https://rc.isu.ac.ir/ Religion & Communication en daily 1 Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77805.html Abstract Paying attention to the dimensions and characteristics of civilizations in different schools has created a factor in the direction of wise modeling and expanding the horizon of thinking, as well as promoting the selection of the best and most lasting civilizational structure, which in light of that creates the adherence to that type of civilizational approach in an enlightened way. . In this regard, the modern Islamic civilization was provided during the short period of the political caliphate and the leadership of the Muslims by the Amir of the Believers (peace be upon him) in the Alevi discourse in order to emerge the truth of wisdom. The present research, focusing on 50 internal research articles and using Two research methods, meta-analysis and theme analysis, have dealt with the recognition of the components of civilization in the light of the behavior and speech of Amir Momenan in the realization of Islamic civilization The direction of justice and progress which is one of the most important components of the identity of Alevi civilization in line with the categorization of the basic themes taken from the results of the formulated and extracted articles And the percentage and statistics of the mentioned articles in line with the attention of the researcher's educational level with gender researchers. The research method and... in order to benefit from the meta-analysis method is another part of this research that you should know was paid. . https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77834.html Hijab and clothing can be considered one of the most significant identity and cultural components of Islamic Iran—an element that, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, has become a fundamental pillar in social structuring, with the authentic Iranian-Islamic identity being intrinsically tied to it. The complexity of this issue, along with its theoretical and executive sensitivities, has rendered it a persistent challenge in the policymaking domain. In the present study, which has been defined with a futures studies–policy making approach using the MICMAC (Impact Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification) method, 60 driving forces were initially identified through in-depth interviews. After necessary assessments, these were reduced to 19. The MICMAC software, which was employed to analyze and evaluate the reciprocal relationships of these drivers, identified variables such as media and social networks, Western values, and the media representation of law enforcement actions against unveiled individuals as key and influential factors that play a fundamental role in shaping the overall system. Additionally, variables such as the enforcement of hijab laws and tolerance between supporters and opponents of hijab were identified as dependent variables. Intermediary variables, such as social monitoring and the practice of enjoining good and forbidding evil, were recognized as bridging factors between influential and dependent variables, playing a crucial role in the system’s dynamics. The research findings indicate systemic instability, revealing that a significant number of variables experience a dual-state condition. Based on the study’s findings, several policy recommendations can be made, including: Strengthening the management of media and social networks, Planning to reduce the influence of Western values, Revising enforcement mechanisms of hijab laws, Enhancing social monitoring and reinforcing the practice of enjoining good and forbidding evil, Establishing appropriate family and educational models, Utilizing modern technologies to promote the culture of hijab, Reducing social tensions through the promotion of tolerance, Encouraging culturally appropriate clothing models. The findings highlight the need for a multi-dimensional, adaptive policy approach to effectively address the complexities surrounding hijab and its role in shaping Iranian-Islamic identity. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77881.html In recent years, video games have emerged as influential media platforms in cultural representation and in shaping public perception. One critical dimension of this representation is the portrayal of religion and religious identities through digital narratives. This study investigates the mechanisms of Islamophobic representation in the video game Assassin’s Creed Mirage and explores how the game, by drawing on historical narratives, Islamic symbols, and culturally embedded settings, contributes to the reproduction of a distorted image of Islam and Muslims. The primary objective of the study is to analyze the game’s semantic, thematic, and semiotic components and to offer strategic cultural countermeasures for addressing such representations in Islamic societies. This research adopts a qualitative and interpretive approach, utilizing a combination of thematic analysis and cultural semiotics. Data were collected through purposive and theoretical sampling from the game's scenes, dialogues, narrative structure, and visual elements. Findings indicate that the game operates through two principal strategies: cognitive distortion and emotional-affective provocation. It redefines core Islamic concepts, such as jihad, justice, worship, and martyrdom, within a context marked by violence and sectarianism. Moreover, by blending Islamic symbols with scenes of threat and terror, the game reinforces subconscious associations of fear and distrust toward Islam. In response, the study proposes targeted solutions such as enhancing critical media literacy, developing indigenous content, and fostering cultural synergy among Muslim societies to counter the ideological spread of digital Islamophobia. