Anarchology of Religion: 1/13

Anarchology of Religion: 

From Adam’s Rebellion Against the Source of Authority, Through Abraham’s Conscious Submission, to Husayn’s “No” to Domination

(1/13)

Mahmoud Sadeghi Janbahan

Translated by Laya Najmaraqi 

Preface and Analytical Introduction

An Anarchological Reinterpretation of Religion: A Liberatory Experience of Freedom, Courage, and Dignity

This article aims to offer a systematic and theoretical reinterpretation of two foundational religious archetypes—Adam and Abraham—as well as Husayn, the historical embodiment of rebellion against domination. However, this reading is grounded in the independent and original epistemic framework of Anarchology of Religion, which goes beyond conventional historical, theological, or mystical studies. Here, religion is reimagined as an ethical and existential experience, one that emerges in resistance to both internal and external systems of domination.

From this perspective, Adam represents the first existential rebellion of humanity against a predetermined order void of autonomy and responsibility—an order mythologically portrayed as paradise, yet lacking true freedom. His so-called “fall” is reframed as the beginning of awareness, responsibility, and freedom. Abraham, in turn, embodies conscious and loving submission, rooted in moral courage, internal autonomy, and an emancipatory confrontation with both internal and external authority. Finally, Husayn stands as the supreme symbol of moral and cognitive rebellion—an informed and courageous “No” to every form of domination, through which the dignity, autonomy, and freedom of the human being reach their highest expression.

In this light, concepts such as free will, moral courage, rebellion against power, intrinsic human dignity, individual responsibility, and anarchic-ethical living are not simply moral or mystical notions. They constitute the core components of the theoretical structure of Anarchology of Religion. This framework analyzes religion through a critical lens, rejecting hierarchical, authoritarian, and justice-evading systems, while envisioning a liberatory horizon where faith becomes inseparable from freedom and ethics.

This article is:

 • Not a historical account or traditional interpretation of religious myths;

 • Not a repetition of conventional religious teachings;

 • But rather an effort to redefine religion as a space of free thought, moral courage, and resistance to domination—within a lived, existential, spiritual, and psychological framework, grounded in the anarchological paradigm.

In this perspective, Husayn is not merely a religious hero or Shi‘a Imam, but a voice of the universal human conscience, a symbol of liberation from all forms of domination. A figure who stood firmly against every kind of authoritarianism—political, psychological, or social—and chose rebellion and sacrifice over submission and fear.

Ultimately, this article is an invitation to transcend authoritarian and hierarchical religion toward a vision of liberating and emancipatory religiosity. A religion not as an instrument of domination, but as a path toward human dignity, freedom, and ethical responsibility. This anarchological lens offers a fresh perspective on the role of religion in human history and its place in the dynamics of power and resistance.

Section One: Theoretical Foundations of the Anarchology of Religion

The Anarchology of Religion is not merely a reinterpretation of religious concepts through a philosophical or theological lens. It is a creative reimagining of religiosity based on autonomy, dignity, moral courage, and refusal of domination. In this framework, religion is neither a commanding institution, nor a rigid law, nor an instrument of political 

power.

It is an open horizon of lived experience with the sacred—an experience where the human being engages with their full existential reality: cognitive, moral, and emotional. From this engagement emerges a path toward a dignity-based life rooted in personal responsibility.

In the Anarchology of Religion, religiosity is a self-aware, inner process shaped by free experience. This stands in radical contrast to authoritarian readings of religion that define faith through obedience, and worship through rituals bound by coercion. Within this conceptual space, the mythic figures of Adam and Abraham, alongside the historical figure of Husayn, are reinterpreted—not as institutional role models, but as three ethical peaks of rebellion, conscious submission, and moral courage in the face of power.

Through the lens of Anarchology of Religion, this article re-reads these Abrahamic figures to demonstrate that true religiosity is not defined by obedience, but by the passion for liberation and ethical living; not by imitation, but by the courage to choose; not by authority, but by the uncompromising dignity of the individual. Religion is not reintroduced as a tool of salvation, but as a horizon of human openness to the sacred. This work is thus a reclamation of religion from systems of domination—and a return of the sacred to the free human llfe.

Reference 

Sadeghi Janbahan, M. (2025). Anarchology of religion: From Adam’s rebellion against the source of authority, to Abraham’s conscious submission, to Husayn’s defiant “No” to domination (Part 1/13). Translated by L. Najmaraqi. Retrieved from https://anarchology-journal.blogspot.com/

Retrieved from: 

https://anarchology.blogfa.com

https://anarchology-journal.blogspot.com/