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چکیده
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China’s BRI has caught many eyes and thoughts. In contrast to its Western narrative as a ‘Rising Chinese Threat’, the Islamic Republic of Iran has considered the Popular Republic of China a strategic opportunity amid its deepening conflict with the West. Along with geopolitical reasons lurking beneath the surface of Tehran-Beijing connections, such an odd partnership between an Islamist government with a communist one brings religious-ideological elements to the fore. In contrast to superficial interpretations of the non-flexibility of political Shiism, Iran’s relation with China is compatible with its dominant ideological-religious doctrine. From this perspective, the present paper sets forth a new understanding of the Sino-Persian Connections from a religious-ideological prism. ‘How and under what mechanisms has the Islamic Republic made its Chinese policy compatible with its religious-ideological codes? This is the pivotal question that guides the analytical narrative of the paper. In this reading, the paper argues that Shia Jurisprudence has specific religious foundations that justify Islamic Republic’s policy towards PRC. It also highlights both ‘Principlism’ and ‘Jurisprudence Pragmatism’ through which the Islamic Republic expands its relations with China. The former asserts that the expansion of ties with China does not conflict with the religious principle of rejecting domination by non-Muslim foreigners. That is why the Islamic Republic’s powerful elites do not consider the expansion of China's influence as a form of new imperialist expansionism that would lead to the domination of a non-Muslim country over a Muslim one. The latter puts that the jurisprudential rule of expediency eases the conflict between the policies of the Chinese government against its Muslim population and the Islamic Republic’s claim in support of all the Muslims in the world and provides religious justification for relations with Beijing. Therefore, Iran has kept silent about this issue because the disadvantages arising from possible tensions with China would be far more than its benefits for sticking to its claim of supporting the integrity of the Muslim World. Concisely, several Shia Jurisprudence elements facilitate the partnership between Lion and Dragon on the New Silk Road.
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