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77681.html in the name of allah The Evolution of Religious Imagery in Ancient Cultures and Civilizations and Divine Religions: A Comparative Study Mohammad Iranmanesh * Naser Bahonar ** Mohammad Reza Sharifzadeh *** Abstract: This article examines the evolution of religious imagery in various historical civilizations. It begins with cave paintings as the first human attempts to depict supernatural and magical forces and overcome the surrounding world, and then examines art in the ancient world. Next, the emergence of Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic divine religions and their impact on the art of religious imagery are examined. The data were collected through library methods (research, articles, and documents) and a comparative analytical method was used to analyze them. The article compares and contrasts different approaches in this field. Iranian art, both before and after Islam, has a special place in this study, and Iranian painting and drawing are analyzed as outstanding examples of religious art. Finally, the article emphasizes the special place of image and art in Islam and the spiritual perspectives of Islamic art, and tries to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of art in expressing and transmitting religious concepts throughout history. Keywords: Religious imagery, ancient arts, divine religions https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77859.html Historical series, as an influential medium in recreating the past, play a pivotal role in shaping the public perception of history and cultural identity. The series "Muawiyah", broadcast in Ramadan 1404 (March 2025) on MBC, focuses on the life of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the Umayyad Caliph and a controversial figure in Islamic history, presenting a different representation of him that contradicts traditional narratives. Using Gerard Genette’s narratological framework, this study analyzes the narrative structure of this series to reveal how narrative techniques have been used to reconstruct the image of Muawiyah and the events of early Islam. The findings of the study indicate that the series, by utilizing retrospection and futurism techniques, attempts to create continuity between the past, present, and future, as the series actively uses its duration or the way it manages time in the narrative. Also, in this series, pauses are used to describe the emotions and reflections of the characters, and to create a specific narrative rhythm with the theme of reconstructing Muawiyah's face. The frequency tool also helps to create a specific mental image of the event of the murder of Uthman and gives Muawiyah the opportunity to justify his subsequent actions. In contrast, the use of the multi-directional/repetitive technique to show the fight against the Kharijites allows the series to introduce Muawiyah as a steadfast defender against internal threats, without the need to go into complex and sometimes contradictory historical details. Accordingly, the series "Muawiyah" is not only a historical narrative, but also a "historical narrative" that seeks to present a specific interpretation of history and its characters by using various narrative techniques. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77917.html This study investigates the potential futures of religious advertising governance in Iran, offering strategies to enhance its effectiveness amidst accelerating technological, social, and cultural transformations. The key problem addressed is the increasing challenges posed by digitalization, generational shifts in lifestyles, diminishing trust in traditional religious authorities, and the emergence of new actors in digital spaces. The lack of timely recognition of trends and inadequate responses to dynamic technological and societal shifts have decreased the efficiency of traditional religious advertising methods, necessitating structural changes. Utilizing a qualitative approach and trend analysis tools, the research explores megatrends such as globalization, individualism, digital transformation, and changes in religious identities, linking these phenomena to key drivers such as technological advances, socio-cultural evolution, and governance model shifts. Data for this work were collected through document analysis, literature review, and expert interviews. The findings highlight the need for innovative and technology-driven strategies, interactive content production, media equity enhancement, and redefining the roles of religious preachers to maintain and improve the efficiency of religious advertising. The study emphasizes the importance of an anticipatory, futures-oriented approach to build resilience among religious institutions against rapid societal and technological changes. The results provide actionable insights for policymakers and religious leaders to redesign the system of religious promotion, leveraging emerging opportunities while addressing contemporary challenges. This study offers a framework for innovative, adaptive, and equitable governance of religious advertising to maintain its relevance and effectiveness in the digital age. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77688.html Although social media has become an inseparable part of human life today, a serious question arises as to whether this pervasive phenomenon is culturally neutral or directional? The answer to this question is important because domestic social media is adapted in terms of architecture and design logic, and it is natural that, assuming the cultural directionality of foreign examples, it is reproducing the Western value system. The aim of this article is to explore the perspective of Western scholars on the cultural directionality of social media, and in this regard, the question arises as to what cultural aspects of existing social media are harmful from the perspective of Western scholars and how are they formed? To answer this question, a meta-synthesis approach has been put on the agenda, and by using the method of collecting text mining and the purposeful selection of scientific