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Occidentosis: A Plague From the West Paperback – June 15, 1984

by Jala Al-i Ahmad (Author), Hamid Algar (Editor)

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Suppressed in Iran during the reign of the Shah, this book for the first time in a careful, annotated translation was published after the Islamic Revolution. It is a strong and emotional statement by an Iranian intellectual deeply concerned with what he saw as his country’s succumbing to "A plague from the West" or "occidentosis." Offering observations, insights, reasons for pride in Iran’s past and culture, and critical analyses of the Western role in th world. Jalal Al-i Ahmad expresses many of the concerns that agitated the intelligentsia during the two decades before the Islamic Revolution.

The author begins by explaining his term "occidentosis: and describing how he sees the world: as divided between the poles of East and West. The division is not so much a geographical or an ideological schism, as a division between the produces and the consumers of machines. A brief review of history helps explain how and why Iran grew occidentotic. He cannot and does not ignore the role of oil.

The many contradictions that result from the forced consumption of Western machines and goods in Iran are the subject of the longest and most carefully considered chapters in the book. Westerners, who industrailized step by step over hundreds of years, never saw such sharp contrasts as "a man grading Kharg Island with a monstrous bulldozer with blue bead hanging from the steering wheel."

Breaking the spell of occidentosis is the subject of another chapter. The author rejects both the options of remaining passive consumers of the machine and eschewing the machine and reverting to pre-industrial modes of existence. Rather, he advocates gaining control of the machine so Iranians can use it as a means, not an end, "to abolish poverty and put material and spiritual welfare with the reach of all."

As an educator Jalal Al-i Ahmad was particularly concerned with ow Iran's schools preserve its occidentotic society. He points out in this book how leaders whose first interest was not the welfare of the Iranian people or the preservation of its cultural traditions were turned out year after year by Iranian universities or returned to their country from American and European educational institutions.

The book closes with a plea for everyone not just Iranians or Easterners, to awaken to the dangers of mechanosis, the ultimate end of which will be destruction of the world with a nuclear bomb.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Translated from the Persian by R. Campbell with annotations and an introduction by Hamid Algar

Hamid Algar, born in England in 1940, received his formal training in Islamic studies at Cambridge Univrsity, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1965. Since 1965, he has been teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. He ia Professor of Persian and Islamic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published widely on bothe Sufism and Shi'ism.uthor

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Product Details

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Mizan Press (June 15, 1984)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0933782136
ISBN-13: 978-0933782136
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.2 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13400 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences
- #35600 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

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Top Customer Reviews

Islamic view of East/West crisis

By David Group on October 17, 2003

Format: Paperback

Written by an Iranian intellectual who has strong feelings for Islamic culture and his country, this book serves as an interesting and enlightening counterpoint to Bernard Lewis' two most recent works, WHAT WENT WRONG? and THE CRISIS OF ISLAM. Al-i Ahmad decries the current influence of the West at the expense of his own culture, in particular the economic and technological forces of global corporations which inevitably bring with it Western values and ideals. Like Lewis, he is even-handed and level-headed in assigning blame. That this book was suppressed during the Shah of Iran's reign is unfortunate indeed.
Though his history is a bit shaky (numerous footnotes correct various statements in the text), they are not fatal to his argument, and one cannot help but be swept up in his impassioned and eloquent defense of his culture. Not only does he define the problem, but he offers practical non-violent solutions which, if they had been heeded when this book was first written (early 1960s), would have gone a long way toward preventing many of the problems the area faces today.
It should be noted taht a good background in Islam and Islamic history is necessary to fully grasp some of the finer points of his arguments. But even without this background, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand why the U.S. is held with such low regard in the Arabic world.

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"Why don't they like us? " Jalal Al-i Ahmad tells you

By A. Paolini on August 15, 2014

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Westerns have been asking the question: "Why don't they like us?" Jalal Al-i Ahmad tells you. Unfortunately, he does not always provide proof of many of his assertions with facts and theory; he reports the affects. One must be prepared with reference material (Wikipedia is usually sufficient) as he refers to events and places that are probably not known except to Islamic and Middle East scholars. He also starts a line of reason/argument to finish with a statement to the effect of "you get my point." Well I didn't always get it.

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Needs to be read

By Matthew Smith on January 21, 2013

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

The historical importance of this book can't really be overestimated. This is one of the first books to come from Iran that had a major influence on events within Iran and the greater Middle East. This was the first in a line of works that would eventually set the stage for the Iranian revolution that would bring Khomeini to power and drastically challenge the status quo throughout the region. It is this historical perspective that makes this book an important read for those interested in this area and its history. While this book is not overtly religious and didn't really inform Khomeini and his fellow Islamists religious beliefs, what it did do is help to create the ground work for change within Iran that was so instrumental in pushing the revolution.

What this book does, like many others from Shariati to Qutb, is to attempt to explain the powerlessness of the people and to give them an object with which to focus their frustration. It is the West's corrupting inlfuence that keeps the people down and creates hollow leaders who seek nothing but self aggrandizement and improving their lot as consumers. These people have become the consumed with nothing but their empty desires and the need to fill their meaningless existence with the pleasures of the West they hope to mimic. They are not nationalists or Muslims. They do not care to improve their state or their fellow citizens. It also discusses the new colonialism of the "machine" as the West exports its finished products to the new consumerist East and exploits the East for its raw materials. The West brings in their professional workers to exploit the raw materials while the they get low wage jobs. The industrialists of the West prop up the ruling class with money while the rest of the nation remains neglected.Read more ›

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