Meaning
Here, Haman is the name of the role played by a religious authority when it grants tyranny a cover of legitimacy. The text does not present this description as a general definition of every religious authority; rather, it ties it to the function of legitimization in the model of the “pharaohs.”
What Is Attributed to Shahrur
Shahrur says: “Haman: the religious authority that grants legitimacy to tyranny.” In the same context, he explains that this authority “grants legitimacy to the pharaohs” and that it “employs determinism and divine decree in their service, and justifies for them the claim to sovereignty through it and through its blessings.”
Atlas Explanation
In this atom, “Haman” is read as a designation for a political-religious function: turning religious influence or discourse into a means of granting legitimacy to tyrannical rule. This explanation adheres to the functions enumerated in the text and does not equate every presence of religion in the public sphere with this role.
Synthetic Conclusion
Within this account, tyranny is not limited to instruments of repression; its legitimacy also appears to rest on a religious authority that justifies the claim to sovereignty. This opens a path of reading in Muhammad Shahrur’s Religion and Power.
Open Question and Limit of the Reading
The passage alone does not settle a detailed criterion for distinguishing between a religious authority whose presence performs the function of “Haman” and any other religious actor. Nor is it sufficient on its own to establish specific conclusions about fiqh or civil law; for the related line of inquiry, see Critique of Authoritarianism and Monism.
Reading in the Book
The phrase appears in Fiqh is historical and civil law is separate from it under the heading “Haman: the Religious Authority.”
Religion and Power · Fiqh is historical and civil law is separate from it