texts and the skill of the data-based analysis method, the central category has been reached: "values, norms, and self-centered needs" as the most important cultural and value aspect. In this regard, the “neoliberal foundation” and “imperialism” were found to be the most important causal conditions of this central category, as well as the most important background conditions of “hybrid warfare” and “super surveillance security commercial apparatus” and the most important intervening conditions were “user ignorance” and “myth of inevitability”. The interaction between users and the mechanism of social media with important categories such as “algorithmic governance”, “mind-distorting methods” and “virtual exploitation” were extracted from the studied texts. And finally, consequences such as “destruction of civil participation”, “plural gatherings”, “mental harm” and “cost of popularity” were obtained. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77963.html In recent years, the Arbaeen ritual of Husseini has become a phenomenon beyond religious and Shiite rituals and has spread widely at the regional and global levels. This ceremony, as a social, political, cultural and media mega-event, has been the subject of attention and analysis by various news organizations. It is important to examine and understand the way this event is represented in various media. This research was conducted using the critical discourse analysis method of Fairclough and Van Dyke. Its theoretical foundations are based on the examination of linguistic structures, discursive strategies and ideologies governing the media's news and analytical texts regarding Arbaeen and are based on three levels of description, interpretation and explanation in discourse analysis and the use of the theories of Hall and Gramsci. The findings indicate that the news coverage of Arbaeen in the media, rather than being a close reflection of reality, is an active discursive representation that seeks to influence public opinion and shape the audience's perception. Finally, the four discourses of Persian-speaking media abroad with a negative and controversial approach, mainstream media with a moderate approach and relative neutrality, Arab media with an independent approach and sometimes in the form of regional competition, and aligned media with a spiritual, epic, and unifying approach have been identified, and an attempt has been made to explore and criticize the hidden layers of these discourses through textual and discursive analysis. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77992.html The present study was designed with the primary objective of identifying the patterns of uses and gratifications among Iranian women regarding television and streaming series, by comparing the two main media platforms: broadcast television and streaming services. Its central aim was to examine the role and correlation of these patterns with the variable of the audience's religious attitudes. The significance of this research lies in the growing cultural influence of narrative content in society and its role in interacting with or confronting religious values and beliefs. This applied research employed a survey approach. The statistical population consisted of Iranian women aged 12 and above, from which a random sample of 384 individuals was selected. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS software. The results indicated that while overall series consumption is high among women, religious attitude is not merely a contextual variable but a significant factor guiding female audiences' choices and their level of gratification. The findings clearly revealed a significant gratification gap between the two media platforms. Specifically, women with higher levels of religiosity found television series more legitimate and preferable due to their greater emphasis on family-oriented and moral values. In contrast, younger, more educated women with weaker religious attitudes sought greater gratification from streaming service content, which emphasizes themes such as individualism, content freedom, and the redefinition of independent female identity. Ultimately, these results demonstrate that the competition between broadcast television and streaming services reflects underlying cultural and value tensions among Iranian women, with religious attitude playing the role of an active cultural filter in media consumption. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77924.html . This study investigated the effective relationship between religious beliefs and security at the economic, ethical, and judicial levels. For this purpose, a survey method was employed, and 380 questionnaires were distributed based on the Cochran formula and the multistage random cluster sampling method. The results of the data analysis showed that religious beliefs, as a composite variable, could only account for 24% of the latent variables of security. In general, the significant effect of religious beliefs on overall security, with an estimate of 0.493 (P<0.001), confirms the positive and strong influence of this variable. In this context, judicial security, serving as a reference variable, exhibited an effect size of 507, while moral security demonstrated a strong effect of 623 (P<0.001), and economic security had a significant effect of 0.201 (P=0.047) - all indicating a direct relationship with overall security. Furthermore, the analysis of the direct effects of religious beliefs revealed that this variable has a tangible impact on security (with an estimate of 0.211 and C.R.