Ali Shariati (Persian: علی شریعتی) (1352-1397 AH / November 23, 1933 – June 18, 1977 CE) was a renowned Iranian Shi’a Islamic thinker and is considered an inspiration for the Islamic Revolution. His full name was Ali Mohammad Taqi Shariati Mazinani. He was born near Sabzevar in Khorasan in 1933 and graduated from the Faculty of Arts. In 1959, he was awarded a scholarship to France to pursue a doctorate in the history of Persian literature.