued a call for papers in six major world languages and has drawn on al-Mustafa’s international capacities to help globalize the resistance discourse beyond the Muslim world.
Despite time constraints and recent communication challenges, he said, more than 320 fully relevant academic papers have been submitted to the conference, reflecting the timeliness, depth, and growing necessity of scholarly engagement with the resistance discourse.
He concluded by stressing that resistance must not remain a temporary or event-based topic.
“The discourse of resistance should evolve into the dominant paradigm in the Muslim world and beyond,” Banari said, “as it outlines a new path toward human prosperity, prepares the ground for justice, and contributes to the realization of the new Islamic civilization.”
Your Comment