Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic First Edition

by Ervand Abrahamian (Author)

11 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0520085039

ISBN-10: 0520085035

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"Fanatic," "dogmatic," "fundamentalist"―these are the words most often used in the West to describe the Ayatollah Khomeini. The essays in this book challenge that view, arguing that Khomeini and his Islamic movement should be seen as a form of Third World political populism―a radical but pragmatic middle-class movement that strives to enter, rather than reject, the modern age.

Ervand Abrahamian, while critical of Khomeini, asks us to look directly at the Ayatollah's own works and to understand what they meant to his principal audience―his followers in Iran. Abrahamian analyzes political tracts dating back to 1943, along with Khomeini's theological writings and his many public statements in the form of speeches, interviews, proclamations and fatwas (judicial decrees). What emerges, according to Abrahamian, is a militant, sometimes contradictory, political ideology that focuses not on issues of scripture and theology but on the immediate political, social, and economic grievances of workers and the middle class.

These essays reveal how the Islamic Republic has systematically manipulated history through televised "recantations," newspapers, school textbooks, and even postage stamps. All are designed to bolster the clergy's reputation as champions of the downtrodden and as defenders against foreign powers. Abrahamian also discusses the paranoia that permeates the political spectrum in Iran, contending that such deep distrust is symptomatic of populist regimes everywhere.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Abrahamian' s sophisticated analysis is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the Iranian revolution. Informed lay persons as well as academics and graduate students would benefit from this well-argued book. The uncommon wit and lucid style of this work make it truly a pleasure to read." ― Middle East Policy Council

"...a superb study of political ideology in general and of the ideological evolution of the founder of the Islamic republic in particular." ― Iranian Studies

About the Author

Ervand Abrahamian is Professor of History at Baruch College at the City University of New York. He is the author of Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982) and The Iranian Mojahedin (1989).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First edition (October 29, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520085035
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520085039
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #460 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #576 in Iran History
- #1,577 in African Politics

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Matthew Smith

Very good little book

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2013

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This is a very good look into Khomeini, his evolution and his role as cleric and a politician. What is very interesting is how Abrahamian shows the development of Khomeini and how over the years his philosophies on his religion changed with the times. This was not a dogmatic man who stuck with one philosophy or interpretation and then followed that course, instead he was always changing as the circumstances around him changed. The man in his twenties and thirties would not have recognized the person who came to lead a revolution, and not only that but probably would not have agreed with him.

The book discusses his transformation from more conservative interpretations of Shia Islam to his embrace of vilayet i faqih which is probably the most significant shift in Islamic interpretation since Abd al-Wahhab. It would have been nice for the author to discuss this very important shift in more detail but with short length of the book it can be understood why it was a more integral part.

What is nice to see is that the author is willing to treat his subject openly. Usually in works like this the author is either attempting to discredit his subject or trying to put them on a pedestal depending on their own their own leanings, but with this book I found a very objective rendering that at times shows the inconsistencies in Khomeini's political and religious thinking. It really illustrates how the populist leader had to mollify his religious leanings in order to be the face of a revolution that really had little taste for his more conservative religiosity. This was a true revolution from the grassroots by the people, and they were looking for a leader in a nation with few people that had the ability to unite such disparate groups with vastly different political visions. Khomeini's ability to be the face of this movement shows how good of a populist politician he really was.

This book is a quick and easy read. Anyone interest in this man or his country will do well by giving this book a read.

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L. F Sherman

Khomein's Populist, religious and cultural authenticity

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2005

Abrahamian's essays from 1993 argue that Khomeini was an astute religious Populist who did not micro manage the revolution but helped motivate, encourage, and lead a revolt that was against irreligious Royalty, foreign interests, cultural debasement of Islamic Iran and provided authenticity for Iranians.

The "Paranoid Style" in Iranian politics played a significant role in the revolution and also in the difficulty of interpretation since. Another chapter traces May Day celebrations (and what reminds one of "socialistic realist" art posters and stamps) to show evolution from elements of a worker's revolution to a nationalist bourgeois realism. The evolving perceptions of property and state (another essay) puts perspective on rhetoric of people's rights that never threatened private property but came to more strongly support a national economy so long as Iranian culture and religion were secure and foreign interests well controlled - pragmatism did not replace principle.

The most important essay argues convincingly that the "Fundamentalist" label explains little about the character or the success of the revolution. (This should be a strong reminder to the labelers of our own time who feel they explain and understand by name calling.)

Essays, perhaps necessarily, sometimes overlap and are uneven. At times they could have been briefer and tighter. A reader would do well to have some basic picture of Iranian history at least back into the 19th century. Yet the book has considerable value and the first and last essays on the "Populism" of the revolution and the "Paranoid Style" of Iranian politics are of special value.

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Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum

Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2001

Like most students of Iran, Abrahamian brings the academic's bias against religion having much importance. He prefers to see Khomeini's ideas "as a flexible political movement." But discount this bias and you'll find Abrahamian makes a strong and original case that "the behavior of Khomeini and the Islamic Republic has been determined less by scriptural principles than by immediate political, social, and economic needs." He makes this case the old-fashioned way, through a close reading of texts and study of events. Abrahamian's intimate knowledge of Iran imbues his short study with the sort of insight all too rare in the study of Iran; and it's certainly one of the most important books on Iran to appear in English in some years. The author catalogues the profound changes in Khomeini's thinking that took place in the era 1965-70, when he replaced many of his traditional Shi'ite beliefs with the trendy notions of European Marxism (as mediated by Leftist Iranian intellectuals). Abrahamian demonstrates the evolution of the mullahs' relations with the Left through a close analysis of May Day celebrations. Over and over again, he shows how Khomeini changed his views to fit current needs, contradicting not only himself but some of Islam's most basic tenets (such as the priority of Sacred Law over raison d'état). Indeed, the sainted ayatollah apparently stuck with just one tenet through his entire career: the inviolability of private property.
Middle East Quarterly, June 1994

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