Khaqan Sahib al-Quran and the Scholars of the Time

The book “Khaqan Sahib al-Quran and the Scholars of the Time,” subtitled (The Role of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar in the Formation of New Religious Trends and Institutions) and published by Agah Publishing, is a valuable work by Ahmad Kazemi Mousavi that examines the process of institution-building during the reign of the Iranian king Fath-Ali Shah. This book endeavors to present a new formulation of the development of new religious institutions during this Iranian king’s era. Therefore, the author’s historical reading in this book is exceptional in Iran, as few writers have addressed how new religious authority emerged under new religious titles and examined the reasons for their growth and diffusion within a social context. As we will see, Fath-Ali Shah’s awareness of contemporary circumstances was no less than that of other kings before and after him. His claimed familiarity with jurisprudential and literary issues, his sociability and rapport with poets and clergy, especially jurists and scholars of the time, paved the way for the aforementioned trends and institutions. Moreover, the seeds of growth for Qajar-era painting, Iranian classical music, and the custom of Shia mourning rituals were planted during Fath-Ali Shah’s period and have continued to the present day.