Al-Qalam 
By Al-Qalam Reporter
The Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) at the University of Johannesburg will be hosting a conference on the “Fanon Century” in a few weeks.
At the conference, Al-Qalam editor Imraan Buccus will examine the intellectual relationship between Frantz Fanon and Ali Shariati, arguing that Fanon’s revolutionary theory, while groundbreaking in its psychological and political analysis of colonialism, could have been strengthened through a more substantive engagement with religion. Franz Fanon was a political philosopher greatly influenced by the Algerian revolution, whose work is much quoted in the context of the Palestinian struggle. Ali Shariati was an Iranian revolutionary who focused on the sociology of religion, and his work had a great influence on the Islamic Movement in South Africa.
“Through a close comparative reading of Fanon’s work, particularly The Wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks, alongside Shariati’s revolutionary interpretation of Islam, the presentation will focus on how Shariati’s religious framework complements and extends Fanon’s secular approach to decolonisation, “ Buccus said.
Buccus made the point that while Fanon recognised cultural symbols and practices as crucial to anti-colonial struggle, his treatment of religion remained limited, often viewing it primarily as a structure co-opted by colonial powers. Shariati, conversely, developed a radical theology that distinguished between “religion as ideology” and “religion as institution,”. Shariati was of the view that authentic religious consciousness could serve as a powerful counter-hegemonic force.
Limited work has been done on the relationship between Fanon and Shariati, and the limitations in Fanon’s approach become apparent when contrasted with the success of liberation theology movements in Latin America, which effectively mobilised religious consciousness for revolutionary ends.
“Fanonian analysis with Shariati’s revolutionary religious consciousness offers a more complete framework for understanding and advancing liberation struggles in contexts where religious identity remains central to social life,” Buccus said.
He added that “Shariati developed the idea of the social, cultural and historical contingencies of religious knowledge in sociology.”
He believed in the earthly religion and the social context in which the meaning of society is construed. He also emphasised that, as a sociologist, he also understood religion socio-historically.
