Tutorial 8th February
In previous weeks we have looked at Liberalism and religion in a broadly liberal context. The theorists and case studies were situated in fairly liberal societies. We now look at Iran as a place where religious claims have turned into a religious state project and where political authority is rooted in religion. How does this work in the concrete example of the Iranian state since the 1979 Iranian revolution? This changes the way we see the role of politics. Religious politics in this case is not solely about identity or redressing material injustice, it is the foundation for a state. There has been much contestation inside Iran, with critiques of the way that religion is interpreted, from sacred and secular groups. Even in a fairly successful religious state the power struggles continue in this new framework.
The questions this week split into two halves, the first is intended to help you think about the role of religion in explaining the outcomes of the Iranian revolution. The second continues this by asking you to think about the role of Western ideas in shaping the Iranian constitution, but also considers how the case study may be useful in thinking about other issues on the course. This is may be a rich case study for bringing in to exam questions in other rooms of the course.
Pick an ‘ism’-Religious Fundamentalism, Nationalism, Fascism, Anti-Imperialism, Populism, Totalitarianism?
What did the term ‘fundamentalism’ imply in its original US context? Does Khameini’s ideology conform to this definition?
If Iran had been predominantly Sunni (had not had a Shi’ite scholarly tradition)would the Iranian revolution have taken a different form?
Compare Soroush’s critique of an Islamic state with his pupil, Akbar Ganji’s?
How far can populism and nationalism explain Khomeini’s ideology?
What is the significance of religion in the Iranian revolution?
Other theorists
What non-Islamic thinkers were mentioned as influencing the thought of Iranians?
How did ‘the West’ influence the revolution?
Has Khomaini been reading Machiavelli?
Can ‘religious truth’ be analogous to Latour’s ‘facts speaking for themselves’ in a totalising politics?
If the Cold War had not happened, would the Iranian revolution have happened?
The three approaches with which you looked at the Cold War prioritised ideology, geo-politics and technological capacity in explaining the Cold War. Can you use these perspectives to analyse the Iranian revolution?
