Abd al-Aziz bin Salih al-Mahmud
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Abd al-Aziz bin Salih al-Mahmud is a contemporary Shafi'i author best known for his historical and political treatise Awdat al-Safawiyyin (The Return of the Safavids).
Scholarly Focus and Analysis
Al-Mahmud, who bears the nisba al-Shafi'i indicating his affiliation with the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, published Awdat al-Safawiyyin in 1428 AH (2007 CE) through Maktabat al-Imam al-Bukhari in Egypt. The treatise was addressed broadly to scholars, preachers, political figures, and decision-makers to analyze ideological and geopolitical currents following the fall of Baghdad.
In his historical analysis, al-Mahmud addresses widespread public misconceptions regarding the nature of the historical Safavid Empire and its founder Shah Ismail I, clarifying that the term does not refer to a contemporary faction or militia. He characterizes the historical Safavid state as the initial state project that enforced widespread ideological conversion and sectarian conflict, asserting that modern Iranian geopolitical influence represents a deliberate resurgence of Safavid ideological doctrine and regional objectives.
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List of Works
Awdat al-Safawiyyin (The Return of the Safavids) is a historical treatise examining the origins, expansion, and collapse of the Safavid Empire while drawing parallels between historical Safavid policies and contemporary sectarian and geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East.