Prohibited Contributions to Sin and Prohibited Contributions to Oppressor in Mass Media in the Eyes of Islamic Jurisprudence and with an Emphasis on Jurisprudent Speculation of Imam Khomeini (ra)

Studying rulings of news broadcast and press is particularly important with a consideration given to age of communications and the need of jurisprudence to respond to matters concerned with the community. In school of Islam, jurisprudence is in charge of elucidating individual and social must’s and must not’s including jurisprudent rules of the rule “prohibited contributions to sin and prohibited contributions to oppression”. This article initially presents proofs and sources pertinent to these two rules taken from verses and narrations; it cites literal and idiomatic senses of these two rules through verses and later, it mentions ruling of these two rules from the opinions of jurisprudents and jurisprudent principles of Imam Khomeini (ra). Besides, considering the rule “prohibited contributions to sin”, it has dealt with one of the applying cases in media meaning the media which affects abnormally imitative behavior of the audience and further, considering the rule “prohibited contributions to oppressor”, it explores one of its applications meaning autocratic journalism. Consequently, with an emphasis on jurisprudent speculations of Imam Khomeini (ra), it finally discusses special role of news media in resuscitating “bid for good deeds and forbid bad deeds” so that rules of “prohibited contributions to sin and prohibited contributions to oppressor” would be practically achieved.