Introduction

We can only appreciate the perplexing meanings of the Iranian Revolution of 1978–79 by exploring such de-familiarizing statements. Building on my analysis of the Mashruteh movement, this chapter attempts to go beyond the prevailing interpretations that explain the Iranian Revolution as an extension of the historical tensions between “tradition” and “modernity.” I will look at the rise of Islamic politics as a new effort to come to terms with the challenge of modernity in Iran.

The Revolution was a historical turning point in the crisis of modern secular politics in Iran. Impeded by the autocratic rule of the Pahlavi state for more than two decades (the 1960s and 1970s), secular democratic politics were effectively contested in Iran and a new theocratic state power ascended to lead the Revolution in the absence of any other viable political alternative.

The following analysis of contemporary Iranian political history will underscore three intertwining processes in contemporary Iranian socio-political life. The socio-historical processes that we will address in more detail are: (1) the formation of an autocratic state in post-1953 Iran, which successfully destroyed the already fragile democratic secular political institutions (political parties, unions, and Parliament) in Iranian society; (2) the social and psychological alienation experienced by Iranians as a reaction to the processes of “modernization” in the 1960s and 1970s.