Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی
Authors
1 Social Science Research, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran
2 Member of the Department of Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities and Literature Ferdowsi University of Mashhad(FUM),Iran
3 Social Sciences Research, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran
4 Social Welfare Planning, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Parks and public gardens as a form of public space and widely used leisure areas, provide a novel space for the representation of religion in the cities of Iran. In this regard, we analyze the religious Icons and elements presented in the parks and public gardens of Mashhad City (a city with the most religious origins) by a qualitative approach. The findings indicate the realization and embodiment of religion in four distinct categories: "Jurisprudence", "Identity", "Worship" and "Ethics"; the last category has the least emphasis and importance in terms of representation. Under the category of “Jurisprudence”, there are icons that warn and advise the jurisprudential and Shariah standards in the form of two threatening (hard) and persuasive (soft) tones directed at gender (with emphasis on women's dress code and their particular separated spaces) and pets (with emphasis on banning dog’s presence in the park). The “Identity” category refers to Icons that connect two local (Mashhadi-Khorasani) and national identities to religion. In this meaning, religion is realized by emphasizing the images related to Imam Reza's shrine and Islamic luminaries, warriors, and scholars. The “Worship” category realizes the concept of servitude and adoration in two ritualistic and mystical meanings. Finally, “Ethics” represents ethical values with religious references. The representation of these four concepts, types, or categories of religion in the leisure space of Mashhad, can be seen as an example of the presence and influence of political power in the public space, a form of space politics by the current established power.
Keywords
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