=3.796), indicating a positive and strong relationship. The effect of judicial security is recognized as the reference variable at 1.000, while the direct effect of moral security (1.316) is higher than that of economic security (0.391). In terms of indirect effects, the relationships between security and its sub-components, including economic security (0.290), moral security (0.324), and judicial security (0.293), are also significant. Overall, the findings demonstrate a significant correlation between religious beliefs and security, with differing impacts on various security dimensions evident. The results of this study emphasize the importance of religious beliefs as an effective factor in promoting various levels of security. These findings can assist policymakers and decision-makers in the social realm to enhance the security situation within society by reinforcing religious beliefs. The emphasis on judicial and moral security as key elements highlights the necessity of participatory policies in this domain, as well as the effectiveness of addressing social and cultural dimensions in promoting public security. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77847.html The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of cultural leadership on deviant behaviors in the workplace and organizational citizenship behavior through incivility in the workplace. The current research was applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive in terms of correlational data collection. The statistical population of this research was made up of all the employees of Isfahan Islamic Azad University (Khorasgan) in the number of 660 people, of which 445 people were selected as a sample through the proportional stratified sampling method through the Cochran sampling formula. measure its validity and reliability, three types of instrument validity were used: content validity, convergent validity, and divergent validity, and to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, two criteria, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficient, were used. After analyzing the data, it was found that the Cultural leadership has a positive and significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior, which coefficient is 0.66, and cultural leadership has a negative and significant effect on deviant behaviors in the workplace, which coefficient is -0.66. The results of the bootstrap test showed that leadership Culture indirectly has a significant effect on deviant behaviors in the workplace and organizational citizenship behavior through incivility in the workplace. Based on the findings of the research, cultural leadership can predict deviant behaviors in the workplace and organizational citizenship behavior, and incivility  in the workplace plays an important role in increasing deviant behaviors in the workplace and reducing organizational citizenship behavior.  https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77798.html Investigating the relationship between media consumption and the level of religiosity of students is one of the topics of interest of sociologists and cultural policy makers. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the level of religiosity and media consumption of students across the country, as well as measuring the relationship between media consumption and their level of religiosity, with a quantitative and survey method and with the help of a questionnaire, among the students of the all universities in the country. The statistical population was all students of the country, 2060 of whom were selected by a combination of multi-stage (matched and random) sampling methods. The findings of the research show that there is a correlation between media consumption and religiosity among students. This unity takes a different direction depending on which media is used the most; In this way, there is a negative correlation between the use of foreign social networks, especially Telegram and Instagram, which are two popular media with the highest rate of use among students, and the level of religiosity, and with the increase in the use of foreign social networks, the level of religiosity will be low. However, there is a positive correlation between the consumption of domestic media and the degree of religiosity of students, and with the increase in the consumption of domestic media, the degree of religiosity will increase. In general, the influence of external social networks was evaluated slightly more than the influence of internal social networks. Therefore, media activity by producing content in accordance with local values ​​is very important, and therefore the space or media field should not be given to competing and opposing currents in terms of content production, and the mission and activity of cultural institutions at the community level and within the university today is more important than any other. Another time is very important. The findings of this research show the necessity of pathology and revision of the relevant policies in the country.   https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77997.html This study explores the implications of the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) for Islamic theology, with a particular focus on anthropological, epistemological, and axiological dimensions. The research adopts a mixed‑methods design. In the quantitative strand, data were collected through a researcher‑made questionnaire, and in the qualitative strand, semi‑structured interviews were conducted with 30 scholars of Islamic theology and philosophy. Quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate inferential statistics to examine relationships and differences between key variables, while qualitative data were coded and organized into overarching themes. The findings indicate that AI, alongside expanding opportunities for religious education, access to sources, and new modes of understanding texts, raises fresh questions about the nature of the knowing subject, the locus of epistemic authority, and the status of ethical and religious values within the Islamic tradition. Participants acknowledge the considerable potential of AI but simultaneously stress the need to reconsider certain anthropological and epistemological assumptions and to formulate ethical and jurisprudential guidelines for the age of intelligent technologies. The main contribution of this study lies in its simultaneous focus on Islamic theology and its use of an integrated mixed‑methods approach, which combines empirical and conceptual analysis and may serve as a model for future interdisciplinary research at the intersection of religion and AI. