Abstract
As Gencer has pointed out, in different worlds divided into "West" and "Islamic", the process of ideologicalization of religion, generally called secularization, is followed by a different pattern of religious character and modernization process. In this respect, the ideological forms of religions can be fully understood only by comparing the course of the character and modernization process of different religions, and even of different religious sects. Similarly, Iranian-Shia secularization, like Islamic Modernism, cannot be understood without considering Western modernity and Western acculturation. Modernism is the project of building the "here and now" by, as Marx put it, accelerating the history, instead of waiting for the world that Christ will create ‘there and then’ in the end of times. Hence, the connection between modernism and secularism is evident here, which means that the road to the modern world passes through secularism. Secularism refers to the project of establishing "here and now" without waiting for the way to the ultimate goal of the new world order, the future earthly paradise. Thus, secularism is perceived as a way of overcoming the eschatological mentality where history was put aside. Iranian-Shia secularization, under the influence of Western ideas and political waves, also heavily carries the historical and identity features of Iran- a strong civilization. These characteristics may be evident in all aspects of Iranian-Shia secularization. In the analysis based on Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (1838-1897), Mohammad Hossein Naini (1860-1936) and Ruhollah Khomeini (1902-1989 ) three points will be identified: i) the implicit secularization of the belief in the "Messiah/Mahdi" in Iran as it is in the West, ii) ideological nation of Islam, iii) the secularization of fiqh caused by the dilemma of Shia "sharia and law". The Iranian-Shiite secularization process will be analyzed in line with the above-mentioned general and abstract framework.