Simultaneously with the constitutional movement and the change of the political system from (absolute monarchy to constitutionalism), the debate over the idea of equality became popular among the thinkers of this era. But the question is that what was the thinkers’ atti
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Simultaneously with the constitutional movement and the change of the political system from (absolute monarchy to constitutionalism), the debate over the idea of equality became popular among the thinkers of this era. But the question is that what was the thinkers’ attitude of this age (constitutionalists and sharia seekers (Mashroehkhahan)) about equality? Based on the four categories of ontological meaning, dimensions, realm and scope of inclusion, the present article examines the perception of constitutional thinkers of equality. The method of the present article is text-based reading. The findings of the study are as follows: Constitutionalist religious thinkers such as Naini and Mahallati emphasized the legal (rather than natural) equality of the nation, including the equality of religious minorities and women in civil and social dimensions (rather than religious). And they recognized specifically political equality only for the wise men of the nation. Constitutionalist secular thinkers such as Akhundzadeh and Talibov, and moderate constitutionalist thinkers such as Mostashar al-Dawla and Malkum Khan at the same time emphasized the natural and legal equality of the nation in the civil, social and political dimensions in the public sphere. In contrast, sharia seekers (Mashroehkhahan) such as Sheikh Fazlullah Nouri, Ali Akbar Tabrizi, and Najafi Marandi believed in natural inequality (especially from a religious perspective) and saw the civil, socio-political equality of religious minorities and women as opposed to the inherent superiority of Islam.
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