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77876.html This article designs a futures-oriented cultural policy model for virtual education in universities. It proposes a proactive framework to anticipate challenges and minimize crises by incorporating stakeholder input. While virtual education is a key driver for sustainability and complements traditional systems, especially in crises, it raises concerns about preserving the university's social identity in the digital realm, particularly socio-culturally. The model addresses the tension between globalized education and specific cultural requirements, aiming to provide a structured approach for effective policy-making in this evolving field. This research is developmental-applied in terms of its purpose and its nature is descriptive-exploratory. In this regard, with the assistance of a panel of experts through in-depth and semi-structured interviews, effective drivers were identified with the help of the interaction structure impact analysis method and the Mic-Mac software. Based on the results obtained, a cultural policy-making model was designed using the SSM (Soft Systems Method) method based on complex interactions between factors, attention to the multiple stakeholders of the virtual education system in the university, the conflict between the globalization of virtual education and Iranian-Islamic cultural requirements, and drastic technological changes. This model has been designed based on a process model in 5 stages, the first stage being prediction, prescription, and decision-making regarding cultural policies in accordance with current and future needs, the second stage being the formation and selection of policies, the third stage being the implementation of policies, the fourth stage being the ex post evaluation of policies, and the fifth stage being the adjustment, modification, or stabilization of policies. This model, while maintaining relative comprehensiveness, rationality, common sense, and attention to stakeholders, is a simple concept that firstly focuses on the limits and pitfalls of policymaking in universities, secondly on the place of virtual education in universities, and thirdly on effective trends and drivers in the field of policymaking. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77877.html The cultural governance, through the coordination of state policies; the participation of civil institutions, and the private sector, not only strengthens national identity, but also shapes the civilizational infrastructure of society and, by developing equitable access to cultural resources, achieves cultural flourishing and social cohesion. Hence, it holds particular importance for governments as a fundamental strategy. With the formation of the Islamic Republic, cultural governance in Iran underwent a serious transformation, emphasizing Iranian-Islamic culture as the framework of national identity and the realization of revolutionary values. The present study aims to explain the discourse of cultural governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran by examining pre-revolutionary cultural documents and post-revolutionary development plans, focusing on the Seventh Development Plan. For this purpose, the Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse analysis method was applied. The results showed that the central signifier in articulation of the discourse of cultural governance of the Islamic Republic has been Idealistic religious mechanical governance, which included the revolutionary Islamic approach, state ownership, sectoralism, and the minimal approach as its floating signifiers, and state politicization and rule-based approaches were also the moments of this discourse. In contrast, the cultural governance discourse of the Pahlavi regime serves as the Other (otherness) of the Islamic Republic's cultural discourse. Moreover, Westernization is the empty signifier of this discourse. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77891.html According to the Glock and Stark model, adolescents’ religiosity consists of belief, ritual, experiential, and consequential/experiential practice,, is shaped by social institutions; nevertheless, globalization and digital media have contributed to a widening gap between religious belief and practice. This study aimed to develop a culturally grounded model for the religious education of adolescents in Isfahan, with a focus on life skills. A mixed-methods design was employed: the quantitative sample consisted of 382 high school students selected through cluster random sampling, while the qualitative sample comprised 84 students chosen through purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews, representing the adolescent age group. Research instruments included questionnaires on life skills, religiosity, adherence to religious beliefs, and religious orientation. Qualitative findings indicated that the religious orientation of adolescents in Isfahan is the result of the interaction between family, school, and society, as well as the development of life skills. These life skills, while mediating between educational institutions and religiosity, contribute to the reproduction of local religious values and symbols. Quantitative findings, supporting the qualitative results, showed that life skills—particularly communication skills—have a significant but limited relationship with various dimensions of religiosity. Variables such as gender, grade, and age were also influential in certain aspects of religiosity (p<.01). The combined results suggest that life skills play a mediating role between educational institutions and adolescents’ religious orientation, although the explained variance was limited (R²=.12–.04;p<.01). Consequently, the religious orientation of Isfahan’s adolescents emerges from the interaction of educational institutions within a local context, where life skills serve as an intermediary that facilitates the internalization of beliefs and their translation into religious practice. Furthermore, in the local model of religious education in Isfahan, the emphasis is on indirect teaching of life skills, fostering critical thinking, enhancing media literacy, and promoting religious role modeling within the family, school, and community. