Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Nahj al-balaghe is a selection of sermons and small talks of Aliebne Abitaleb (AS), who is the first Imam of Shiite. Due to its rich and rhetoric content, it is known and called “the brother of Quran” by Shiite and Sunni scholars. By considering media literacy as the main approach of this paper, everything that transfers a message to others can have a media usage. Therefore, Nahj al-balaghe could be perceived as a media representation, and has the capability to transfer concepts that Imam Ali (AS) had in mind to audience with its functions, which in turn resulted in moving a step toward in Shiite religious culture. By emphasizing peace and tolerance concepts, in this research, 241 of his sermons have been studied in conformity with key dimensions of a media literacy perspective, which are emotional, cognitive, rhetoric, aesthetic, and ethical in accord with five key components (use, availability, analysis of communication) that the European Commission (EC) has pinpointed for media literacy. The findings reveal that Imam Ali (AS) as a Shiite religious leader stated instructive points about peace and tolerance, and had a clear way, harmonized with lean rationality and conscientious divine world view.