Reading Revolutionary Iran: The Worldview of the Islamic Republic's Religio-Political Elite

Ze'ev Maghen

Published by De Gruyter 2023

Reading Revolutionary Iran

The Worldview of the Islamic Republic's Religio-Political Elite

Ze'ev Maghen

Volume 46 in the series Studies on Modern Orient

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111026183

Overview
Contents

About this book

The burden of this book is twofold. The first half is charged with identifying and critiquing the many prejudices and misconceptions that inform popular – and even scholarly – perceptions of Islam and Iran, those rooted in neo-conservative hostility no less than those arising out of pro-regime apologetics or (what we will argue are) misleading "post-modern" methodologies. This is a key component of our overall investigation, both because the illusions occluding our view of the Islamic Republic are (we assert) piled so high and deep, and because setting the record straight on many a contentious issue is the most appropriate context for elucidating the positive positions of the revolutionary clerics. These last represent, perhaps more than anything else, the premier critics of Western civilization in our day, and their ideologies may therefore be best comprehended when placed in dialogue with, and in polemic against, the worldviews of that civilization (which in their own turn are often most profoundly understood when offset by their present-day Islamist nemeses). As noted above, it is not all contention: unexpected meeting points and congruities emerge, as well, when the activist Shi'ite clerics are placed in the same virtual room with their occidental counterweights.

The second half of the book deploys a large number of rarely tapped primary sources, both ancient and contemporary, in order to tease out the attitudes of the class of Muslim scholars recently and currently at the helm of the Iranian state in a variety of significant fields, including the role of religion in society, the relationship between democracy and theocracy, the modern Western Weltanschauung, the Sunni-Shi'i schism, and much more. Though the author parses, and provides background and context for, the myriad citations from these influential Muslim thinkers, the ultimate objective is to allow them to speak for themselves.

Author / Editor information

Ze’ev Maghen is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Note regarding transliteration Publicly Available Download PDF	X
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part One: Misreading the Islamic Republic
Chapter One: Misconstruing the Muslim World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter Two: Underestimating Revolutionary Iran Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
Chapter Three: Confusing the Nature of the Conflict Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	140
Chapter Four: Shiʿite Islam and the Struggle for Democracy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Chapter Five: Problems of Emphasis and Portrayal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224
Chapter Six: Islam, Nationalism and the Battle for the Iranian Soul Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Chapter Seven: Shiʿism – Problems of Perception and Presentation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	372
Part Two: Reading the Islamic Republic
Chapter One: Shiʿite Sacred Time – The Origins of the Conflict Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	395
Chapter Two: The Shiʿite Academy – From the Marginalization of ʿalī to the Rise of the Ulama Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	467
Chapter Three: A Shiʿite Commonwealth – The Safavids and Beyond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	479
Chapter Four: Ayatollah Khomeini and the Rise of Revolutionary Shiʿism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	525
Chapter Five: After Khomeini – Divergent Paths in the Islamic Republic Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	601
Chapter Six: Whither Iran? Successes, Failures, Challenges Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	615
Chapter Seven: Unity or Truth? The Sunni-Shiʿi Schism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	620
Conclusion: The Islamic Republic of Iran Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	646
Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	659
Index of Persons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	661

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Scholars in the fields of Islamic Studies, Political Studies, Social Anthropology, Sociology.
Pages
- Front matter: 28
- Main content: 662
Keywords: Iran; Khomeinism; Islamism; Khamenei

eBook

Published: March 6, 2023
ISBN: 9783111026183

Hardcover

Published: March 6, 2023
ISBN: 9783111018102