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_77894.html Entertainment and information dissemination are two primary functions of the media, and today’s generations are increasingly engaged with modern platforms such as films and animations. In this context, raising parents’ and educators’ awareness of visual media, which significantly shapes the values, attitudes, and worldviews of children and adolescents, becomes an undeniable necessity. The animation medium, empowered by digital technologies, is capable of creating a network of multilayered and complex meanings through encoded messages. With a century-long legacy led by the Walt Disney Company (1923–2024), this medium has successfully conveyed diverse and often subtle messages to its primary audience—children and adolescents. This study, focusing on structuralist semiotic theories, especially Roland Barthes, analyzes the hidden meanings in Disney productions at different semiotic levels and then compares the extracted concepts with Islamic educational principles. The research population covers all Disney animations produced between 2013 and 2023, thus including the latest works culminating in the company’s centennial milestone. Through purposeful sampling, sequences containing implicit and mythological signifiers were selected for analysis. Findings indicate that, beyond entertainment, Disney animations convey themes such as self-awareness, personal effort, social relations, and environmental care, which align with Islamic teachings. In contrast, concepts including non-normative relationships, undermining parental authority, promotion of homosexuality, consumerism, neglect of historical identity, and disregard for divine teachings contradict Islamic educational principles. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_78029.html Commercial advertising in the modern world is a vast and ubiquitous phenomenon. Today, commercial advertisements, which by their nature are supposed to inform audiences about goods and services, have abandoned that mission and, by employing sometimes elaborate tricks, aim primarily to sell products to consumers. This study uses a qualitative research method. First, it establishes that the category of deception lacks independence and is subsidiary to the concepts of falsehood, harm, and nuisance. Then, by identifying the indicators of deception, it examines some of the techniques used in contemporary commercial advertising that operate covertly and in complex ways and draw on media theories of influence to change people’s attitudes and lifestyles. In advertisements that secretly promote consumerism, fashion-following, brand worship, installment purchases, the use of certain types of music, and similar devices, advertisers alter priorities and represent false or nonessential wants as primary needs, causing the concept of deception to undergo conceptual expansion. By conceptual expansion I mean a new and deeper meaning than its previous sense within the scope of the modern world. It is noteworthy that in the valuable juristic heritage this term was limited to particular, relatively simple forms of fraud such as a matchmaker’s deception, the misrepresentation of an animal, and deception in marriage. The conceptual expansion of deception yields consequences that appear in jurisprudence and policymaking across various domains. Examples include the application of duty-based and status-based legal rulings to deception, the necessity for the state to confront widespread deceptions that disrupt people’s livelihoods, and the use of the broadened concept of deception as a strategic principle in policymaking across multiple fields. The duties of the state and the methods for confronting and eradicating these covert forms of deception in commercial advertising are also investigated. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_78030.html Social media platforms such as Instagram, through their specific structural design, exert profound influences on users’ behavior, identity formation, and psychological well-being. This qualitative study aims to uncover Instagram’s underlying design principles and critically analyze their ethical implications. Data were collected through systematic observation of the platform’s interface (from October to December 2024) and document analysis of Meta’s official policies, technical reports, and peer-reviewed scholarly literature (2018–2025). Thematic analysis (using MAXQDA 2022) and a systematic literature review yielded 7 overarching themes (design laws) and 48 organizing themes (design principles). Key principles include “prioritizing engaging and popular content,” “encouraging prolonged user retention,” “relative freedom in content and identity expression,” and “algorithmic content recommendation based on behavioral tracking.” Ethical harm analysis reveals that these design principles generate extensive negative consequences through three pathways: (1) direct effects on content creators (e.g., incentivizing superficial, sensational, or deceptive content); (2) indirect effects on consumers via such content (e.g., promoting misinformation, materialism, and unrealistic lifestyles); and (3) direct effects on consumers (e.g., content addiction, filter bubbles, exposure to harmful material, and erosion of ethical values). The findings underscore the urgent need for “Ethics by Design” in social media development and caution that without structural reform, future digital platforms will exacerbate psychological and societal crises. