Iranian Journal of Sociology

Abstract Comparative historical analysis is one of the most important and efficient methodologies in contemporary social sciences. It seems that this methodology can help us develop C. Wright Mills's concepts of sociological imagination.  Theda Skocpol, under the influence of Mills, employed sociology's historical imagination in analyzing social problems.  He argues that there are three approaches to historical sociology: interpretive historical sociology, macro-historical sociology, and analytical historical sociology. In this paper, the characteristics of comparative historical analysis are explained and then the application of this methodology is clarified in analyzing Iran s problems. In the end, the limitations and possibilities are mentioned.

Abstract In the early 19th century, the beginning of modernization has in Islamic countries caused the clergymen and religious forces’ reaction against this phenomenon differently. Generally, some strong opponents and proponents of the rulers and jurists were formed in these countries. In this research study, we examined the role of Islamic Sharia in the modernization process in Iraq and Malaysia as two major Islamic countries. In addition, the research investigated the power of Sharia in those countries. Moreover, it addressed the way of the Muslim clerics, as Sharia defenders treat modernists in these countries. We used Davis s theory of barricades as our conceptual framework. The research findings demonstrated that Sharia has had different functions in Iran and Malaysia, meaning that it helped the modernization process in Malaysia, while it resisted any radical changes.