Bijan Abdolkarimi

Bijan Abdolkarimi (born 1963) is an Iranian philosopher, thinker, translator, and editor. His primary areas of interest include ontology, political philosophy, and the critique of religious and intellectual traditions, with a stated aim of challenging the prevailing ideological discourse in Iran. He is known for his participation in debates on Iranian television and universities, where he has often expressed opposition to the concept of "Islamic humanities." Abdolkarimi is also recognized as a scholar of Martin Heidegger's thought. He holds degrees from the University of Tehran (B.A. and M.A.) and Aligarh Muslim University (Ph.D.). He has been an associate professor of philosophy at Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch since 2001. In September 2021, he was dismissed from the university for allegedly defending the Pahlavi monarchy, although this expulsion was later suspended. Abdolkarimi's philosophical views include a spiritual interpretation of Heidegger's work, a critical examination of the West-East relationship, and a theory on the "end of theology" and the "destroyed ontology" of our time, which he interprets as a "metaphysicslessness." He posits that future human thought will be non-secular and non-theological, diverging from materialistic interpretations while not adhering to historical theological systems.