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_78049.html Today, video games have become one of the most engaging media used by humankind. Statistics show a growing trend in the use of this medium. One of the important and influential elements in video games is story and narrative, which is clearly employed in story-driven games. The present study seeks to trace the stages of Christopher Vogler’s Hero’s Journey in game narratives and to examine the transformations resulting from the entry of this cinematic narrative pattern into the realm of video games. This research, using a qualitative content analysis method and a coding protocol with MaxQDA software in a “directed” approach, has been conducted on major and influential global games (God of War: Ragnarök) and Iranian games (Children of Morta and Ambassador of Love). The article demonstrates that Vogler’s Hero’s Journey narrative pattern—previously used in cinematic storytelling—has also been applied in story-driven and narrative-based video games. Although some stages of this narrative pattern have been omitted, altered, or distributed among multiple characters, its overall structure has been preserved. Consequently, in some games such as God of War, the hero’s journey transforms into “heroes’ journeys,” with several parallel journeys narrated for multiple heroes; in works such as Children of Morta, heroic characteristics are distributed among several characters, while in the game Ambassador of Love some stages have been removed. The analysis of these games shows that Vogler’s Hero’s Journey model can effectively contribute to player engagement, and that even its developed variations can be more impactful. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_78089.html The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and its growing penetration into diverse domains of human life, coupled with the predominance of conventional and functionalist approaches in contemporary AI ethics, has generated profound challenges concerning the relationship between technology, human dignity, moral responsibility, and epistemological foundations. In response to these challenges, the present study undertakes a comparative examination of the ethical foundations of artificial intelligence in relation to Islamic anthropological and epistemological principles. Employing a documentary, comparative–analytical methodology, data were collected from authoritative domestic and international sources and analyzed using Bereday’s comparative method through four sequential stages: description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison.The findings reveal that although the ethical frameworks of artificial intelligence, Islamic anthropology, and Islamic epistemology have emerged within distinct technological, philosophical, and theological contexts, they exhibit meaningful convergences at the level of foundational values, alongside notable structural divergences. The comparative analysis demonstrates that all three frameworks converge on the centrality of the human being, the rejection of reductionist conceptions of humanity, and the affirmation of dignity, agency, rationality, and moral responsibility, as well as a shared concern for justice, the common good, and the prevention of harm. Nevertheless, the principal divergences reside in their theoretical and teleological underpinnings. While AI ethics is largely characterized by a secular, application-oriented orientation focused on the governance and regulation of technological systems, Islamic anthropological and epistemological principles—grounded in theological and philosophical foundations—emphasize the ontological dignity of the human person, the moral orientation of knowledge, wisdom, and the meaningfulness of action and scientific inquiry. Overall, the findings suggest that integrating and enriching the ethical foundations of artificial intelligence through Islamic anthropological and epistemological insights can contribute to the development of a contextually grounded, human-centered, and value-oriented model for the responsible design, governance, and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies. https://rc.isu.ac.ir/article_78092.html Background and Purpose: This study investigates the interpersonal communication conduct of the Infallible to identify its underlying epistemic foundations, ethical principles, and practical methods. Earlier research in this domain has mostly described partial communicative behaviors without establishing a systematic analytical framework. Methods: Using a qualitative meta-synthesis approach, seventy-five peer-reviewed studies published in reputable journals in the fields of communication and Prophetic conduct were systematically selected and analyzed through thematic analysis. Results: Findings suggest that the communicative conduct of the Infallibles forms a coherent system integrating rational guidance, human dignity, love, justice, and divine intention as its epistemic bases. The ethical principles include conversational etiquette, fairness, honesty, forbearance, and the clear demarcation of truth and falsehood. At the methodological level, the Infallibles employed rational persuasion, indirect educational communication, nonverbal signaling, situational management, and corrective dialogue in conflict resolution. Three major thematic clusters emerged: (1) education, lifestyle, and family-social ethics; (2) methods of reasoning and their theoretical foundations; and (3) approaches to other religions and religious deviations. Conclusions and Implications: The study provides an integrated framework for understanding interpersonal communication within Islamic teachings and offers a conceptual foundation for developing Islamic models of ethical communication. Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Conduct of the Infallibles; Meta-Synthesis; Ethical Communication; Ahl al-Bayt (A); Thematic Analysis