Comparative study of Religious Discourse in the Works of Hoshang Golshiri and Badrshaker Al-Siyab

Religion, having played a prominent role for the advancement, perfection, and happiness of man in all periods of history, has been judged in multiple humanities schools in diversed ways. According to the principle of materialism, Marxists have sought to deny or limit the role of religion in an individual’s life. Hoshang Golshiri, being reknowned as a contemporary Iraqi poet associated with the thought of Marxism and as a writer of the Isfahan school and Badr Shaker al-Siyab, have brought religion and religious discourse to the fore. The current research, relying on the descriptive-analytical method and help from the foundations of the American school of comparative literature, seeks to examine and criticize the religious discourse of the works by Hoshang Golshiri and Badr Shaker Al-Siyab from an internal point of view. As the results of this research have indicated, Golshiri has been influenced by Marxist ideas and has reduced the adherence to the common intellectual model and the opposition to religion and the functions of religion to relieving the pains and sufferings of the masses. Moreover, Al-Siyab has tried to use religion as a deterrent against identity crises, personality conflicts, and the establishment of anti-colonial movements. 
Introduction:
As being declared by the thinkers and theoreticians of Marxism, who have an extra-religious views toward the notion of religion, the institution of religion is considered as a social one that has arisen from the heart of history to alleviate the pains and sufferings of the poor and the oppressed. Karl Marx considers religion the opium of the masses and the people. According to them, the concept of religion, like other concepts (e.g., art, literature, philosophy, etc.) is a superstructure and a symbol that has emerged under the influence of political and economic conditions and, as a result, means of production. For this reason, in his religious theory, Marx considers religion as a tool in the hands of the rulers whose teachings and doctrines prevent the masses from joining social and political movements and revolutions by alleviating the sufferings of the people. This attitude is clearly seen in the works and books of the leaders and members of socio-political groups and parties that had Marxist tendencies. With the extention of Marxist ideas in Islamic countries, including Iran and Iraq, writers entered the field of literature who tried to reflect the ideas of this party and current intellectual movement in their literary works. In Iran before the revolution, Hoshang Golshiri, addressed as the most famous writer from Isfahan, has reflected on many social issues of his stories. The institution of religion as a social institution is one of the topics and issues that has been expressed in his stories in a special way. Badr Shaker Al-Siyab, as a modernist poet was associated with Iraqi Marxism and reached the peak of fame in the midst of World War II. Furthermore, he has mentioned religion as an influential institution in the context of his songs and poems, which may exist in some of the issues holding the view of Marxists and materialisms. In this research, in order to investigate the religious discourse, its foundations, preliminaries, and assumptions have been investigated and explained at the level of the religious perspective. The current research relies on the foundations of the American comparative school and reviews the religious discourse in the works of these two writers. It is worth-mentioning that based on the foundations of this School, two different types of literature can be compared.
Method:
In the current paper, being established due to library resources and following a descriptive-analytical method anlongisde the approach of comparative literature, the similarities, differences, and statements of religious discourse in Divan Enshudah Al-Matar and other poems of Badr Shaker Al-Siyab with three stories have been examined. Followed by that, the missing shepherd, Shahdzah Ehtjab, and Jin Namah are being explored and investigated.
Results and Discussion:
Having established that the present research deals with the comparative study of religion and religious discourse by Hoshang Golshiri and Badr Shaker Al-Siyab, it is an attempt to analyze the contemporary literature of two countries, Iran and Iraq, with obvious cultural commonalities. Furthermore, via emphasizing the mutual understanding between the two nations, it can lead to human commonality and the provision of a deeper understanding compared to past. This, in turn, increases the significance of research. In addition, so far, the adaptation of two different types and genres of literature (poetry and fiction) in Arabic and Persian literature has not been discussed that much, and this indicates the relative novelty and importance of the research topic as well. This research, in addition to comparing and comparing religious concepts and values by Hoshang Golshiri and Badr Shaker Al-Siyab; It seeks to understand the place and role of religious concepts and values - as a social institution - in Golshiri and Al-Siyab's dealing with social issues in order to present a critique based on explaining the social context and intellectual structure of the two societies of Iran and Iraq for the readers.
Conclusion:
Golshiri and Al-Siyab carry two diversed views on the category of religion. Golshiri considered the category of religion and nationality as two separate and distinct concepts that are also in conflict. Under the influence of Marxist ideas, he has reduced the functions of religion to relieving the pains and sufferings of the masses. Moreover, following the common intellectual model and opposing religion, the role of secular clergy and their silence in presenting a comprehensive reading of religion has also been influential when it comes o his perceptions and thoughts. Despite that, Al-Siyab's view of religion is in conflict with the Marxist statement and he has been ahead of Golshiri on the active and complementary role of religion and Islamic models in giving identity to the individual and society. This maybe inspired by the fact tha in Arab countries, the category of religion and Islamic patterns forms their national and ethnic identity in addition to their religious identity.